David Lammy denies police are ‘institutionally racist’

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, David Lammy has denied that the police are institutionally racist. In doing so, he referenced the Casey Report — a report which found evidence of institutional racism in 2023. Lammy claimed the force has moved on since then, which is surprising to hear, because the Met refused to accept the findings of the report:

And when the report was published the head of the Met police refused to accept the finding that the force was institutionally racist.https://t.co/WA6oTjcQGW

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) June 7, 2026

David Lammy — Left in the past

Justice secretary and deputy PM David Lammy was speaking to Laura Kuenssberg, who asked him:

Do you think that the police are institutionally racist?

Lammy responded:

I actually think we’ve moved on from that period of institutional racism that was very real in the Stephen Lawrence era. That’s not my experience when I see policing. Of course, there are problems. But as a result of the work that Louise Casey did a few years ago, I do, I have seen seen a response from the police here in London.

Because this was within her world view, Kuenssberg accepted this response, and asked Lammy to be even clearer in his agreement with her:

And so the problem is not of the scale that it used to be. And that phrase “institutionally racist” shouldn’t, in your view then, be applied to 2026?

Lammy responded:

I don’t personally recognise that as the appropriate description today.

So, what did the Casey review actually find?

The Casey Report

This is what Maryam Jameela wrote for the Canary when the Casey Report was released:

A review into the Metropolitan police has found the force to be institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic. The report, written by government official Louise Casey, was commissioned after serving Met police officer Wayne Couzens was charged with the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard. Since then another officer, David Carrick, has also been jailed for life for dozens of rapes and sexual assaults stretching back two decades. Furthermore, many other Met scandals have emerged.

Without hinting at how bad things were a mere three years ago, Lammy suggested that the Met have now rid themselves of their many prejudices – prejudices which have tainted them for decades. Contrary to this opinion, our own recent reporting has covered:

• December 2025, the BBC uncovered that the Met failed to “adequately investigate a gang that was blackmailing people on Grindr, a gay dating app“.
• November 2025, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IPOC) found that two detective constables had a ‘case to answer for gross misconduct‘ following the murder of a victim of domestic violence.
• October 2025, Panorama published an undercover report which documented a “a vast array of truly heinous and discriminatory remarks and actions from… officers“.

Additionally, as Rachel Charlton-Dailey reported for the Canary:

There’s also the fact that the police are already massively biased towards disabled people within the Met. In the Casey review, it was found that 33 per cent of staff with a disability or long-term illness had been bullied by other officers. The report stated

disability discrimination is the most frequent claim type brought against the Met. But there is no willingness to learn from these cases.

Unasked questions

The evidence we have suggests UK police forces are still institutionally racist, sexist, ableist, and more. And this evidence doesn’t go away because Nigel Farage found a single case which might suggest an anti-white bias (if you ignore the actual details).

If Kuenssberg was a competent interviewer, she would have drawn attention to the continuing allegations of institutional bigotry that the police attract (particularly the Met). Because she isn’t — or because Lammy’s answer supported her worldview – these points went unmade.

Featured image via BBC

By Willem Moore

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