ix former Metropolitan Police officers have been charged with sending grossly offensive racist messages on WhatsApp, the power mentioned.

The expenses come after a BBC Newsnight investigation in October final yr which prompted a probe by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards.

Some of the racist messages shared within the chat have been allegedly concerning the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, based on the BBC.

The six males charged are:

– Peter Booth, 66, of Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, who has been charged with 4 counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages. He retired from the Met in April 2001.

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– Robert Lewis, 62, of Camberley, Surrey, who has been charged with eight counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages. He retired from the Met in May 2015.

– Anthony Elsom, 67, of Bournemouth, Dorset, who has been charged with three counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages. He retired from the Met in May 2012.

– Alan Hall, 65, of Stowmarket, Suffolk, who has been charged with three counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages. He retired from the Met in June 2015.

– Michael Chadwell, 62, of Liss, Hampshire, who has been charged with one depend of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages. He retired from the Met in November 2015.

– Trevor Lewton, 65, of Swansea, South Wales, who has been charged with one depend of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages. He retired from the Met in August 2009.

The probe discovered that inappropriate communications have been shared inside a closed WhatsApp group between August 2018 and September 2022, the Met mentioned.

The officers, who retired between 2001 and 2015, will seem at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 7.

The six males weren't serving at any level throughout their participation within the group, the power made clear.

It added that they served in varied elements of the Met all through their careers and all hung out in what's now generally known as the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.