Met Police's former top female Asian officer claims male officers left a sex toy in her in-tray while white female colleagues were 'like Mean Girls' - and says the force 'attracts predators'

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Scotland Yard's former top female Asian officer has revealed the misogynistic and racist abuse she witnessed in the force, claiming male officers put their hands up their female counterparts' skirts to check whether they were wearing stockings.

Nusrit Mehtab, from east London, was once a poster girl for the force, and even starred in an ITV show named 'Mehtab of the Met' that followed her work to improve community relations in London's East End.

She rose through the ranks to become the most senior Asian female officer in the Metropolitan Police, working in everything from undercover operations to counterterrorism. But she quit the force in January 2020, complaining of a 'toxic workplace' with sexism and institutional racism.

Ahead of her book release, Off the Beat, Nusrit has recalled the horrors of working in the force, including a 1998 prank that saw male officers welcome her to the team as a new recruit by placing a sex toy in her in-tray.

'There's this roar of laughter,' Nusrit recalled in conversation with The Times. She added: 'Maximum impact, maximum humiliation, a power play — we're all men, and we're going to do this to a 5ft 4in Asian woman who we know is a Muslim... Let's teach her a lesson.'

In conversation with The Times, former top female Asian police officer, Nusrit Mehtab (pictured), has recalled racist and misogynistic occurrences during her time on the force 

That cruel prank at Whitechapel police station set the precedent for Nusrit's career, with her claiming that sexist and racist discrimination are routine occurrences in the force.

In a series of explosive race claims, Nusrit said staff questioned her over whether she solely ate curry and when asked by a senior officer for her English name, he said he would call 'Nidgit'.

She has described how senior white female officers 'huddled together like Mean Girls', likening their behaviour to black, Asian and minority ethnic officers to the hit film starring Lindsay Lohan.

Nusrit told the Times the system 'didn't protect her'. 

She said: 'I think it attracts predators, it attracts monsters. Because you've got a group of people that will have access to vulnerable people, to vulnerable women. And they're given a warrant card, they're given a uniform, they have power and authority over people. That lends itself to abuse.' 

Miss Mehtab, who is of Pakistani origin, believes she was forced to patrol alone because of her ethnic background while white male colleagues refused to talk to or sit next to her, which she likened to being ignored by children.

A practicing Muslim, she refused to wear a uniformed skirt for religious reasons and was forced to wear trousers made for a male officer. Things came to a head in February 2019 when she reported a swastika in an area of Edmonton police station accessible only to staff.

According to papers lodged at an employment tribunal in 2020, Scotland Yard bosses told her to 'keep quiet' about the discovery and blamed builders.

The former police officer, from east London, has recalled her trauma ahead of her memoir release, Off the Beat (seen in 2023) 

Nusrit claimed that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick (pictured), failed to tackle racism in the force 

Nusrit nonetheless boasted a successful career during her stint in the force and became the most senior Asian woman in the Met police, despite claiming that superiors rigged promotion decisions to benefit 'golden boys'.

The promotion process led her to launch an employment tribunal against the Met in 2017, with her claiming that racism and misogyny hold a potent influence over the decision process.

She believes that the hiring process was no different. When a female candidate requested a different interview time so she could pick her children up for school, Nusrit claimed that she was instantly rejected.

Nusrit was diagnosed with PTSD in 2019 and signed off work. When she returned, she claimed it to be a 'lonely place', where she was met with silence and frequent stares from other members of staff involved in her employment tribunal, leading her to leave the job.

A year later, she sued the force in a £500,000 racism claim, and sought compensation for lost earnings, pension, and injury to feelings.

According to legal papers submitted by Miss Mehtab in 2020, when she went to work in Tower Hamlets in east London in 1988, 'the traditional induction greeting for newly arrived female officers... was to have their breast and bottoms stamped with the office stamp'.

Now, the former office teaches criminology and criminal justice at the University of East London in a bid to tackle discrimination in the force

The legal papers also claimed that her promotions were held up due to sexism and racism. When she was made an inspector, she said she overheard a colleague say: 'You'll never believe it. The Doris has passed. How the hell did that happen? How did you let it happen?'

Miss Mehtab accused Commissioner Cressida Dick of failing to tackle the problem, saying she 'protects the racist working environment by supporting racist officers'.

The Met denied the claims put forward by Nusrit, and in 2022, agreed to settle the case in court.

Nusrit's experience aligns with the findings of the 2023 Casey review, with the damning 363-page dossier revealing that the force is 'failing women and children' and is 'institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic'.

Now, refusing to let her experience be forgotten, Nusrit is releasing a memoir of her 30-year career in the force, Off the Beat.

She is simultaneously teaching criminology and criminal justice at the University of East London to students wanting a career in the force. The former officer insists her teaching highlights the importance of positive change and questioning the status quo.