Oxford News
Student police officer made racist remarks against Muslims
Former PC James Wood, who began his 22-week recruit training at Sulhamstead in October 2023, was found to have made repeated inappropriate remarks during his training period.
A police misconduct hearing held across several days from July 2 concluded that, had Wood not already resigned, he would have been sacked for the gross misconduct.
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The allegations found proven included that the student officer said he did not drink alcohol because when he last did, he had been ‘really racist’, and suggested on another occasion that ‘all terrorists are Muslim’.
He also dismissed the idea of staying in a hotel with his girlfriend because it was ‘full of immigrants’ who were ‘all thieves’.
The panel also heard that he commented the word “good” on a TikTok post about major flooding in Pakistan which had killed around 2,000 people, a comment he later denied making.
A Thames Valley Police misconduct panel concluded that the former officer’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy, equality and diversity, and discreditable conduct.
A statement from the panel said: “There is no place in the modern police service for prejudice, preconceptions or racist and discriminatory words or conduct.
“Such behaviour undermines the impartiality of policing and must be called out and rooted out of the police service.”
The panel found the allegations proven on the balance of probabilities.
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They described Mr Wood’s conduct as “deeply offensive” and said it “strikes at the heart of everything that the police stands for in terms of fairness, respect and impartiality.”
The panel determined that the only appropriate outcome was a finding that Mr Wood would have been dismissed had he remained a serving officer.
Mr Wood resigned from Thames Valley Police in March 2024, three days after the complaint was made.
He had engaged with some of the early investigation steps, verbally admitting to the comments before resigning, but later disputed the allegations in a formal written response.
He denied making the TikTok comment or that the account in question belonged to him, and challenged the accounts of his colleagues.
However, the panel found convincing and corroborated evidence from multiple witnesses, including screen recordings and statements from fellow trainees.
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Mr Wood chose not to participate in the hearing and was found to have “totally disengaged” from the misconduct process.
The hearing proceeded in his absence, as permitted under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020.
The panel concluded: “This was deliberate, intentional conduct.
“There is no place for this kind of language and behaviour in the police service.”
Great Western Railway has said that damage on overhead electric wires has caused mass disruption on lines between Reading and Paddington, with Oxford commuters often using that route.
A spokesperson said: “Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between London Paddington and Reading all lines are blocked.
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“Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.”
Indeed, the majority of trains between the stations are delayed and several have been cancelled.
In addition, the railway company has said trains between Gatwick Airport and Reading may be cancelled, due to repairs.
The Rose & Thistle in Haddenham, near Thame, is closed and a community campaign has been launched to raise the necessary funds to buy it.
So far, more than £84,000 has been raised – about 10 per cent of the target – and campaign leaders including local councillor Greg Smith are calling for an increase in donations so that a “tipping point” is reached.
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The Rose & Thistle Reborn group hosted a meeting at Haddenham Village Hall on Tuesday and about 70 people attended.
The group posted: “Amazing turnout at our meeting tonight. By 7pm it was standing room only with around 70 people in attendance.
“Thanks to Greg Smith, Alex Foreman-Peck, Dan Freeman and Keith Handshaw for the presentation about where we are now and what we need to do to get to the tipping point so the rest of the village comes with us.”
The group added: “Join the team. We’re a small team and don’t always have capacity to take up all the fundraising opportunities on offer.
“If you have experience of running events or fundraising from trusts, foundations or high net worth individuals: brilliant! If you‘re enthusiastic and like to get stuff done: perfect! Just get in touch!
“Invite us to your event. If you’re a local organisation, invite us to come and speak about the project. Or if you’re running an event and need a bar, hire our pop-up-pub!”
Former Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley, who now has a successful solo career and is performing at the New Theatre in Oxford in November, is a keen supporter of local pubs, and has backed The Rose & Thistle Reborn campaign.
He said earlier: “I am wholeheartedly, absolutely supporting the community of Haddenham in trying to get The Rose & Thistle back open again.
“It’s a fantastic little pub – I have been there many times in the past. We have to preserve our village and small town pubs.”
The singer has urged people to buy shares to back the crowdfunding campaign.
He has spoken of his love for local pubs and in 2024 he backed a successful campaign to raise more than £500,000 to save The Hundred of Ashendon.
The Rose & Thistle Reborn campaign said earlier: “Tragically, The Rose & Thistle closed in 2019 and, while the current owners had hoped to reopen, it is now for sale and at risk of being sold to developers and converted to a residential property. And once a pub is turned into a house, it’s almost impossible to bring it back.
“We’re not here to be alarmist – but we are being honest: this is a time-limited opportunity. If we do nothing, we may lose the pub for good. We need your help to stop it from being last orders at The Rose & Thistle.”
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has confirmed that a power cut is currently impacting around 597 households in the Cholsey area with engineers currently on site.
The situation was first reported to the company at 8.21pm today (Thursday, July 9) with SSEN aiming to restore power by 2.30am tomorrow.
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A spokesperson said: “We have had reports of damage to our network. When this happens, the power will automatically turn off to keep everyone safe.
“Our engineers know exactly where the problem is and are working hard to make the situation safe, repair the wire and get your power back on.
“These types of faults often require extensive work and specialist teams, such as tree cutters, which is why the restoration time seems so far away.
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“If we can restore power sooner, we promise we will do so.”
The statement comes after multiple people in Cholsey reported a ‘huge explosion’ with some saying they could hear it from Wallingford.
Others have reported that fire engines have been seen in the area although this has not been confirmed.
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