Almost £50,000 has been raised for a “silenced and cancelled” police chair who was suspended after speaking to GB News.
Rick Prior was removed from his position as the Metropolitan Police Federation chair back in October after he said his members were worried about being labelled racist.
Prior represents 30,000 rank-and-field officers across London, many of whom are nervous about challenging people from some ethnic minorities, the PC said.
The suspension means he is not able to stand in union elections which will take place next month.
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Rick Prior was suspended after an October 2024 interview GB NEWSHe has enrolled the Free Speech Union to help with the legal complaint and he heaped praise on its founder, Toby Young.
“The Free Speech Union has been fantastic to me”, he said.
Since his suspension, a fundraiser has been set up to support Prior and his “right to speak up”.
Its description read: “It’s bad enough that frontline police feel they can’t express their concerns – but to sanction the elected representative in the very organisation that should be blowing the whistle on issues like police double standards sets a chilling precedent.”
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The fundraiser is now close to hitting £50,000 in donations, which will be used to support Prior’s case against the Police Federation.
“Any unused funds that don’t go towards PC Prior’s case will be reallocated to help other FSU members in need of legal assistance,” the fundraiser adds.
Prior told GB News in October: “There’s a striking crisis of confidence at the moment within policing in general and certainly within the Met Police.
“Officers are withdrawing from any kind of proactive policing for fear of falling foul of the IOPC [Independent Office of Police Conduct] or a vexatious or malicious complaint.”
Rick Prior was suspended following a GB News interview GB NEWSMost Read
He said officers were becoming increasingly uneasy about using force after high-profile incidents like a constable being convicted of assault after challenging a woman who refused to show a valid bus ticket.
While the conviction was quashed, Prior said such incidents were taking their toll.
The day after the interview was broadcast, he was suspended by the federation for comments that were allegedly “discriminatory in nature”.
On Monday, Prior told The People's Channel: "Me having been cancelled, silenced and suspended has not only removed my voice from the 30,000 officers I have been elected to represent, my public interest function has also been removed for the discourse to take place.”
GB News has approached the Met Police for comment.
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