Tarique Ghaffur
Encyclopedia
Tarique Ghaffur, CBE
QPM
(icon; born 8 June 1958) is a former high-ranking British police officer in London
's Metropolitan Police Service
. His last post was that of Assistant Commissioner–Central Operations
.
, Uganda
to Muslim
Punjabi
parents hailing from modern-day Pakistan
in 1958, Ghaffur and his family emigrated to the United Kingdom
in 1972 after President Idi Amin
forcibly expelled most of the country's minority
South Asian population. Ghaffur's parents had previously emigrated from British India's Punjab region
to Uganda during the Partition of India
in 1947.
Tarique's family was taken to a resettlement camp in Staffordshire
.
Two years later, in 1974, Ghaffur joined the newly-formed Greater Manchester Police
, where he worked in uniform and as a CID
detective. One of only two police officers from a minority ethnic background out of a force of over 6,000, Ghaffur asserted that the desk sergeant on his first day with the police refused him admission to the station as he did not believe he was a police officer.
Ghaffur rose through the ranks at the GMP, reaching the rank of Superintendent
and transferring to Leicestershire Constabulary
in 1989. He was appointed Assistant Chief Constable in Lancashire Constabulary. After reaching the rank of Deputy Chief Constable at Lancashire, he transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service in 1999 as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner and in 2000 served as Borough Commander
of the City of Westminster
.
In 2001, he was promoted to Assistant Commissioner, and headed three of the Metropolitan Police's Operational Command Units: the Directorate of Performance, Review and Standards in 2001; the Specialist Crime Directorate
from November 2002; and Central Operations
from 2006.
He is currently dean of the London Community College of Education, a private college in London.
, he was not properly consulted over the proposed law involving 42-day detentions for terror suspects The MPS rejected the claim of racism and said it would "robustly challenge" Mr Ghaffur's claim at any employment tribunal.
In 2005 Tarique Ghaffur and Sir Ian Blair
were involved in Operation Finnean, the investigation into supermodel Kate Moss
's alleged possession and distribution of a Class A drug. It has been alleged that the operation was systematically sabotaged by officers eager to undermine Ghaffur and Blair's high profile stance on celebrity drug taking, and thereby erode their authority.
On 28 August 2008, Ghaffur held a press conference at which he accused the Metropolitan Police Commissioner
, Sir Ian Blair
, of racism and discrimination, and confirmed speculation that he would take proceedings against Sir Ian and the MPS at an employment tribunal. In the following days, Ghaffur claimed, he received death threats which he claims to believe come (in part) from within the MPS. As a consequence he says he considered a leave of absence, and his lawyers hired a firm of private bodyguard
s to secure his safety. Although he has disclosed them in the media, Ghaffur has not reported these death threats to the police, claiming that he has lost faith in the ability and willingness of the police to protect him.
On 25 November 2008, the Metropolitan Police Authority confirmed that Tarique Ghaffur had agreed an out-of-court settlement for £300,000 in his racial discrimination claim against Scotland Yard. Both parties agreed to a confidentiality clause and Ghaffur retired from the Metropolitan Police on 27 November 2008.
and graduated BA (Hons) in Public Administration and MA in Criminology.
Ghaffur was awarded the Queen's Police Medal
(QPM) in 2001 for Services to Policing and he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for Services to Policing in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours List.
Ghaffur was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from Manchester Metropolitan University on 16 July 2007, and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Leicester on 25 January 2008.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
QPM
Queen's Police Medal
The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...
(icon; born 8 June 1958) is a former high-ranking British police officer in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Metropolitan Police Service
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
. His last post was that of Assistant Commissioner–Central Operations
Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, usually just Assistant Commissioner , is the third highest rank in London's Metropolitan Police, ranking below Deputy Commissioner and above Deputy Assistant Commissioner. There are usually four officers in the rank...
.
Biography
Born in JinjaJinja, Uganda
Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
to Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Punjabi
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
parents hailing from modern-day Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in 1958, Ghaffur and his family emigrated to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1972 after President Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
forcibly expelled most of the country's minority
Expulsion of Asians in Uganda in 1972
On 4 August 1972, the then President of Uganda, Idi Amin, ordered the expulsion of his country's Indian minority, giving them 90 days to leave Uganda...
South Asian population. Ghaffur's parents had previously emigrated from British India's Punjab region
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
to Uganda during the Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
in 1947.
Tarique's family was taken to a resettlement camp in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
Two years later, in 1974, Ghaffur joined the newly-formed Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...
, where he worked in uniform and as a CID
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
detective. One of only two police officers from a minority ethnic background out of a force of over 6,000, Ghaffur asserted that the desk sergeant on his first day with the police refused him admission to the station as he did not believe he was a police officer.
Ghaffur rose through the ranks at the GMP, reaching the rank of Superintendent
Superintendent (police)
Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...
and transferring to Leicestershire Constabulary
Leicestershire Constabulary
Leicestershire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland in England. Its headquarters are at Enderby, Leicestershire.The current Chief Constable is Simon Cole.-History:...
in 1989. He was appointed Assistant Chief Constable in Lancashire Constabulary. After reaching the rank of Deputy Chief Constable at Lancashire, he transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service in 1999 as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner and in 2000 served as Borough Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
of the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
.
In 2001, he was promoted to Assistant Commissioner, and headed three of the Metropolitan Police's Operational Command Units: the Directorate of Performance, Review and Standards in 2001; the Specialist Crime Directorate
Specialist Crime Directorate
The Specialist Crime Directorate is one of the main branches of the London Metropolitan Police Service. It deals with a wide range of criminality from murder to organised crime. Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick is currently the head of the directorate...
from November 2002; and Central Operations
Central Operations
Central Operations is a major directorate of the London Metropolitan Police Service that provides operational support to the rest of the service...
from 2006.
He is currently dean of the London Community College of Education, a private college in London.
Controversies
The UK's highest-ranking Asian Muslim police officer, he often used his position to comment on issues of alleged racism in the police service, and on alleged discrimination against Muslims as a factor inciting radical Islam. In June 2008 he accused his own force of racism, claiming that, inter aliaInter Alia
-Track listing:# Inter Alia# Outfox'd # Righteous Badass # The Altogether feat. Bix, Apt, UNIVERSE ARM and Cal# The Day-to-Daily# Trouble Brewing # The Prestidigitator# The Force...
, he was not properly consulted over the proposed law involving 42-day detentions for terror suspects The MPS rejected the claim of racism and said it would "robustly challenge" Mr Ghaffur's claim at any employment tribunal.
In 2005 Tarique Ghaffur and Sir Ian Blair
Ian Blair
Ian Warwick Blair, Baron Blair of Boughton, QPM is a retired British Police officer who held the position of commissioner of police of the metropolis from 2005 to 2008 and was the highest ranking officer within the Metropolitan Police Service.On 2 October 2008 Blair announced that he would...
were involved in Operation Finnean, the investigation into supermodel Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
's alleged possession and distribution of a Class A drug. It has been alleged that the operation was systematically sabotaged by officers eager to undermine Ghaffur and Blair's high profile stance on celebrity drug taking, and thereby erode their authority.
On 28 August 2008, Ghaffur held a press conference at which he accused the Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...
, Sir Ian Blair
Ian Blair
Ian Warwick Blair, Baron Blair of Boughton, QPM is a retired British Police officer who held the position of commissioner of police of the metropolis from 2005 to 2008 and was the highest ranking officer within the Metropolitan Police Service.On 2 October 2008 Blair announced that he would...
, of racism and discrimination, and confirmed speculation that he would take proceedings against Sir Ian and the MPS at an employment tribunal. In the following days, Ghaffur claimed, he received death threats which he claims to believe come (in part) from within the MPS. As a consequence he says he considered a leave of absence, and his lawyers hired a firm of private bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
s to secure his safety. Although he has disclosed them in the media, Ghaffur has not reported these death threats to the police, claiming that he has lost faith in the ability and willingness of the police to protect him.
On 25 November 2008, the Metropolitan Police Authority confirmed that Tarique Ghaffur had agreed an out-of-court settlement for £300,000 in his racial discrimination claim against Scotland Yard. Both parties agreed to a confidentiality clause and Ghaffur retired from the Metropolitan Police on 27 November 2008.
Education
Ghaffur studied at Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
and graduated BA (Hons) in Public Administration and MA in Criminology.
Awards
Queen's Police Medal
The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...
(QPM) in 2001 for Services to Policing and he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for Services to Policing in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours List.
Ghaffur was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from Manchester Metropolitan University on 16 July 2007, and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Leicester on 25 January 2008.