London - A damaging race row at the top of Scotland Yard escalated Tuesday with the suspension of Tarique Ghaffur, the third-in command at London's Metropolitan police force and Britain's most senior Muslim police officer. Scotland Yard chief Ian Blair, who is himself under fire for alleged corruption and the mistaken "terrorist" shooting of Brazilian Charles de Menezes in 2005, said Ghaffur's "temporary suspension" was a consequence of the officer's "media campaign" against the force.
The decision brought a storm of protest from groups representing ethnic police officers, which said Ghaffur was being "bullied" and victimised."
Ghaffur, a Ugandan Asian who joined Britain's police service at 16 and is Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (Met), has accused the force of racial discrimination and is taking his case to an industrial tribunal.
Last month Ghaffur, 50, held a press conference in London detailing allegations of race, religious and age discrimination against his superiors.
Ghaffur singled out Blair who, he said, had sidelined him from his role as the chief officer in charge of London's 2012 Olympic Games. Last week, Ghaffur's lawyers claimed their client had received death threats and was under the protection of a private security service.
Paul Stephenson, the deputy police commissioner, told Ghaffur publicly to "shut up" and get on with his job, which in turn brought accusations of "racial hatred" from Ghaffur.
Ghaffur, who started his police career in Manchester, northern Britain, in the late 1970s, joined Scotland Yard in 1999, after making his mark in the fight against drug crime in black communities and tackling race issues head-on.
He was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004, being appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his achievements. "It is both an honour and a privilege to receive the CBE," he said at the time.
But when he went public with his allegations last month, Ghaffur said he had suffered "years of being humiliated, undermined and subjugated" by the force.
Blair, 52, said Tuesday that the officer's "temporary suspension" had "nothing to do" with the employment tribunal case. The decision was taken because Ghaffur's "personal con
