1,071 rotten apples left outside Met’s HQ to protest violence against women and girls

A charity for women and girls who have been abused left 1,071 rotten apples out the Met’s Scotland Yard headquarters to protest against violent cops in the force.

The number of apples reflect the number of Met officers who have been, or are currently, under investigation for allegations of domestic abuse or violence against women and girls.

Refuge placed the rotten apples outside New Scotland Yard this morning following the harrowing revelations that David Carrick, one of the country’s worst sex offenders, had been serving as a Met officer for more than 20 years.

Carrick pleaded guilty this week to 49 offences against women, including 24 counts of rape.

Refuge chief executive Ruth Davison asked ‘how many more bad apples?’ and called for immediate root and branch reform of the police and the way they deal with violence against women and girls and domestic abuse.

She said: “This is not one bad apple. This is a systemic problem across policing. How have these perpetrators of abuse been allowed to enter and remain in positions of power for so long?

“What happens next must change the culture of policing for good. A force which breeds violent misogyny is not a force which can even begin to protect women and girls.

“Unless radical change to the way the policing system works across the country happens immediately, then women and girls will remain unsafe, and they will not have the confidence to come forward and report the violent crimes committed against them. That is why Refuge is outside New Scotland Yard today.”

This week Refuge also sent an open letter to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, demanding that immediate changes are made to the policing system to protect women and girls.

Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray, the Met’s lead for professionalism, apologised to Carrick’s victims for not acting sooner on his criminality.

“We should have spotted his pattern of abusive behaviour and because we didn’t we missed opportunities to remove him from the organisation,” she said.

Pictured top: Refuge’s rotting fruit protest (Picture: Refuge)