Met officer dismissed after anti-LGBTQ+ and misogynistic social posts

A Metropolitan Police officer has been dismissed after sharing social media footage that mocked LGBTQ+ people, women and disabled people, the force said.

PC Alejandro Varela-Garcia, who worked for the Met’s South East Command Unit, was found at a misconduct hearing on 3 July to have breached professional standards of behaviour relating to discreditable conduct, equality and diversity, and orders and instructions. The panel concluded that his actions amounted to gross misconduct.

The Met said the posts included anti-LGBTQ+, misogynistic and ableist content. The force said the content had been shared on Varela-Garcia’s social media accounts.

Acting Detective Chief Superintendent James Derham, who leads the South East area, said the officer’s conduct was unacceptable.

“This officer’s behaviour fell far below that expected of any police officer,” he said. “Members of the public need to have trust in the police, and PC Varela-Garcia’s behaviour risks undermining that confidence in the force.”

Derham also said the Met had removed more than 1,500 officers and staff in the last three years as part of its efforts to raise standards.

Following the hearing, Varela-Garcia will be placed on a barred list held by the College of Policing. People on that list are banned from employment by the police and other policing bodies.

The case comes against a wider backdrop of scrutiny over police treatment of LGBTQ+ communities in the UK. In recent years, some police leaders have acknowledged historic discrimination, while campaigners have continued to press for stronger accountability and more trust-building with queer communities.

West Midlands Police recently marked Pride Month by issuing a public apology for historic mistreatment of LGBTQ+ communities across the region. Acting Chief Constable Scott Green said in an open letter that he wanted to “sincerely and wholeheartedly apologise” for past police conduct and that laws had been wrongly used to target gay and bisexual men.

He said that had left people afraid to be open about who they were or who they loved.

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