Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Sadiq Khan calls for probe as video shows police tasering British rapper's dad

SADIQ KHAN has called for an investigation after British rapper Wretch 32 posted a video of police using a taser stun gun against his father, after days of anti-racism protests.

The footage from a police body camera shows 62-year-old Millard Scott falling down the stairs after being tasered during a raid at his north London home in April.


The London mayor said he had asked for an "urgent explanation of this distressing incident" and called for the Independent Office for Police Conduct to investigate.

"It's absolutely vital that our police service retains the trust of the communities it serves," he tweeted.

The video was posted online by musician Wretch 32, real name Jermaine Scott Sinclair, who had a number one hit with "Don't Go" and has collaborated with Ed Sheeran.

"This is how the police think they can treat a 62-year-old black man in Tottenham but this 1 happens to be my dad #Nojusticenopeace," he tweeted.

"I've grown up in a household with a dad and uncle and I've watched them fight against police brutality," the rapper told ITV.

"I'm 35 now and I have to have the same conversation with my children that my father and grandfather had with me.

"That means there's no progression."

A Met Police spokesman said officers had gone to the house as part of "a long-running operation to tackle drugs supply linked to serious violence".

"As officers entered the premises, a man came downstairs and started moving towards an officer suddenly," he said.

"He was ordered to remain where he was but continued towards officers who, after several warnings, deployed a Taser.

"The man was not arrested, but was assessed by the London Ambulance Service at the scene. He did not require further medical treatment."

The force had reviewed the case, and found "no indication of misconduct".

The incident, however, highlights the distrust between the force and many communities. And it comes at time when Britain has been rocked by days of anti-racism protests, some of them violent, sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in US police custody.

'A long way to go'

In a rare personal intervention, Britain's most senior ethnic minority police officer, Met assistant commissioner Neil Basu, expressed his own horror at Floyd's death.

He acknowledged the anger at discrimination in Britain, saying: "We need to listen to our communities, and our people, and focus on what we in the UK can do better."

Basu said he hoped Floyd's death would be a "moment for change" for US police, just as the 1993 racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence was in Britain.

A 1999 review into the case found British police were "institutionally racist".

Basu said there had been "real" progress since then but "we must confront the fact that with many of our communities -- especially the black community -- we still have a long way to go".

Lawrence's father Neville, who spent years fighting for justice, said the reforms needed have "fallen way, way short".

"Some people still think the police are not there for them," he told The Guardian.

Wretch 32's video shows officers entering the home and shouting "Police officer with a taser, stay where you are!" before a man falls apparently unconscious down the stairs.

In a statement, the Met said officers visited the home on April 21 to "carry out arrest enquiries as part of a long-running operation to tackle drugs supply linked to serious violence".

"As officers entered the premises, a man came downstairs and started moving towards an officer suddenly," the statement said.

"He was ordered to remain where he was but continued towards officers who, after several warnings, deployed a Taser."

Police said ambulance staff were called and the tasered man did not require further medical treatment.

"The incident, including body-worn footage, has been reviewed by the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards and no indication of misconduct has been identified," it said.

Two people were later arrested and charged.

More For You

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

TWO brothers accused of assaulting a man inside a Starbucks and later attacking police officers at Manchester Airport are standing trial, with the prosecution arguing they used "unlawful and extreme violence".

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his older brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, both from Rochdale, are said to have acted aggressively on July 23 last year while at the airport to pick up their mother, who had arrived on a flight from Qatar.

Keep ReadingShow less
Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less