London - Five trainee police constables and a serving officer have been suspended and another trainee has resigned after the broadcast of a television documentary showed them venting racist attitudes.
BBC reporter Mark Daly, 28, who enrolled for police training and used a hidden video camera, captured Constable Rob Pulling, of the North Wales police, wearing a homemade white mask similar to those worn by America's white supremecist group, the Ku Klux Klan.
Asked if he could kill an Asian, Daly was seen nodding and saying: "If I could get away with burying the (expletive) under a train track." He is also seen arguing that Adolf Hitler "had the right idea".
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The film has caused outrage and raised new questions about recent police efforts to combat racism in the ranks.
| 'This issue is being dealt with. I think the suspensions demonstrate that' |
Pulling said on Wednesday that he had resigned from North Wales police, and the force said it had suspended another trainee, Keith Cheshire.
Shortly after the programme was aired on Tuesday night, the Greater Manchester police suspended trainee constables Andy Hall, Carl Jones, Tony Lewin and Adrian Harrison and Constable Andy Turley. The Cheshire police suspended Steve Salkeld, another trainee.
Clive Wolfendale, acting deputy chief constable of the North Wales police, said he "felt physically sick" on seeing the programme.
Alan Green, deputy chief constable of the Greater Manchester police, promised a full criminal investigation.
"This issue is being dealt with. I think the suspensions demonstrate that," he said.
Daly was exposed and arrested in August, but by then he had spent seven months filming alleged racist behaviour among his fellow trainees at the Bruche National Training Centre in Warrington, north-west England.
Home Secretary David Blunkett said the issue now was what could be done to ensure police services across the country adopted new training programmes on diversity to root out racists before they went through the training programme.
- This article was originally published on page 4 of The Star on October 23, 2003
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