Met Police officer sacked after calling colleagues 'wastemen' on award-shortlisted podcast

Met Police officer sacked after calling colleagues 'wastemen' on award-shortlisted podcast PC Idominik Efeotor was sacked after labelling his colleagues "wastemen" and "batty holes" on his podcast that has been shortlisted for an award for its contribution to increasing diversity in the force A Metropolitan Police office has been sacked for posting describing the force as corrupt on social media, labelling his colleagues "wastemen" and "batty holes". PC Idominik Efeotor hosted his podcast 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', which reveals details about his life as a black police officer and has been shortlisted for two awards. In one of the videos shared online he published material that could have identified an officer under a anonymity direction. The clips often feature Efeotor being critical of the Met and its directorate of professional standards (DPS). It was found in an accelerated gross misconduct hearing that Efeotor breached the standards of professional behaviour when posting these clips. He was dismissed without notice. The court heard that in one video the officer referred the the DPS as "absolute wastemen and that cesspit", whilst referring to a DPS officer as a "batty hole liar" in another video. He also says "Bun the DPS" in most videos, meaning to reject them. Nasreen Shah, representing the Met said at the hearing that Efeotor "publicly encouraged others not to trust certain officers" and "expressed contempt towards the DPS". Shah added that he "used derogatory language towards officers and police staff and published content which was capable of undermining confidence in the police service on multiple occasions." In May 2025, he posted a TikTok video discussing another misconduct case as he displayed a photo of an officer who had been anonymised within those proceedings, Shah told the hearing. She said: "You sarcastically stated words to the effect of 'This is not the officer I'm talking about'." Lawrence Davies, director of Equal Justice Solicitors, defending Efeotor said the video was taken down as his client was not aware the anonymity order would apply to him, reports the BBC. Davies added that the comments had been taken out of context and the majority of his podcast was a "fantastic and innovative way to improve recruitment and retention of black officers". The podcast was shortlisted in the Multicultural Business and Community Champion (MBCC) and the The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) Awards for its contribution to increasing diversity in the force this year. Davies said: "In this country, we have something called the freedom of speech, which means you are allowed to say things outside of work which cause offence or upset to other people. "And we don't even have a single statement from anyone, who has complained about the content of this. In fact, you have 22 character references of people who listen to the podcast who say it's great." The defendant also explained that the force has been found by numerous reports to be institutionally racist, with the Casey Review highlighting that black officers were 81% more likely to be in the misconduct system than white colleagues. Commander Colin Wingrove, chairing the hearing, said Efeotor had "chosen to use a platform to criticise and insult serving colleagues, which is likely to undermine the confidence that the public have in the police service." It was concluded his behaviour did not meet the professional standards expected of a serving police officer. Following the hearing Davies said: "This is, unfortunately, a travesty of justice. It's yet another example of a black officer being retaliated against for speaking up. "We will be appealing. This will end up at the employment tribunal, and at the end of all of that process, hopefully justice will be done." Efeotor added: "I'm not surprised. This is what happens when you stand up for yourself and stand up for people that can't speak for themselves. "There are people who have done things far worse than what I've done, who are still employed by the Met. They just happen to have lighter skin." Commander Adam Slonecki, head of Specialist Operations, released a statement after the hearing that said: "Our officers can be in no doubt as to how they are expected to act on social media, and it is clear that PC Efeotor breached these standards on many occasions and despite repeated warnings. "Not only does behaviour like this undermine public confidence in the Met, but it had a harmful and lasting impact on those he openly criticised, as well as the rest of his colleagues."