Lloyd Hunter
Introduction
Lloyd Hunter is a former Metropolitan Police constable who was dismissed from the force without notice at an accelerated misconduct hearing in Sutton, south London, on 26 August 2026, after Deputy Assistant Commissioner Carl Galvin ruled that his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct and barred him from re-entering the profession. Hunter was filmed in November 2024 during an undercover BBC investigation saying that Tasering people was “just so much fun” and that he wanted to “get rid of” homeless people, the misconduct hearing was told. The BBC reported his dismissal as the twelfth Met officer sacked over its Panorama film from Charing Cross police station; the Independent described him as the thirteenth officer to be dismissed following the investigation.
Background Information
Hunter is from Cumbria and was aged 23 at the time of the covert filming, which took place while he was drinking with an undercover journalist in Earl’s Court in November 2024. He had recently completed his Taser training at the time of the conversation. He served 21 months as a police officer and, he told the hearing, never used his Taser.
The filming was carried out by BBC Panorama journalist Rory Bibb, who spent seven months posing as a detention officer at Charing Cross, one of London’s busiest police stations, covertly filming officers. Hunter was not featured in the resulting hour-long programme, aired in October 2025, which showed officers calling for immigrants to be shot, boasting about excessive use of force and joking about rape and sexual assault; he was investigated after the BBC shared unaired footage with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), the hearing heard. The programme followed an IOPC investigation which in 2022 had revealed evidence of misogyny, homophobia and sexual harassment at Charing Cross, including officers joking about rape.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Adjudicated misconduct findings. Hunter was dismissed after a police misconduct panel found his conduct proved. The quotes come from covert BBC filming; the findings are gross-misconduct findings, not criminal convictions.
After drinking two pints, Hunter — who had recently completed his Taser training — told the undercover reporter “I cannot wait to do it, I love it”, and when asked who he would Taser first replied “probably a homeless man”. He said he would like to arrest all the homeless people in Oxford Street each week, giving them various orders and notices that would lead to them all going to prison, and said: “I think we should get rid of them, we should just bin them off, I hate them.” The hearing was told he said Tasering people was “just so much fun”.
At the accelerated misconduct hearing in Sutton, south London, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Carl Galvin ruled the behaviour amounted to gross misconduct. He acknowledged that Hunter had not responded to many of the inflammatory comments made by the reporter and had said at the start of the conversation that he would not want to use a Taser, but found the comments lacked the “self-control, tolerance, respect and courtesy required of officers” and revealed “derogatory views”.
Public Reaction and Consequences
Stephen Morley, making the case against Hunter, said he should have been setting a very high standard and had “failed dismally” with his “vile comments”, which would “horrify” members of the public, particularly vulnerable homeless people. Luke Ponte, KC, representing Hunter, asked who in the room had not, in their early twenties, “said anything in the pub that in the cold light of day they realise they should not have said”, argued the comments showed “immaturity rather than bigotry”, and said it was unusual in misconduct cases for behaviour to have “to some degree been provoked by the actions of an undercover reporter”; he added that Hunter had had a “miserable time” because of the culture at Charing Cross.
Giving evidence, Hunter apologised for his comments, calling them “abhorrent”, and said being suspended felt like an “avalanche hitting”, adding “I always wanted to be a police officer.” He said he had responded to “ridiculous comments” from the reporter because he wanted to make friends, having not had many at Charing Cross, and described what he said as “flippant remarks from an idiotic 23-year-old who just wanted to make friends with someone”. IOPC director of engagement Amanda Rowe said: “Regardless of whether these comments were made on or off-duty, they are completely unacceptable and undermine the public’s confidence in police officers.”
Galvin dismissed Hunter from the force without notice, barring him from re-entering the profession.
Current Status
Hunter is a former police officer, dismissed without notice in August 2026 and barred from re-entering policing. The BBC reported him as the twelfth Met officer to be sacked over the Panorama film; since the programme aired, twelve Met officers and one Gloucestershire officer have been dismissed or barred from the profession. Nine officers continue to be investigated by the IOPC in relation to the programme, including three criminal investigations, and another officer was due to face a misconduct hearing on 15 September.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The gross-misconduct finding and dismissal without notice ended Hunter’s policing career after 21 months of service and bar him from re-entering the profession. He told the hearing he had never used his Taser in his 21 months as a police officer, and the Independent reported that since returning to Cumbria he has volunteered with the Samaritans to help the homeless, saying he had sought to educate himself.