'I know I'm not alone': Child Q thanks supporters as protest takes place over police strip-search
A protest over Child Q's ordeal taking place outside a police station in Stoke Newington on Friday afternoon
A Black child who was pulled out of a school exam and strip-searched by police officers has thanked members of the public for their support, saying it has shown she is “not alone”.
“I want to thank the thousands of people across the world of all backgrounds who have offered me support... I know I am not alone,” the girl, known as Child Q, said in a statement on Friday.
Her ordeal came to light earlier this week in a safeguarding report that showed she was on her period and was asked her to remove her sanitary towel during the strip-search by Metropolitan Police officers, after she was wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis.
The case has sparked widespread outrage, with the report concluding that the strip search should never have happened, was unjustified and racism had a role in their decision.
A protest organised by Hackney Cop Watch over the revelations took place at Stoke Newington Police Station on Friday afternoon, while Stand up to Racism will be marching over the weekend in London, Glasgow and Cardiff ahead of the UN Anti-Racism Day on March 21.
The girl, who was 15 at the time of the incident in 2020, is taking civil action against the Metropolitan Police and her school, the law firm Bhatt Murphy said.
She is acting to obtain “cast-iron commitments to ensure this never happens again to any other child”.
The case has sparked widespread outrage, with the report concluding that the strip search should never have happened, was unjustified and racism had a role in their decision.
Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch called it an “appalling incident” and London Mayor Sadiq Khan shared his “dismay and disgust” after calling for the officers in question to be charged with gross misconduct.
Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney, where the girl's school is located, said she would like to see both the teachers and police officers in question reprimanded.
"It's not an isolated incident," Ms Abbott told ITV News London. "We have quite high levels of strip-searching in east London and the majority of children strip-searched are black or minority ethnic."
'I've no idea why teachers didn't contact her parents,' Diane Abbot speaks on Child Q
Child Q's mother said the family is now looking to the Independent Office for Police Conduct “to make sure there is an effective investigation into the officers involved so they are individually held to account and face real consequences for what they have done.”
In a statement released through her lawyers, the girl said: “I want to thank the thousands of people across the world of all backgrounds who have offered me support – both publicly and through messages conveyed to my legal team – following everything I’ve been through. I know I am not alone.”
The girl is being represented by Chanel Dolcy, a solicitor at Bhatt Murphy specialising in police misconduct and claims against public authorities, and Florence Cole, an Education and Community Care solicitor at Just for Kids Law.
Ms Dolcy said: “Child Q has launched civil proceedings against the Metropolitan Police and relevant school.
“She seeks to hold both institutions to account including through cast-iron commitments to ensure this never happens again to any other child.
“The Metropolitan Police has seemed incapable of reform for generations, and it is difficult to say that will ever change.
“Nevertheless, this is a pivotal time for the Metropolitan Police as it awaits the appointment of a new Commissioner.
“Child Q’s family are calling on the Home Secretary and Mayor of London to ensure that only someone willing to declare publicly the persistence of institutional racism and institutional sexism in the Met Police is appointed as the new Met Commissioner.
“Child Q’s family expect the new Commissioner to include affected communities in designing a plan to rid the force of these diseases and to affect that plan as a priority.”
Ms Cole added: “This is an appalling, shocking case which illustrates wider problems in schools and communities about the treatment of black children which unfortunately is systemic; and the lack of safeguarding and the failure to recognise the ripple effects of trauma that follows, long after such an ordeal.
“As the government sets guidance for schools, we strongly urge it to learn from the failings in this case.”
Three police officers have been investigated for misconduct by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is finalising its report.
Scotland Yard has apologised and said the incident “should never have happened”.
In an update on Friday, the force said officers had been given advice to ensure "children are treated as children".
Commander Dr Alison Heydari of the Met’s Frontline Policing said: “We are in full agreement with the Safeguarding Review that this incident should never have happened.
"It is truly regrettable and on behalf of the Met I reiterate our apology to the child concerned, her family and the wider community.”