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London Fire Brigade is ‘institutionally misogynist and racist’, damning review finds

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1 year ago

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The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is “institutionally misogynist and racist” with a “toxic culture that allows bullying and abuse”, an independent review has found.

One black firefighter had a noose put above his locker while a female firefighter said she advised female friends not to let male firefighters in the house to check smoke alarms because they “go through women’s drawers looking for underwear and sex toys”.

She said the threshold for bullying is so high “you would have to gouge someone’s eyes out to get sacked”, adding: “Everything else is seen as banter.”

In another incident, a Muslim had bacon and sausages put in his coat pockets and a terrorist hotline sign posted on his locker.

Read more: ‘Toxic culture’ of London Fire Brigade revealed

Nazir Afzal, the author of the review and a former chief crown prosecutor for the North West, said he and his team “found dangerous levels of ingrained prejudice against women and the barriers faced by people of colour spoke for themselves”.

People from ethnically diverse backgrounds were more likely to be subject to disciplinary action, less likely to be promoted and largely unrepresented at senior levels, and also frequently racially abused.

There was also “clear evidence of racism, misogyny and bullying, which made it hard for many firefighters to do their job and forced others out of the Brigade”.

In his conclusion, Mr Afzal said: “My review found evidence that supports a finding that LFB is institutionally misogynist and racist.

“We found dangerous levels of ingrained prejudice against women and the barriers faced by people of colour spoke for themselves.

“Not only were they more likely to be subject to disciplinary action, less likely to be promoted and largely unrepresented at senior levels, but they were also frequently the target of racist abuse.

“We also saw examples of how this was driving some people of colour out of the brigade and there was evidence that talented people, committed to public service, were being lost as a result.”

Love Island depiction of firefighters reinforce persistent truth

It wasn’t so long ago that contestants – only males, mind – in the hugely popular reality TV show Love Island had to dress as firemen, strip off and rescue a cat from a tree to impress their female partner.

The challenge, naturally, was called Hot Stuff.

Such cultural references, says the report, simply reinforce a persistent truth that the modern fire service still suffers from an image of the muscle-bound, burly firefighter.

In the same year, it points out, there was much angry male response to the change in the service’s language from ‘fireman’ to ‘firefighter’.

The LFB’s first female commissioner Dany Cotton told the report’s researchers that for her passionate investment in the #Firefightingsexism campaign only five years ago she received death threats and demands that she be sacked.

The evidence of racism within London’s fire service is just as damning, so too attitudes towards gay firefighters and many accounts of bullying.

Like the Metropolitan Police, the LFB needs a huge cultural shift that won’t be achieved quickly.

If there is one thing that separates the issues afflicting the capital’s police and fire services it’s this: the internal problems in the LFB do not spill over into firefighters’ interaction with the public as they sometimes have with the Met Police’s officers.

A black firefighter told researchers: “It’s like someone pulls a switch. They change when they’re on the fireground. It’s like they remember why they’re firefighters.”

Report commissioned after firefighter’s suicide

Mr Afzal said he wished to draw an important distinction with similar issues experienced by the Metropolitan Police, which was put “on notice” earlier this year after evidence emerged of sexist, racist and homophobic behaviour among officers.

“Where there has been flagrant examples of police officers misusing power and allowing prejudice to shape their actions, we did not find the same level of operational bigotry,” he said.

The report said the disadvantage and discrimination affecting staff did not translate into its operations or affect the way it prevents and responds to incidents.

Over 10 months, Mr Nazir and his team heard the experiences of more than 2,000 current and former staff and the public, including members of the community affected by the Grenfell fire.

The report, which makes 23 recommendations, was established after the suicide of firefighter Jaden Francois-Esprit. His family were concerned he had been bullied because of his race, the report said.

‘Abhorrent’

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the review “must be nothing short of a watershed moment”.

He said for LFB to be trusted to protect all Londoners it must be a workplace free from discrimination, unfairness and inequality, where people of all backgrounds can thrive.

He said: “The details published today of institutional misogyny, racism and discrimination are abhorrent.

“Londoners, including firefighters and other staff, have been let down by those who should have supported them have every right to be angry, as I am.

“I fully supported the fire commissioner, Andy Roe, in commissioning this review and we both agree that all of its recommendations and findings must be acted upon with urgency and conviction to rebuild public trust and the confidence of LFB staff and firefighters who have been failed for far too long.”

‘A very sobering day’

London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said: “Today is a very sobering day. There is no place for discrimination, harassment and bullying in the Brigade and from today it will be completely clear to all staff what behaviour isn’t acceptable and what the consequences will be.

“I am deeply sorry for the harm that has been caused. I will be fully accountable for improving our culture.”

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