'I was robbed of Met career'

Gurpal Virdi is keeping busy. He works for a charity in west London helping the young and the elderly. But it is scant consolation for the loss of his police career. He handed back his Met uniform on being suspended in 1998. His case has sent shockwaves through a force which pledged to embrace anti-racism - for its employees and the public it serves.

Senior officers now hope that by resolving Mr Virdi's second tribunal case - which relates to his dismissal - they can draw a line under this hugely damaging affair. But after two years of anguish, Mr Virdi said neither he nor his wife Sathat are prepared to let that happen. "When they accused me, I knocked on all the doors I could, pleading with them to believe me when I said they had got it wrong. But they closed the doors on us. We're doing the same to them."

"When I was sacked, they made sure everyone knew. It was all over the Six O'clock News. I believe I lost both of my parents as a consequence of what they did. My mother passed away last September and my father in April. The worry and stress on them was incredible. The Met delayed and delayed and my parents didn't live to see me cleared. That's why I have no time for the senior officers in the Met."

For a while, Mr Virdi, 41, fulfilled the aspirations of all who want to see minorities succeed in the force. He worked as a Pc in Putney and Battersea and spent time based at Scotland Yard. As a sergeant at Ealing division, he commanded teams of Pcs. Many had no problem serving under him. But others seemed uncomfortable. "I was always taking issues up," he said. "If there was injustice, involving black or white officers, I would stand up to it. I certainly wouldn't stand for racism."

On 24 December 1997 and 18 January 1998 hate mail purporting to come from the National Front was sent to minority officers in the sector, including Mr Virdi himself.

The tribunal heard that Mr Virdi was interviewed as a victim but quickly became the prime suspect following claims that he wrote the racist letters after fraudulently logging on to the computer system.

He first realised he was in the frame on a trip to the dentist with his children when, to his horror, he discovered he was being followed. "I rang the Chief Superintendent to ask what was going on and he said I was being paranoid. But when I confronted one of the officers following us, I was arrested."

At his home near Heathrow airport, a squad of specialist Met officers were searching his house. It was the kind of search normally reserved for terrorist suspects. It lasted seven hours. Though he protested his innocence, and suggested other named officers who could have been responsible, the tribunal heard that no other suspect was seriously considered.

Mr Virdi's explanation for that is damning. "The Stephen Lawrence inquiry report was due out and I believe I was used to deflect the criticism the force was receiving. They were pleased to hold an ethnic officer responsible because it allowed them to say 'look racism exists within their own kind'."

A striking parallel between the Virdi case and the flawed investigation which followed the murder of Stephen Lawrence was the poor level of supervision by senior officers. In the Virdi case, strategic control rested with David Gilbertson, a Commander. Noting the glaring errors in the case, the tribunal said he became involved halfway through but "did not appear to have conducted any independent review of the evidence to date". It said Mr Gilbertson accepted advice from his Chief Superintendent "without querying it". He deployed the specialist search team and accepted a press strategy designed to ensure that Mr Virdi's ethnicity became known to the public.

The tribunal said Mr Gilbertson did not appear to fully understand that suspects "still have human rights". He has since been seconded to Her Majesty's Police Inspectorate. A spokesman for the inspectorate said it would be inappropriate to comment.

Deputy commissioner Ian Blair hopes the case will be a turning point. The Met and the Greater London Authority's new police authority have launched a joint investigation into what occurred. But Mr Virdi remains sceptical. He complains that too many officers criticised in his case have thrived while his fortunes have dwindled. He also claims that his attempts to get a new job have all been torpedoed by poor references from the Met.

The father of two is re-adjusting slowly to civilian life. But he feels he deserved better. "I never dishonoured my uniform. If I had given it up that would be different. But for them to snatch it away from me was just wrong."