Racist, homophobic and misogynistic. These were the damning conclusions of a review of London's police force, the Metropolitan Police. The report was commissioned following the rape and murder of a young woman two years ago by a serving officer.

Key findings

·         Institutional racism and sexism, both towards the public and internally

·         Widespread bullying of colleagues

·         A culture of denial in which predatory behavior is allowed to flourish

·         Serious failures to pursue rape cases and manage evidence

·         Officers who complained were labeled trouble makers

·         Gay officers are often targeted with abuse

The report's author – Louise Casey, who sits in the UK's upper house of parliament – says the force is "failing women and children" and needs radical reform, including a far greater level of independent oversight. 

The current head of the Metropolitan Police, Mark Rowley, called the findings "brutal," saying "We've let Londoners down and we've let our own frontline down and this report paints that vividly... I'm deeply sorry."

He added that changes were already being implemented.

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Some of the examples detailed by witnesses in the report have drawn widespread media attention. 

• A female officer tried to take her own life after reporting that she'd been raped multiple times by a colleague

• Rape cases being investigated were dropped due to the deliberate misuse of fridges meant to store crucial evidence

• A Sikh officer had his beard cut as a joke

• A Muslim officer found bacon in his shoes

• Gay officers were routinely and openly mocked in front of colleagues 

• Initiation rituals included women being forced to eat cakes until they vomited

• At least one male officer was said to have been sexually assaulted in the showers.

Speaking in the UK's parliament, interior minister Suella Braverman acknowledged "serious failures of culture, leadership and standards," and called the findings "very concerning." But she also said the report's use of the word "institutional" to describe the force's failings was "not a helpful term to use."

Braverman's response was criticized by her opposition counterpart Yvette Cooper, who called her comments "dangerously complacent," saying the government was offering no new plans or ideas to fix the problems.

Cooper also warned that the issues highlighted in the report extend to other police forces right across the UK.

It's not the first time the Metropolitan Police has been accused of institutional racism. Doreen Lawrence, whose son Stephen was murdered in a racist attack in London in 1993, said the force had failed to change in the three decades since her son's death.

"It is not, and has never been, a case of a few 'bad apples' within the Metropolitan Police – it is rotten to the core," she said. "Discrimination is institutionalized within the Metropolitan police and it needs changing from top to bottom."

Lawrence added that it was the last chance for the force to get things right, a statement echoed by Ruth Davidson, Chief Executive of Refuge – a charity that provides support for women and children who've suffered domestic abuse.

"I think if they cannot get this right, they cannot see this is a new start, a new beginning, then yes, it does have to be disbanded," said Davidson. "And I don't say that easily at all. 

"I think the initial response this morning is deeply worrying, it is still one of denial. The report itself says that the Met has a culture of denial. It wants to push this aside. It wants to protect itself and try and minimize. You cannot tackle a problem if you're consistently pretending it doesn't exist."

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