November 6, 2024

Dawn Butler: Police pulled me over because I’m black

Dawn Butler #DawnButler

The Labour MP Dawn Butler has accused police officers of racially profiling her after she and a friend were stopped as they drove through London.

Ms Butler, the former shadow ministers for equalities, said yesterday that Scotland Yard was systemically racist and questioned the justification used by officers for the stop. She and a friend, who are both black, were driving through Hackney, east London, when they were pulled over.

Ms Butler, 50, recorded the incident, in which police said they were carrying out proactive patrols to combat gang crime. She later accused them of “arrogance” for asking whether she lived in London and where she was going.

Ms Butler was told by white officers that they could not see what was in the