Mother of two murdered sisters accuses Cressida Dick of gaslighting her to protect Met Police ‘brand’ after officers photographed their bodies and shared the images on WhatsApp
- Mina Smallman spoke to woman’s hour about Dame Cressida Dick’s resignation
- Her two daughters, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, were killed in June 2020
- Two officers were later jailed after taking pictures of their bodies at the scene
- Earlier this month, IOPC released details of messages sent by Met Police officers
- The messages, from Charing Cross Police station, contained jokes about rape
The bereaved mother of two murdered sisters whose bodies were photographed by Met Police officers at the scene of their brutal stabbing has today accused Cressida Dick of gaslighting her in order to protect the force’s ‘brand’.
Mina Smallman said the outgoing Met Commissioner implied that officers taking the harrowing images of her daughters, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, had been an isolated issue.
However Ms Smallman said Dame Cressida ‘must have known that it wasn’t an isolated incident’ because at the time officers at another London police station were being investigated over jokes about rape, killing black children and beating their wives.
Earlier this month, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) the published WhatsApp and Facebook messages exchanged by the group of officers mainly based at Charing Cross Police station between 2016 and 2018.
The publication of the report sparked a huge backlash against the force, which already faced accusations of harbouring a culture of misogyny following the killing of Sarah Everard by a serving Met officer.
Dame Cressida, who initially refused to quit over the report, resigned on February 10, ending her five years as the Met’s top boss.
Speaking on BBC Woman’s Hour about her own experience with Dame Cressida, Ms Smallman said: ‘People thought I was being overly emotional and criticising the police on an isolated incident, but my instincts told me that that just wasn’t wasn’t the case.
Mina Smallman said the outgoing Met Commissioner implied that officers taking the harrowing images of her daughters, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, had been an isolated issue. However Ms Smallman said Dame Cressida ‘must have known that it wasn’t an isolated incident’ because at the time officers at another London police station were being probed over jokes about rape, killing black children and beating their wives.
Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman taken from Bibaa’s phone on the night the pair were murdered
‘Now, if you remember, the photographs of our girls were taken in 2020 and Cressida Dick was on record and said: “If this is true, it’s appalling”. Blah, blah.
‘She already knew that there was an investigation going on… started in 2017 about WhatsApp groups. So she would have known that this wasn’t an isolated incident.’
Ms Smallman added: ‘When this (Charing Cross) report came out, I thought: “You knew, you knew, and you were all about protecting the brand”.
Asked if she felt misled by the Commissioner, she said: ‘I think she was smokescreening.’
The IOPC report on the Charing Cross officers found that issues with such messages ‘are not isolated or historic’.
Former archdeacon Ms Smallman met with Dame Cressida in the wake of the murders of Ms Smallman and Ms Henry, who were stabbed to death at a birthday celebration in Fryent Country Park, Wembley, north-west London in June 2020.
Danyal Hussain, 19, a stranger who stabbed the two sisters to death to ‘fulfil a deal with the devil’, was jailed for 35 years for murdering the pair.
Following the discovery of their bodies, two constables, Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis, had been assigned to guard the scene of the killing.
But instead moved from their posts to take photographs of the bodies, which were then shared with colleagues and friends on WhatsApp.
One was a ‘selfie-style’ image on which Lewis had superimposed his face, and the victims were described as ‘dead birds’.
Following the discovery of their bodies, two constables, Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis, had been assigned to guard the scene of the killing. But instead moved from their posts to take photographs of the bodies, which were then shared with colleagues and friends on WhatsApp.
Initially, Ms Smallman had backed the Commissioner to stay in her job, but told the BBC she became disillusioned after the murder of Sarah Everard and failings being identified in how the Met had dealt with the missing persons report for her daughters.
She said: ‘Gradually I just began to see and understand that, you know, she was completely ineffectual.
‘As a woman, I don’t want to focus on her in that way. It’s the job, it could have been a man, but it happens to be a woman and there’s lots to celebrate about her career.
‘But she failed in the key elements of women’s safety, race issues, homophobia – you name it, it’s rife. And not just in the Met.
‘So in the end, I think her position became untenable, completely.’
Dame Cressida resigned last week after London Mayor Sadiq Khan withdrew his support.
It followed a series of high profile scandals, including the Charing Cross report, the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, and a report into the handling of the killing of PI Daniel Morgan which found the Met to be ‘institutionally corrupt’.
Yesterday it was revealed Dame Cressida could stay in charge of Scotland Yard until after the controversial Partygate inquiry is complete.
Haggling has been going on behind the scenes over her departure day and the terms of a pay-off.
Her ultimate leaving date could be as far as two months away, meaning she will be at the helm when decisions are made on whether to fine Boris Johnson and a host of other Downing Street staff for lockdown-busting ‘parties’.
The PM is believed to have attended six events under investigation, and confirmed on Friday that he has received a legal questionnaire from the Met.
There are claims he has drafted in a lawyer to write his response and will argue that the gatherings were ‘part of working life’ in No10 during the frenzied Covid response.
Negotiations between Dame Cressida and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s office over her departure are likely to be finalised soon, after he abruptly triggered her resignation last week
Tories are increasingly alarmed that the Partygate inquiry will drag on to April, perilously close to crucial local elections the following month.
But a permanent Scotland Yard commissioner is unlikely to be in place before the summer, after a lengthy appointment process.
‘We hope there will be a decision on Monday regarding the timescale of Cressida’s departure, or certainly early in the week,’ a Whitehall source said.
It is understood matters yet to be resolved include the size of Dame Cressida’s payoff for leaving the job with more than two years left on her contract – a sum that could be more than £500,000 – on top of her pension of around £160,000 a year.
Now Priti’s favourite eyes top job
Priti Patel’s favourite candidate for the Metropolitan Police top job could be back in the running as she considers her next moves after a cancer battle, it is understood.
Dame Lynne Owens is widely regarded as a shoo-in for the commissioner role if she decides to throw her hat into the ring. The former director general of the National Crime Agency retired last September after being diagnosed with breast cancer. But last night friends said she was ‘out the other side’ and has ‘started to think about what’s next’.
She is widely respected in the Home Office, where there was deep regret that her health had ruled her out from taking over the Met last year.
The incumbent commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, was given a two-year contract extension in September –despite a series of scandals – largely because of the lack of obvious successors.
‘A new commissioner probably won’t be actually at their desk until the summer. This is not a quick process,’ the source added. An interim commissioner is likely to be appointed in the meantime.
It comes as Mr Khan indicated he would veto any candidate he felt was unsuitable.
He said he would only back a new commissioner who he felt had a proper grasp of the ‘cultural problems’ at the Met.
‘As we start this important process, I make this commitment to Londoners – I will not support the appointment of a new commissioner unless they can clearly demonstrate that they understand the scale of the cultural problems within the Met and the urgency with which they must be addressed,’ Mr Khan wrote in The Observer newspaper.
‘In short, they need to get it, and they need to have a proper and robust plan to deal with it.’
But the Metropolitan Police Federation said it has ‘no faith’ in London Mayor Mr Khan.
Ken Marsh, chairman of the Federation, said the atmosphere among officers was ‘rock bottom’.
He said: ‘This is not a move we take lightly.
‘We have let the Mayor’s office know in no uncertain terms how our brave and diligent colleagues deserve better.
‘The atmosphere amongst Metropolitan Police officers is horrendous – it’s rock bottom. Officers in London feel saddened and angry that the Commissioner Cressida Dick has been pushed out in the way she has. She was reforming. She was changing. The culture is changing. We are deeply disappointed with the actions of the Mayor.
‘The hard work of our colleagues – and public trust in our colleagues – is being undermined by politicians. And by the Mayor of London in particular. The continuing scaremongering, sniping and sweeping statements are causing disaffection with the public… not the thousands and thousands of hard-working officers who are out there keeping people safe.’
He added: ‘The Federation will continue to speak up for these courageous colleagues. They are being forgotten about by our elected Mayor. Enough is enough. Officers have no faith in Sadiq Khan.’
Government sources said the Home Office was keen to work with Mr Khan to appoint the best candidate as soon as possible.
‘The Home Secretary is required by the legislation to take the Mayor’s views into account, and she will,’ a source said.
‘The view is that we simply want the best cop in this job.’
Rules changes in 2014 allow ministers to appoint a foreign police officer to the commissioner role and the job will be advertised internationally, with the Home Office expected to approach the embassies of the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia within days.
However, the most likely scenario is that the new commissioner will be British, sources have said.
Those who receive Partygate questionnaires from the police are given seven days to respond.
There are reports Mr Johnson will use call logs and his diary to show how he was at three leaving parties for only a brief period of time before carrying on with work.
And a source told The Times: ‘Saying goodbye to staff is part of working life.’
The Metropolitan Police has begun sending forms to up to 50 people believed to have attended gatherings in Whitehall during lockdown, including the Prime Minister and reportedly his wife Carrie Johnson.
The move means Mr Johnson will have to provide a credible reason as to why he was at events held during coronavirus restrictions or face a fine.
Mr Johnson is believed to have attended as many as six of the parties being investigating by the Metropolitan Police.
One such party was allegedly organised by friends of Carrie Johnson in the official Downing Street residence on November 13, 2020 – although she has denied the claims.
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