First Met officer charged after BBC Panorama's Charing Cross investigation

A Metropolitan Police sergeant has been charged with perverting the course of justice — the first prosecution arising from the BBC Panorama undercover investigation into misconduct at London’s Charing Cross police station.

Police Sergeant Sadiq Al-Hasani, 37, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 30 September, following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The charge relates to an incident on 2 October 2025, when the sergeant allegedly approached a junior officer — a potential key witness in the wider Charing Cross investigation — with the intention of obstructing or interfering with the investigation.

The IOPC said its investigation began after a mandatory conduct referral from the Met on 3 October. At the conclusion of its investigation in June, the watchdog referred a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charge.

The Met said Al-Hasani, who was attached to the Central West Command Unit, was arrested on 2 October 2025 and remains suspended from duty.

The prosecution follows the broadcast in October 2025 of BBC Panorama’s “Undercover in the Police”, in which an undercover reporter spent seven months as a detention officer at Charing Cross and exposed misogyny, racism and violence among officers at the station.

Sources

• Independent Office for Police Conduct — “Charing Cross investigation - officer charged with perverting the course of justice” (official statement)
• Metropolitan Police newsroom — “Met officer charged as part of Charing Cross investigation” (official statement)
• BBC News — “Met Police officer charged over Charing Cross investigation”, 29 September 2026