Exclusive | Met Police admits officers helped Windrush exhibition attacker amid catalogue of failings
An official report confirmed officers attempted to remove the paint, admitting the action was “ill-advised”
The Metropolitan Police has admitted that its officers helped a vandal clean up damage after he destroyed a Windrush memorial exhibition, Black Current News can reveal.
The admission follows a formal complaint and an internal review by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS), which identified multiple failings in the police response to the July attack on the Windrush Untold Stories exhibition in Windrush Square, Brixton, South London.
The outdoor display, featuring portraits of people who arrived in the UK from the Caribbean in the postwar period, was defaced in the early hours of 3 July.
The DPS Complaint Outcome Report concluded that the initial police response “was not acceptable” and fell short of expected standards, identifying a series of operational and procedural failings.
The report identified a range of failings, including officers attempting to clean the vandalised portraits, inadequate documentation of key decisions such as the rationale for not arresting the suspect at the scene, incomplete use of body-worn video, failures to escalate the incident to supervisors promptly and missed opportunities for early community engagement and victim support.
However, the exhibition’s organiser, who lodged a complaint on 17 July 2025, said the findings did not go far enough, warning that the report understated the seriousness of the incident and its impact on the community.
Officers helped attacker clean portraits
During the attacks, a man splashed paint across 20 images and gouged the eyes of those depicted, causing irreparable damage.
Witnesses later said police officers assisted the suspect in attempting to clean the portraits, including fetching water from a nearby McDonald’s.
The DPS report confirmed that officers attempted to remove the paint and accepted that this action was “ill-advised”, failing to take account of the deeper damage to the images and the vandalism’s impact on the community.
It said officers’ actions were influenced by concerns about the suspect’s vulnerability, noting that the man was a young Black male who appeared to be experiencing mental health difficulties.
Despite being detained at the scene, the suspect was not arrested until two days later, a decision the Met later acknowledged also contributed to worries within the local community.
Police said officers concluded at the time that the legal necessity threshold for arrest had not been met, citing the suspect’s mental health, cooperation and lack of flight risk.
While the Met accepted that the service provided by officers was not acceptable, it rejected claims that the investigation lacked urgency or that its public statements were contradictory.
The report also maintained that there was insufficient evidence to conclude the vandalism was racially motivated. The Crown Prosecution Service ultimately decided to take no further action.
All three attending officers will now undergo a process of “learning through reflection”, rather than facing misconduct proceedings.
The same exhibition was vandalised again on 18 July 2025 and the force said it didn’t believe the two incidents were linked.
Organiser criticises police response
Ros Griffiths, chair of Friends of Windrush Square and organiser of the Windrush Untold Stories exhibition, described the Met’s response as “incomplete” and said several statements in the report risked further damaging trust.
“The shortcomings in this report are deeply alarming,” Ms Griffiths said.
“Communities like ours deserve truth, rigour and accountability, not superficial assessments that undermine public confidence.”
Key outstanding concerns include an inadequate explanation of why body-worn cameras were not properly used and the fact that individuals featured in the exhibition were not approached for statements or offered support.
The Met Police said they made “extensive” efforts to contact the individuals but “acknowledge that individuals depicted in the artwork were not contacted or offered support”.
“We are reviewing our victim engagement protocols to ensure symbolic and community victims are recognised and consulted,” the report reads.
Ms Griffiths said she is seeking an independent review of the complaint outcome through the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), arguing that the issues raised point to wider, systemic problems in police engagement with Black communities.
“This is not simply about one complaint. It speaks to wider, systemic issues that repeatedly hinder honest engagement between police services and the communities they are meant to serve.”
When approached by Black Current News for comment, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “We recognise the concern and distress this incident, along with two further incidents of vandalism at Windrush Square, has caused the local community.
“We are in regular contact with the exhibition organisers and community leaders to provide support and reassurance.
“We’re also aware that some concerns have been raised about our handling of the initial investigation into these incidents. We remain open to an ongoing dialogue with those who have raised concerns.”
In October, the Windrush Untold Stories exhibition was moved from Windrush Square to the Home Office in Westminster.