London police 'bombard top officer with death threats'

The senior officer at the centre of the Scotland Yard race row is hiring a team of private security guards after receiving numerous death threats which he claims were made by serving Metropolitan Police officers.

Tarique Ghaffur, the country's most senior Asian policeman, is considering taking leave of absence after receiving a 'barrage' of threats following his claim for racial discrimination against Sir Ian Blair, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, and other senior officers.

London law firm Dean and Dean, who are representing Ghaffur, said they were hiring private bodyguards to protect the 53-year-old and his family because of the ferocity of feeling directed at him by a hard core of Met officers. Among the scores of death threats Ghaffur has received, a significant proportion are said to have come from 'internal' sources, inside Scotland Yard.

The senior policeman suing the Metropolitan police for racial discrimination has said he fears for his safety after being told to “shut up” and get on with his job by a higher-ranking colleague.

In the latest salvo of an increasingly ugly public spat at the top of Britain’s largest police force, Tarique Ghaffur, an assistant commissioner, said he also feared harm to his family and his supporters inside the force.

Ghaffur was publicly rebuked last week by Sir Paul Stephenson, the Met’s deputy commissioner, after he aired his criticism of Sir Ian Blair, the commissioner, in a televised press conference.

In a statement to The Sunday Times, Ghaffur said: “In light of the tone of Sir Paul Stephenson’s statement, I am now extremely concerned for my personal safety and those close to me including family and supporters alike.”