Black officer in legal fight

A senior black officer is taking legal action against the Metropolitan Police after being accused of dishonesty.

Chief Inspector Leroy Logan, 44, who recently received the MBE from the Queen and is chairman of the National Black Police Association's London branch, is accusing the force of racial discrimination.

He instructed solicitors after being accused by anti-corruption officers of fiddling his expenses by £80. The allegations were made in June, but he has not been instructed what charges he faces after five months of investigation and a police interview.

At the same time black officers have launched a scathing attack on London's new Metropolitan Police Authority about the way it has handled complaints made seven months ago against three senior officers, including Deputy Commissioner Ian Blair.

National leaders of the Black Police Association accuse the MPA of dragging its heels over an inquiry into the Met's investigation of Superintendent Ali Dizaei, an Iranian-born officer suspended 10 months ago amid major corruption claims. Despite a string of allegations having been made against him, many of them - including claims of drug abuse and the use of prostitutes - have been dropped and he has yet to be notified of any serious pending criminal charges. The NBPA insists he has been victimised. Neither Mr Logan or Mr Dizaei would comment today. However, NBPA chairman Ravi Chand said both issues deeply concern the Met's black officers.

"We are not surprised that Leroy Logan has chosen to challenge the Met in this way, having been unable to get justice internally," said Mr Chand.

"We have no confidence in the MPA. If we cannot get a proper investigation into the conduct of senior officers in the Met, what chance does an ordinary member of the public have?"

The two cases are directly linked. Mr Logan was accused of the expenses fraud by officers who gained access to the NBPA's accounts during their investigation into Mr Dizaei, the association's legal adviser. Mr Dizaei was arrested in June for one offence of allegedly overclaiming his NBPA expenses by £300 while organising a flight to Los Angeles. Recently he was also accused, according to sources, of overclaiming mileage on NBPA business. He denies all claims of wrongdoing.

Mr Logan, meanwhile, has not been suspended and continues his duties in Westminster borough, co- ordinating community policing. The allegation against him concerns a hotel room that was booked and paid for by the National Black Police Association.

Mr Logan is said to have presented the bill for approximately £80 with his expenses some months later. As soon as this was pointed out to Mr Logan in June, he paid back the amount, but was served with a regulation 9 misconduct notice for what the Met called at the time "allegedly submitting a false expense claim".

The controversies are damaging to force morale at a time when Met Commissioner Sir John Stevens is under pressure to significantly lift ethnic minority recruitment. Delegates at the NBPA annual conference, which starts in Manchester tomorrow will be told minority officers still get a raw deal.

A Met spokeswoman said the force is aware of Mr Logan's legal challenge. "We have received notification of an employment tribunal action being lodged by a chief inspector. The application alleges victimisation and racial discrimination."

However, a Metropolitan Police Authority spokesman strongly refuted the NBPA's claims. "The MPA has taken all appropriate action to deal with this matter with due speed, openness and impartiality. Any hold-up that has arisen in the prompt handling of this matter has been caused by the three and a half months it took the NBPA to respond to our request on 17 June for further details to allow us to carry out preliminary inquiries."

He said a MPA sub-group is due to meet tomorrow to continue the investigation.