Former Metropolitan Police Federation chairman Rick Prior has told GB News he "stands by everything" he said in the interview that led to his removal from the position.Prior was suspended in October 2024 after expressing concerns that officers were "hesitating" before engaging with ethnic minority Londoners.READ THE FULL STORY HERE
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00:00Matt, thanks so much for coming in to discuss this case.
00:05Just going back to that interview in October, why did you say that?
00:09And do you stand by those words?
00:11Thank you for having me, first and foremost.
00:14Yes, I do stand by everything I said in that interview.
00:18And I said it because there were a number of cases that I was aware of
00:24where it was apparent to me that race was being used as an aggravating factor
00:31by the Independent Office of Police Conduct
00:33to raise the profile and aggravate the allegations against officers.
00:38And it wasn't until the cases reached the tribunal or the court
00:42where the allegations of race fell away
00:45on the basis that there was no evidence offered.
00:49And as I said at the time, there were two very high-profile cases
00:54where that had occurred, the Bianca Williams and Dos Santos stop-and-search case
01:00as well as the case that's commonly referred to as the Croydon bus incident.
01:05Talk our viewers through that and listeners as well.
01:07The Croydon bus, for instance, because an officer was fined some £1,500
01:11for a conviction that was later overturned.
01:15Yes, that's correct.
01:16It was an officer, PC Perry Lathwood,
01:19who was part of a revenue protection inspection operation.
01:23It's a pre-planned operation specifically for dealing with fare evasion.
01:28They were dealing with buses.
01:30There were a line of revenue protection inspectors
01:33who are independent from the police.
01:35They're not part of the police.
01:36They're part of Transport for London.
01:38Behind them, there's a line of PCSOs,
01:43the support officers for the police.
01:46And behind them, there's a line of police officers
01:49who are there to prevent any disturbance
01:53or stopping people from making off.
01:55So what happened in that occasion was a lady got off the bus.
01:59As she got off, she was asked for a ticket
02:01by the revenue protection inspection officer.
02:04She refused to show it.
02:06She then pushed past a PCSO who had her arms open.
02:10And PC Perry Lathwood was just there doing his job on the day as he was briefed to do.
02:17And, you know, in the end, he had to take hold of her and arrest her.
02:23And as a consequence of your comments about that case, that conviction was overturned.
02:28You said it was a vexatious complaint.
02:31You said that many officers in the capital had concerns about this.
02:34Now, after those comments, the Professional Standards Department in the Met
02:38cleared you of any wrongdoing.
02:39But this suspension dragged on for many, many months.
02:42What did you do as a consequence of the suspension?
02:45Well, after being suspended, I was contacted by the Free Speech Union.
02:49And I was offered support by them, for which I was very grateful.
02:54Given it was my own staff support association who were coming after me,
02:58none of the insurances that I had with them applied.
03:02So I was without any kind of funding or support to be able to challenge the suspension,
03:07which was advised to me was unlawful.
03:12You've now been given a permanent suspension because you raised the fact
03:16that you were doing this crowdfunding on GB News with my colleague Martin Daubry last month.
03:22How has that left you feeling now?
03:24Well, what's actually occurred is they've guillotined the original investigation,
03:29which, by the way, is still ongoing.
03:31The original investigation into what I said to you on that fateful October day.
03:37And they've instead, they've gone after me for the crowdfunding interviews
03:41I did with Martin Daubry and the Daily Telegraph.
03:45Just very quickly, Rick, are you going to continue to fight this?
03:47I am going to continue to fight this, yes.
03:49I won't be cowed and I won't be bullied.
03:51And, you know, we will be challenged to this decision.
03:53Thank you. Rick Pryor, thanks for joining us in the studio.
03:55Now, a spokesperson for the Police Federation for England and Wales
03:59confirmed that Mr Pryor had been found in breach of the Federation standards.
04:04The spokesperson also added that, as a result,
04:07Rick has been removed from his position as chair and as a Federation representative
04:11and also prevented from standing for election to any Federation position.
04:16Both sanctions are imposed on a permanent basis.
04:19In line with our standard policy on governance matters,
04:22the Federation will not be commenting on the details of the case.
04:26Back to you, Nana.
04:27Thank you very much, Charlie Peters.
04:31Fascinating story, really.
04:33Thank you very much.
04:34Thank you very much.