THE WIZARD'S SLEEVE

Whistleblower: Met Cop Killing 'Cover-up' After Call For Metal Wands Ignored

Guns continued to be smuggled into police stations across London AFTER custody sergeant Matt Ratana was shot dead by a prisoner who had not been properly searched.

The revolver used by Louis De Zoysa to kill Ratana was one of four guns smuggled into Metropolitan police custody centres in the thirty-three months BEFORE the shooting in September 2020.

However, since then two guns in bags belonging to detainees and a smoke grenade in a prisoner’s jacket pocket have got into custody centres.

A police whistleblower inside MO9, the department responsible for custody safety, provided The Upsetter with the firearms figures, which the Met has confirmed through gritted teeth.

The source says MO9 officers are being “silenced” from revealing the true picture: that senior management failed Ratana.

“There’s a number of us who have taken it personally that Matt was let down, that Matt died on our watch despite our best intentions to improve things.”

The whistleblower said MO9 was concerned eighteen months before Ratana was shot about the number of “near misses” from guns, knives and drugs getting into custody centres due to poor searches.

MO9 had warned the Met’s senior management in March 2019 of a fatality unless metal wands were introduced to all police vans.

“[MO9] flagged it as one of their risks that they can’t control and basically said somebody’s going to get fatally hurt and Matt was … [MO9] was crying out for change and they just wouldn’t listen … Heads ought to role at [Scotland] Yard.

However, like with many inconvenient matters when it comes to the Met, the written request for wands disappeared up its wizard’s sleeve.