Six former Metropolitan police officers including one who went on to be employed by the Home Office have been charged with sending grossly offensive and racist messages in a WhatsApp group. The six have been charged with offences under the Communications Act 2003 and will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday 7 September. The charges follow publication of a BBC News report in October 2022, when one of the six was working for the Home Office. The department said after the charges were announced that Rob Lewis, who was working for Border Force, had been sacked. It is alleged all six were in a WhatsApp group and the messages that led to the criminal charges were sent and received between August 2018 and September 2022, after their service in the Met had ended, the force said. All six served in the Met’s parliamentary and diplomatic command during their time with the force. The latest they were working for the Met was 2015. The Met said: “As a result of the investigation, it was established that from August 2018 until September 2022 inappropriate communications were shared within a closed WhatsApp group. “The six men charged were not serving at any point during their participation in the group. They served in various parts of the Met throughout their careers but all spent time in the diplomatic protection group, now known as the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command.” The six former Met officers who have been charged with sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages are: Peter Booth, 66, who retired from the Met in April 2001. Robert Lewis, 62, who retired from the Met in May 2015. Anthony Elsom, 67, who retired from the Met in May 2012. Alan Hall, 65, who retired from the Met in June 2015. Michael Chadwell, 62, who retired from the Met in November 2015. Trevor Lewton, 65, who retired from the Met in August 2009. A report by BBC News led to the charges and the Met said an arrest was made hours after it was broadcast. The report detailed revelations by a whistleblower, himself a former Met officer. Cmdr James Harman, the head of the Met’s anti-corruption and abuse command, said: “As soon as we were made aware of these allegations we acted to launch an investigation. I am pleased that following the determined work of officers we have been able to secure these charges. “We are working relentlessly to rebuild the trust of the public, which has understandably been dented by a number of high-profile incidents and investigations in recent years which have involved officers or former officers. “The honest majority of Met officers are fully behind this work. They are tired of being let down by a minority in policing and they are aware of the damage poor behaviour can do to our relationship with the communities we serve.”