Two Metropolitan police officers allegedly involved in a chat group that included Wayne Couzens that swapped alleged misogynistic and racist messages have been left on duty after being placed under criminal investigation, the Guardian has learned. The two Met officers are said to have been part of a WhatsApp group involving constables from three forces that is under investigation after Couzens’s phone was seized following his arrest for the murder of Sarah Everard in March. The Met’s decision contrasts with the actions of the other forces, which decided to suspend their officers – who faced less serious allegations – removing them from their workplaces while the investigation continues. Two former police chiefs criticised the decision, which has emerged as the Met reels from revelations about how Couzens abused his position to abduct and kill Everard. Sue Fish, a former chief constable of Nottinghamshire, said: “That beggars belief. It sends the most appalling message. That clearly demonstrates the Met does not get it … does not get the seriousness.” The Met said its officers, who are under investigation, had been placed on restricted duties. In all, two constables and a former officer with the Met are under criminal investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct over the message group. Another Met officer is under investigation for potential disciplinary and gross misconduct offences, as are an officer with the Norfolk force and one with the Civil Nuclear constabulary, which Couzens served with until he transferred to the Met in 2018. Messages on the WhatsApp group involving police officers included alleged offensive and abusive terms about women. Messages recovered so far by investigators began in March 2019, two years before Couzens murdered Everard. Brian Paddick, a former Met deputy assistant commissioner and now the Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesperson in the House of Lords, said his former force risked appearing not to take the issues seriously enough. “If I were still in the Met, I would be looking for every opportunity to reassure women in particular that we take this very seriously, and that does not appear to be the message the Met is sending at the moment,” he said. A Norfolk police spokesperson said: “We’re fully cooperating with the Independent Office for Police Conduct in the course of their investigation. We can confirm the officer has been suspended from duty while the allegations are under investigation.” The Civil Nuclear constabulary (CNC) confirmed that one of its officers was subject to an IOPC investigation in relation to being part of the group. “The officer in question was suspended from duty in August as soon as we were informed of the IOPC investigation. The CNC took the decision that as these allegations related to the conduct of this officer, it was appropriate to suspend him from duty. There is no distinction between a criminal investigation or one centred solely on conduct, each case is dealt with on a subjective case-by-case basis.” The IOPC said of its investigation: “They are being investigated for gross misconduct for allegedly sending messages of a discriminatory and/or inappropriate nature, and for allegedly failing to challenge the messages sent by the others. “Two of the MPS [Met] officers and the former MPS officer have also been notified that they are being criminally investigated for improper use of the public electronic communications network under section 127 of the Communications Act.” Fish said the Met had to do more to rebuild trust with the public, which she said had been “shattered”. The CNC said it had found no evidence that Couzens was nicknamed “the rapist” by colleagues in the force. A spokesperson said: “The CNC has no record of any concerns about his conduct raised by colleagues and no recorded complaints or allegations made against him. To date I don’t believe either the CNC or the Met have been able to find any confirmation that this was indeed a name used to describe him by colleagues.”