A hijab-wearing police officer who was praised as a “role model” for wielding a baton against anti-lockdown protesters during the coronavirus era will face a misconduct hearing this month for “offensive comments” online, and for allegedly having contact with a “female Jihadi living inside the Islamic State caliphate”.
29-year-old Bangladeshi heritage police constable Ruby Begum, a member of the Metropolitan Police’s Territorial Support Group — the ‘riot squad’ of specialist public order officers — will face a three-day misconduct hearing for allegedly breaching professional standards later this month. The October 21st-23rd hearing will consider claims Begum has breached discreditable conduct and integrity rules over allegations including that she posted “discriminatory and/or offensive comments on her Twitter account”.
Also up for consideration is whether the previously fêted officer deceived the vetting process when she joined the police in 2016.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that Begum allegedly “failed to disclose her association with a female Jihadi living inside the Islamic State caliphate in Syria to the Vetting Unit”, and that she also failed to disclose “her alleged interest in the teachings of extremist preachers”.
The London Standard noted Begum had previously “been “hailed as a role model after footage of her bravely confronting anti-lockdown protesters while wearing her hijab went viral on social media during the pandemic”, that she had been placed on restricted duties after her possible involvement with a jihadist became known in 2021. She was subsequently suspended form duties altogether in 2022.
The 2021 Daily Mail report which first lifted the lid on police constable Begum’s activity reproduced several of the questionable messages which will be in contention in this month’s hearing. Israel is a frequent subject for remark, including comments about ‘dirty zionists’, that ‘hell is awaiting’, that “I can’t wait for the day they get severely punished” and “They’ll get what’s coming to them subhanallah”.
Begum allegedly frequently used the term “kuffar” to describe non-Muslims, making clear she considered them unclean, for instance saying she wouldn’t drink from a cup that had been touched by “kuffar lips”. Other messages touched on the September 11th terrorist attacks and the Holocaust. While many messages are from before her time as a police officer, it is stated she continued tweeting about 9/11 even after years as a police constable, and the Metropolitan Police said they’d be considering Twitter posts made up to 2019 in their hearing.
On the other hand, the report stated Begum also on occasion tweeted out her disapproval of ISIS behaviour, such as the rape of Yazidi girls, and said she’d attended a lecture on why Muslims shouldn’t support the Islamic State.
The episode is potentially very embarrassing for London’s Metropolitan Police, not only for potentially having to dismiss an officer once held up as an inspiration to others, but also for being revealed as having failed to detect a potential problem officer during the recruitment phase. It is one of many such embarrassments recently, including a number of sex offenders within its ranks.
Begum first came to public attention during police clashes with anti-lockdown protesters in September 2020, when she was recorded wielding a baton against activists. A contemporary report in The Metro newspaper was typical of the sentiment expressed about the then unidentified Begum then, which decried online comments about her hijab-wearing and praised her in glowing terms.
The report cited revealed that police were investigating negative comments online, having quoted some who questioned whether the police officer might have an “agenda”. A senior police officer said of the protest and the response: “The negative comments about her faith are disgraceful and completely unacceptable. Quite rightly, any identified offences will be investigated by officers reviewing this incident… I am deeply inspired to see one of our female Muslim officers wearing a Hijab. Her professionalism and desire to support her colleagues while being confronted with hateful comments is remarkable – we’re all extremely proud.”
The officer said: “For all the negative comments her faith attracted there will be many, many others inspired by her to consider a career in policing.”