Decorated London Bridge Detective Sacked Over ‘Pikey’ Messages

A senior British Transport Police detective who helped respond to the 2017 London Bridge attack has been dismissed for gross misconduct after sending derogatory messages about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities on WhatsApp.

Detective Constable Mark Luker, an award-winning officer with more than 20 years’ service, was among the first on scene when three terrorists drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before launching a knife rampage at Borough Market. Eight people were killed and 48 injured in the June 2017 atrocity.

But a misconduct panel ruled that messages Luker sent in a WhatsApp group called “Selbie Gumshoes” were “deliberate and discriminatory”.

On December 31, 2024, during a conversation about a bottle of whiskey with a security tag attached, Luker wrote: “Was this a raffle on a certain kind of site? Lots of mobile type homes? Lots of ‘Dags’,” referencing a scene in Snatch in which a Gypsy character’s accent is mocked. He then added: “You are the MSOC pikey liaison.”

In March 2024, after another member shared a St Patrick’s Day parade video, Luker replied: “Off to find some scrap metal, lead roofing and cable” — a comment the panel said linked the Irish Traveller community to theft.

The hearing, held in public earlier this month, concluded Luker likely knew the language was offensive. While the panel accepted he was not “inherently racist” and noted his long and decorated service — including a 2023 team award for reviewing unsolved rape cases — it ruled his conduct amounted to gross misconduct.

Luker said humour was sometimes a coping mechanism following traumatic incidents such as the London Bridge attack and insisted he did not intend to discriminate. He expressed regret and apologised.

The force confirmed he has been dismissed.

Key Takeaways

1. Senior Officer Dismissed
A veteran detective with more than two decades of service has been sacked after a public misconduct hearing found his WhatsApp messages discriminatory.

2. Messages Linked Travellers To Theft
Comments referencing “dags” and “pikey” were ruled deliberate and offensive, reinforcing stereotypes about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

3. Past Heroics Did Not Outweigh Conduct
Despite his frontline role in the 2017 London Bridge terror attack and later commendations, the panel concluded the misconduct warranted dismissal.

SOURCE: DAILY MAIL

Let he who is without sin ......I forget the rest !

I just see a rather extreme level of snowflake mentality, over sensitivity, and social weakness. I certainly didn't find anything that he said offensive but then again I'm not a Brit. Seems society has gotten so far out of control with this woke nonsense and PCBS, that common sense often gets pushed to the side.

We are certainly all guilty of saying nonsense from time to time and there's a big difference between humor and reality, and there's also a big difference between prejudice and racism, we're all prejudiced to some extent.

Was anything he wrote untruthful?

What is the one, single, key that can unlock every lock in the world..........555

Quoting from a stereotype played (very well) by Brad Pitt is a compliment.

This is woke misconduct rather than gross misconduct.

He let himself down.

The full report:

https://www.btp.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/british-transport-police/misconduct/2026/btp-v-dc-luker-regulation-43-outcome.pdf

He had been reported following the first quip. After he was charged, he spoke to a PC who was a Roma Community liasion to understand why the word he used was offensive. The panel claimed he used that knowledge in attempt to clean up his statement. He claimed he would never use such language in front of Travellers/Roma, but the panel rejected that.

When officers join the police force, they are not judged according the standards held by the public, but to the Standards of Professional Behaviour. It didn't help his case by trying to claim PTSD caused him the repeatedly say offensive things to other officers, and then, essentially, lying under cross examination. He claimed he didn't know the word was offensive. The panel rejected that; he knew the word was offensive, in the same manner as being flippant with words such as S**bo, P**i, N*****r so forth.

Jeez, twenty years service and then sacked for a joke.

Presumably Guy Ritchie will be arrested soon for his amusing portrayal of gypsies in Snatch?

Or his amusing portrayal of white working class Brits in Lock Stock and 2 smoking barr... Oh wait a minute, it's open season on them...

13 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Jeez, twenty years service and then sacked for a joke.

Presumably Guy Ritchie will be arrested soon for his amusing portrayal of gypsies in Snatch?

Or his amusing portrayal of white working class Brits in Lock Stock and 2 smoking barr... Oh wait a minute, it's open season on them...

It’s always a joke.

And as often a false equivalence, in this case two for good measure.

There is another thread running where woke Brits are stressing jokes are not banned in the UK. Hilarious seeing this thread, concerning a decorated hero policeman being fired for making private jokes, running concurrently to the other one.

Talk about cognitive dissonance😅

Just now, SunnyinBangrak said:

There is another thread running where woke Brits are stressing jokes are not banned in the UK. Hilarious seeing this thread, concerning a decorated hero policeman being fired for making private jokes, running concurrently to the other one.

Talk about cognitive dissonance😅

Again false equivalence.

But you did try.

If this nonsense was retrospective and Benny was alive today he'd be locked up for sure. Mind you this bloke was well aware of the "pikey" thing but there's no room for the old school anymore.

22 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

If this nonsense was retrospective and Benny was alive today he'd be locked up for sure. Mind you this bloke was well aware of the "pikey" thing but there's no room for the old school anymore.

And yet another false equivalence.

3 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

And yet another false equivalence.

No it's not. So much from our recent past is now outright banned/irregal due to woke ideology.

1 minute ago, dinsdale said:

No it's not. So much from our recent past is now outright banned/irregal due to woke ideology.

You’ve just demonstrated you don’t understand why it’s a false equivalence.

3 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

You’ve just demonstrated you don’t understand why it’s a false equivalence.

Nope. Hate speech and racial stereotyping are both part of what can be classified as part of woke ideology so not two different things being argued as the same or similar and hence not a false equivalence.

Who ratted him out to iA ?

8 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

It’s always a joke.

Yes, remember them Chomps? Before the left tried to control the language. We could poke fun at each other without being sacked or facing jail time.

8 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

And as often a false equivalence, in this case two for good measure.

How it is a false equivalence? Everyone knows some groups are off limits (Muslims) whereas others are fair game (Christians). I believe they call it a 2 tier system. Just how you like it.

7 hours ago, dinsdale said:

If this nonsense was retrospective and Benny was alive today he'd be locked up for sure. Mind you this bloke was well aware of the "pikey" thing but there's no room for the old school anymore.

Excellent, this great, would do down like a lead balloon today!!

On 2/23/2026 at 9:23 AM, JonnyF said:

Jeez, twenty years service and then sacked for a joke.

Presumably Guy Ritchie will be arrested soon for his amusing portrayal of gypsies in Snatch?

Or his amusing portrayal of white working class Brits in Lock Stock and 2 smoking barr... Oh wait a minute, it's open season on them...

I think it's safe to say that a significant portion of the population take themselves way too seriously these days, and the whole PC thing is completely out of control. Let us hope that society matures to the point where people are no longer slapped down for saying an off the cuff remark.

On 2/23/2026 at 5:56 AM, Roadsternut said:

He let himself down.

The full report:

https://www.btp.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/british-transport-police/misconduct/2026/btp-v-dc-luker-regulation-43-outcome.pdf

He had been reported following the first quip. After he was charged, he spoke to a PC who was a Roma Community liasion to understand why the word he used was offensive. The panel claimed he used that knowledge in attempt to clean up his statement. He claimed he would never use such language in front of Travellers/Roma, but the panel rejected that.

When officers join the police force, they are not judged according the standards held by the public, but to the Standards of Professional Behaviour. It didn't help his case by trying to claim PTSD caused him the repeatedly say offensive things to other officers, and then, essentially, lying under cross examination. He claimed he didn't know the word was offensive. The panel rejected that; he knew the word was offensive, in the same manner as being flippant with words such as S**bo, P**i, N*****r so forth.

It's just words. Only important to the Thought Police and political masters who have an agenda to get votes from minority groups.

Police should focus on real crime and not have to worry about a woke vocabulary.

9 hours ago, dinsdale said:

If this nonsense was retrospective and Benny was alive today he'd be locked up for sure. Mind you this bloke was well aware of the "pikey" thing but there's no room for the old school anymore.

Civilization has turned into a major snowflake culture. Guys like Trump claim to hate PC, yet he is the biggest whiner, complainer and weakest of them all, therefore he is a supporter of PC, as long as it pertains to conversation and dialogue about him. Ha!

On a daily basis I'm reminded of why an advanced alien culture would never want to visit earth. LOL! There's no doubt we are no longer advancing, and we are moving backwards toward another Cro-Magnon era.

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

Civilization has turned into a major snowflake culture. Guys like Trump claim to hate PC, yet he is the biggest whiner, complainer and weakest of them all, therefore he is a supporter of PC, as long as it pertains to conversation and dialogue about him. Ha!

On a daily basis I'm reminded of why an advanced alien culture would never want to visit earth. LOL! There's no doubt we are no longer advancing, and we are moving backwards toward another Cro-Magnon era.

Wow you managed to turn my post about wokeism into a Trump hate rant. Well done you.

13 hours ago, SunnyinBangrak said:

There is another thread running where woke Brits are stressing jokes are not banned in the UK. Hilarious seeing this thread, concerning a decorated hero policeman being fired for making private jokes, running concurrently to the other one.

Talk about cognitive dissonance😅

Yes when called out on the obvious contradiction they normally revert to something akin to Idi Amin.

7 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Nope. Hate speech and racial stereotyping are both part of what can be classified as part of woke ideology so not two different things being argued as the same or similar and hence not a false equivalence.

Hate speech and racial stereotyping are both masters of law.

Not something for serving police officers to be engaged in.

You enjoying racial humor and engaging in racist stereotyping is an indication of your own failings; a serving police officer engaging in racist humor and racial stereotyping is an indication of him being unfit for the duties of his public office.

A lot more to do with standards of behavior in public office than your woke thing.

5 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Yes, remember them Chomps? Before the left tried to control the language. We could poke fun at each other without being sacked or facing jail time.

How it is a false equivalence? Everyone knows some groups are off limits (Muslims) whereas others are fair game (Christians). I believe they call it a 2 tier system. Just how you like it.

Somebody else who doesn’t grasp why a serving police officer engaging in racist humor and racial stereotyping is not any kind of equivalence to their own racism as a private individual.

But of course turn on the grievance tap, we can never have enough grievance for Jonny.

On 2/23/2026 at 5:56 AM, Roadsternut said:

He let himself down.

The full report:

https://www.btp.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/british-transport-police/misconduct/2026/btp-v-dc-luker-regulation-43-outcome.pdf

He had been reported following the first quip. After he was charged, he spoke to a PC who was a Roma Community liasion to understand why the word he used was offensive. The panel claimed he used that knowledge in attempt to clean up his statement. He claimed he would never use such language in front of Travellers/Roma, but the panel rejected that.

When officers join the police force, they are not judged according the standards held by the public, but to the Standards of Professional Behaviour. It didn't help his case by trying to claim PTSD caused him the repeatedly say offensive things to other officers, and then, essentially, lying under cross examination. He claimed he didn't know the word was offensive. The panel rejected that; he knew the word was offensive, in the same manner as being flippant with words such as S**bo, P**i, N*****r so forth.

Thanks for this but I doubt many of the posters here will bother reading the report. I did and it illuminated a situation that I initially thought was going a bit too far.

1. If you don't want to abide by the rules then don't become a policemen (albeit transport police). They have rules that come under Standards of Professional Behaviour, and one of them 'requires officers to act with self control and tolerance, treating all people with respect and courtesy. The standard of Equality and Diversity requires Officers to act with fairness and impartiality and not to discriminate unlawfully and unfairly.'

2. He confessed to misconduct (which would have got him a slap on the wrist) but this didn't help his cause because it was only a small step for them to then prove gross misconduct, which like all jobs, gets you fired immediately.

3. His 'defence' is he didn't know 'pikey' was derogatory when pretty much every Brit has seen Snatch and we ALL know it's derogatory slang term referring to Gypsy, Roma and Traveler people. Christ one of the main parts in the film talks about 'I f'ing hate pikeys'.

4. His claims of PTSD and using humour to aleviate it were also easily dismissed as a desperate attempt to get out of what he'd already admitted to doing.

Peronally I think a slap on the wrist would have sufficed but once you start admitting to things you are almost certainly leading the panel down a path and once that path gets to gross misconduct, there really is no other choice available. Silly situation but them thar are the breaks.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the law is very clear. Did you say it (or do it) or didn't you?

I do think it was not a dismissal charge, but I don't make the rules.

18 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Somebody else who doesn’t grasp why a serving police officer engaging in racist humor and racial stereotyping is not any kind of equivalence to their own racism as a private individual.

But of course turn on the grievance tap, we can never have enough grievance for Jonny.

Pikey is a race now, along with Islam? What next? Chavs? Toffs? Mormons? 😄

The category certainly seems to be expanding. I guess your demand for racism is exceeding the supply again so you need to search high and (in your case) low.

2 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Pikey is a race now, along with Islam? What next? Chavs? Toffs? Mormons? 😄

The category certainly seems to be expanding. I guess your demand for racism is exceeding the supply again so you need to search high and (in your case) low.

Ah, Jonny's favourite semantic "get out of jail free" card gets played again.

Islam isn't a race so it can't be racist.
Immigrants aren't a race so blah blah blah.