A Metropolitan Police sergeant has been charged with perverting the course of justice as part of the long-running Charing Cross investigation, and is due to appear before magistrates on Wednesday.
Sergeant Sadiq Al-Hasani, 37, who serves with the force’s Central West Command Unit, was charged on Thursday 13 August. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 30 September.
The officer was first arrested on 2 October last year following an alleged incident at Charing Cross police station on the same day. The charge relates to an allegation that Sgt Al-Hasani deliberately sought to discourage another officer from making a statement to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The watchdog’s investigation was launched after the broadcast in October 2025 of BBC Panorama’s Undercover in the Police. The IOPC separately examined Sgt Al-Hasani’s own conduct and referred the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service, which agreed he should face the charge.
Sgt Al-Hasani remains suspended from duty. You can read the full release from the Metropolitan Police on the force’s official news site.
What is the Charing Cross investigation?
The Charing Cross strand of the inquiry centres on alleged conduct at the central London police station. It sits within a wider IOPC investigation that began after the October 2025 broadcast of Undercover in the Police, the BBC Panorama programme that shone a light on behaviour inside the force.
The force has not published further detail about the alleged incident of 2 October 2025, and the precise circumstances will be for the court to consider. Perverting the course of justice is regarded as one of the most serious allegations that can be made against a serving officer, because it strikes directly at public confidence in the integrity of the justice system.
How officers facing criminal charges are dealt with
When a serving officer is suspected of criminal wrongdoing, the case is normally overseen by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards, which can suspend the officer from duty while inquiries continue — as has happened in this case. Where allegations are serious enough, the Independent Office for Police Conduct takes on or directs the investigation.
If the IOPC finds evidence of possible criminality, it refers the case to the Crown Prosecution Service. Prosecutors then apply the Full Code Test: they must be satisfied there is enough evidence to offer a realistic prospect of conviction, and that a prosecution is in the public interest. That is the route this case followed, with the CPS agreeing Sgt Al-Hasani should be charged. The Met regularly announces such charging decisions, including the further charges brought against DJ Tim Westwood.
At a first appearance before magistrates, the court deals with formalities such as identity, bail and plea. Perverting the course of justice is a common-law offence that can only be tried in the Crown Court, and it carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The court process is entirely separate from any internal police misconduct proceedings, which can result in dism As an indictable-only offence, the case must be sent to the Crown Court, where a trial date will be fixed in due course.issal even where criminal proceedings take a different course — as seen in the recent case of a Met officer dismissed over podcast and social media breaches.
What happens next
Sgt Al-Hasani is expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 30 September. In a separate case, former Met officer Kuldip Singh was jailed over a “crash for cash” insurance fraud, illustrating how criminal cases involving serving and former officers move through the courts.
As with any criminal case, Sgt Al-Hasani is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. London Streets will update this story as the case progresses.
