Wearing a Ku Klux Klan-styled hood, Pulling  acts out violence he would like to perpetrate on an Asian

Additional Reporting By Isabelle Humphries, IOL Correspondent

LONDON, October 23 (IslamOnline.net) - Five British police officers resigned and three more suspended Tuesday, October 22, after the broadcast of an undercover BBC investigation into police racism.

The Secret Policeman, an hour long documentary aired on prime time television Monday 21, showed police recruits expressing racist views to an undercover reporter whom they believed was a fellow recruit.

In one incident Rob Pulling of North Wales police dresses himself in a Ku Klux Klan-styled hood, used by the American white supremacist group, and acts out the violence he would like to perpetrate on an Asian.

The same officer also said Hitler "had the right idea but he went about it all the wrong way."

Another recruit is heard claiming that the murderers of Stephen Lawrence should be given immunity.

The expose is a serious setback for the image and community relations with the police, who were rocked by the accusation of institutional racism following their handling of Lawrence’s killing.

A further seven officer recruits were shown to have expressed extreme racist views.

The documentary triggered a wave of criticism and condemnation, especially from high-level officials and senior policemen.

"I have been a policeman for 41 years at the sharp end and I was absolutely astonished at that behavior," said Sir John Stevens, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, the most senior officer in the UK.

The Times quoted North Wales Police Acting Deputy Chief Constable, Clive Wolfendale, as saying he felt "physically sick" as a result of the comments made by the officers on the program.

"Pulling has shamed his colleagues, his uniform and his service. He is a disgrace," he said.

Ray Powell, president of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), had urged a public inquiry into the issue, added the daily.

"We demand a public inquiry into the practice that allowed these officers to be recruited and complete 15 weeks of training. The officers shown should be fast-tracked through the disciplinary procedure and dismissed immediately.

"Our concerns are how many racist officers have completed training and are out on the streets dealing with the public and manipulating figures in order to stop members of the minority community."

The undercover investigation has led television news in the UK this week, reflecting the interest and horror of the general public in this case.

Many were unsurprised; "while it was appalling and shocking and urgent, the worst thing about The Secret Policeman was that its revelations weren’t at all surprising," wrote The Guardian Tuesday.

Others, however, were shocked by the extent of the racism in the force.

As the Channel 4 (leading UK terrestrial TV channel) news presenter asked, if 8 officers have been suspended from one training course, how many racist officers are there in the whole country?

Katy, 26, is a white resident of a London area with a significant ethnic minority population.

In an interview with IOL, she expressed her "utter shock and revulsion" at the attitude of the recruits concerned.

"The hatred they evidenced – where did it come from?" she asked.

As a human resources manager in a large London company, she is involved in commercial recruitment and sees immense difficulties in ruling out racism in the early stages of police recruitment.

Two months ago Mark Daly, the BBC reporter who went undercover as a trainee officer with Greater Manchester Police for seven months, was arrested for the covert method he used to gather his information.

At the time, August 15, Home Secretary David Blunkett and police had expressed anger at the tactics used by the BBC.

However in the media outcry over the results of the documentary, it seems that the harassment of the reporter has been overshadowed by police concerns over the bad publicity of his findings.

The Home Secretary admitted that the program revealed a need for a rethink and design of police training and recruitment.