The Met is far better than it was three years ago – Rowleypublished at 08:48 BST
08:48 BST
The Met chief is asked if he can put a number on how many officers are being investigated by the force.
But the commissioner calls this a “crazy question”. If the force knew exactly how many “corrupt individuals” there were in its ranks, he says, “we’d be able to get rid of them tomorrow”.
Pressed further on whether this means the issue is “endemic”, Rowley says the majority of his officers are “good people” who care deeply about policing London – but, he adds, there’s “far too big of a minority who don’t.
When the BBC’s Daniel De Simone cuts in to suggest “things aren’t changing” in the force, Rowley himself hits back to say “that’s not accurate, is it?”
Rowley says the Panorama documentary actually shows things have changed – because officers are shown to be aware of the fact they need to be careful who they express their opinions around.
“We’re going after them and we’re going to keep removing them,” Rowley insists – adding that “the Met is far better than it was three years ago, and every year it’ll be better again”.