When I came up with the idea to make a Radio 4 documentary about sexism in the police service I was inspired by cases such as Carol Howard, a firearms officer in the Metropolitan police, who was awarded £37,000 in aggravated damages last year having been targeted in a “malicious” and “vindictive” campaign of race and sex discrimination.
Then there was the shocking case of PC Barbara Lynford. From 2002 to 2005, she was the only woman in an all-male team of firearms officers at Gatwick airport. She said her boss was openly sexist, officers refused to sit next to her and made remarks about her breasts. They often read her private phone messages, and left pornography where they knew she could not fail to see it. In researching the programme Women in Blue, I spoke to Henrietta Hill QC, a leading lawyer in sexual discrimination cases, who represented Lynford. – READ MORE
