The armed forces announced the charges on Tuesday afternoon and are following an investigation led by the Met’s Directorate of Occupational Standards, reports Metro.
The inquiry was launched following a BBC Newsnight inquiry last October, with six men in their 60s charged with 20 offences.
The officers served in various parts of the armed forces, but all were in the Diplomatic Protection Group, now known as the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.
At the time of their alleged participation in the group, they were not working and all retired between 2001 and 2015.
The Met says the first arrests were made within hours of the BBC accepting the allegations and the investigation has been ongoing ever since.
It found that between August 2018 and September 2022, “inappropriate communications” were exchanged in a closed WhatsApp group.
The BBC has not reproduced the messages because of the racist language used, but it says some of the posts reference the government’s Rwanda policy, reports Metro.
Others joked about flooding in Pakistan, which killed around 1,700 people, while others posted racist language and pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Commander James Harman said: “As soon as we were made aware of these allegations we acted to launch an investigation. I am pleased that following the determined work of officers we have been able to secure these charges. We are working relentlessly to rebuild the trust of the public which has understandably been dented by a number of high profile incidents and investigations in recent years which have involved officers or former officers,” reports Metro.
“The honest majority of Met officers are fully behind this work. They are tired of being let down by a minority in policing and they are aware of the damage poor behaviour can do to our relationship with the communities we serve,” reports Metro.
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