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Hundreds of new police recruits should not have been allowed to join over the past three years, the boss of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary has said. Matt Parr said many failed to declare “big red flags” such as “prior convictions”, “links with criminals that are too close and not explained” or otherwise “not being entirely honest” in their applications.

He said: “Anybody who has a blemish on their record shouldn’t automatically be disbarred…[but] this is systemic across policing.

“I think the whole idea of just how important it is for policing that the wrong people don’t get in…has not quite been recognised as being as important as it is.”

He said that in a sample of applicants, one in 10 should not have got through vetting, which “adds up to hundreds of people who have joined the police in the last three years”.

Mr Parr admitted public trust in the police, particularly the Met, is “at a low ebb” in light of the violent crimes committed against women by serving officers such as Wayne Couzens and David Carrick.

He said: “It’s basic standards…and it’s a culture across the Met, and perhaps wider policing as well, that isn’t where it ought to be.”

Asked if rape has been “effectively decriminalised” due to the low proportion of reports ending in a conviction, he said most, if not all, female officers have endured sexual assault and inappropriate behaviour from male officers.

Mr Parr added: “The culture of misogyny within policing…has absolutely got to be dealt with.”

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