Behind the Blue Line: My Fight Against Racism and Discrimination in the Met
Language: English
Published by Biteback Publishing, United Kingdom, London, 2018
- Softcover
- Used

Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United KingdomWorldofBooks
AbeBooks seller since March 16, 2007
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 3.20
Quantity: 4 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Detective Sergeant Gurpal Singh Virdi's exemplary career in the Metropolitan Police Service ended when he spoke out against racism within it: an issue it has long paid lip service to tackling. What came after is simply shocking. On Wednesday 15 April 1998 Virdi was arrested, had his home searched and was suspended on charges of sending racist hate mail to himself and other ethnic minority colleagues. Dismissed in disgrace, an employment tribunal found that he had been racially discriminated against. The Met was forced to give him an apology and compensation. He returned to service but soon discovered, having been passed over for promotion, that when you challenge an organisation like the Met, you are a marked man for life. Freshly retired and due to stand in local elections as a Labour councillor, Virdi was arrested again and accused of the most horrendous of crimes: sexually assaulting an underage prisoner nearly three decades before. When it came to court, it took just fifty minutes to acquit the former police man of all charges, with the trial judge noting the likelihood of a conspiracy behind the case. But the damage had been done. For seventeen years the Met had pursued a vendetta against one blameless individual who dared to speak out against injustices, and it had driven him and his family to the edge of the abyss. This is the deeply shocking story of how one of the biggest institutions in the country brought the entire apparatus of state to bear in a campaign to destroy the life of one of its own officers in an apparent act of revenge. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.…
Seller Inventory # GOR009002031
- Title
- Behind the Blue Line: My Fight Against Racism and Discrimination in the Met
- Author
- Gurpal Singh
- Publisher
- Biteback Publishing, United Kingdom, London
- Publication year
- 2018
- Condition
- Very Good
- Binding
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1785903217
- ISBN 13
- 9781785903212
- Item weight
- 567 grams
- Dimensions
- 163.0 x 240.0
On Wednesday 15 April 1998, Detective Sergeant Gurpal Singh Virdi was arrested and accused of sending racist hate mail to himself and ethnic minority colleagues. Dismissed from the Metropolitan Police Service, his reputation in ruins, Virdi took his case to an employment tribunal, which judged that he had been a victim of racial discrimination. Completely vindicated, Virdi was reinstated to the job he loved but his travails were far from over. Constantly overlooked for promotion, he realised that by challenging the Met he had effectively ended his career.
Following his retirement from the force and keen to serve his local community, Virdi decided to run for election as a Labour councillor but, prior to the election, he was arrested a second time. The allegations levelled against him were horrifying: he stood accused of sexually assaulting an underage prisoner nearly thirty years earlier. Yet, when the case went to trial, a jury took less than fifty minutes to clear Virdi of all charges, with the judge noting the likelihood of a conspiracy behind the case. But the damage had been done.
Behind the Blue Line is Virdi s deeply shocking account of how one of Britain s biggest institutions brought the apparatus of the state to bear in a campaign to destroy the life of one of its own officers.
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WorldofBooks
Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
AbeBooks seller since March 16, 2007
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