Met Police officer sacked after calling Jewish people 'dirty Zionists' in 'appalling' tweets

A Met Police officer has been dismissed for posting "appalling" tweets about Jewish people and non-Muslims, which were deemed gross misconduct. PC Ruby Begum admitted at a police misconduct hearing to using discriminatory language such as "dirty Zionists. Hell is waiting" while serving as a special constable.

The 29 year-old also acknowledged using the term "kuffar" for non-believers, a shortened version of Pakistani, and making controversial remarks about the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. Over 25,000 posts from 2013 to 2019 were linked to her Twitter handle @ruby_beee, the panel heard.

Despite Ms Begum's claim that her comments, which she accepted could be seen as discriminatory, should be considered simple misconduct meriting a final warning, the panel condemned her actions as "appalling", "derogatory", and "abusive". Chairwoman Evis Samupfonda stated: "(The posts) are derogatory and abusive, and also show a lack of tolerance for others who do not share the same characteristics as Ms Begum. It falls far below the standard of professional behaviour for police officers. Misconduct would not be far enough. (The tweets) are racist, discriminatory and intolerant."

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"The panel's decision is gross misconduct," said Ms Begum, who shot to fame in 2020 after a photograph of her confronting anti-lockdown demonstrators in London spread across the internet. However, her image was tarnished following a 2021 Mail On Sunday report which brought to light several offensive tweets regarding Jewish people that she had made, including: "Dirty Zionists. Hell is waiting" and "Zionists have no heart".

Speaking to the panel, Ms Begum acknowledged her past behaviour, admitting: "I was silly. It was almost 10 years ago and I've developed a lot through the police," reports the Mirror.

She added: "It looks bad on paper and I can see how immature I was ... I made a mistake which I'm sorry for." Nonetheless, the panel dismissed her justification based on immaturity, pointing out "she was an adult and a serving police officer". They noted that Ms Begum had completed two sessions of equality and diversity training, first in 2014 upon joining as a special constable, and again in 2016 when she became a full-time police constable.

Reflecting on this, Ms Samupfonda stated: "(Pc Begum) posted inappropriate comments after undertaking repeated training in equality and diversity. The last post was in 2019. There is little doubt she breached the standards of professional behaviour expected for police officers."

The panel stated: "And her conduct continued while a serving member of the Metropolitan Police. The panel is appalled by Pc Begum's behaviour. She has shown a lack of empathy for members of the public and her colleagues, and the tweets would undermine public confidence in the (Metropolitan Police)."

The panel then retired on Wednesday afternoon to deliberate on the hearing's outcome.