Police recruit 'racially abused'

A Muslim police officer was racially abused while training as a recruit, a tribunal has heard.

Zaheer Zamir, 28, of Walthamstow, east London, said he was discriminated against while at the Metropolitan Police school in Hendon, north London.

He said he was the only Asian Muslim in his class and was "singled out" and "made to feel different".

The claims, denied by the force, were heard at an employment tribunal in Stratford, east London.

I felt sick to my stomach Pc Zamir

British-born Pc Zamir, whose family come from the Indian state of Punjab, said he was told to shave his beard off, or grow it fully.

In a written statement, he said an instructor had run his finger down his face in front of classmates, to show he was not clean shaven.

"I was offended and embarrassed and felt sick to my stomach," Pc Zamir said.

'Not fair'

He added: "Punjabi people culturally, racially, have facial hair. It is a sign of the right of manhood to have facial hair."

The tribunal was told one training officer made a racist joke by comparing Muslims to a sex toy, and Pc Zamir said he was forced to retrain because of prejudice.

The officer, who has a degree in genetics and microbiology, said he was unable to take promotion exams, because of the way he had been treated.

"They let me get to a point where I just was not going to pass out of Hendon. That is just not fair," he said.

The Metropolitan Police contest the allegation of racial discrimination at the hearing, which is expected to last two weeks.