PC Philip Neilson was dismissed without notice after undercover footage showed him boasting about harming a child detainee and making shocking comments about Muslims and immigrants
A Metropolitan Police officer has been sacked without notice after being exposed on BBC Panorama making racist and violent remarks, including claims he used “pressure points” to hurt a vulnerable child detainee.
PC Philip Neilson, who was based at Charing Cross Police Station, appeared before an accelerated misconduct hearing chaired by Commander Jason Prins. He was found to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour for Authority, Respect and Courtesy, Discreditable Conduct, and Equality and Diversity.
The hearing was told that footage broadcast by Panorama on 1 October 2025 captured Neilson engaging in shocking conversations both outside the station and in a pub, where he used racist language and boasted about using physical techniques to inflict pain on a child in his custody.
In one exchange, he described how he “knew all the pressure points” from previous work as a sports masseur and used them on a youth being transported from hospital to custody, saying the child “deserved it”. He laughed as he told colleagues how he alternated between the detainee’s legs “every 20 seconds”.
Further footage showed him making deeply offensive and discriminatory comments about people from “the Middle East”, “Somalians”, “Islamics” and “Muslims”. Discussing another detainee who had overstayed his visa, Neilson was recorded saying: “Either put a bullet through his head or deport him,” adding: “The ones that rape women, you’d do the cock and let them bleed out.”
Neilson admitted using the words but insisted they were “bravado” or made under the influence of alcohol. The panel rejected that defence, ruling that the comments were “abhorrent” and had caused “significant harm to public confidence in policing”.
Commander Prins said the conduct was “a disgrace” and had “significantly undermined public confidence in the Metropolitan Police Service”. He found the behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and said nothing short of dismissal without notice was justified.
Neilson will now be added to the College of Policing’s barred list, preventing him from ever working in policing again.
Metropolitan Police Service
- Stats since 1st January 2022
-
837 Misconduct Hearings
89% held in public
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS / "the Met") is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in Greater London, excluding the square mile of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police.
