Ali Dizaei

Jamshid Ali Dizaei (, transliteration: Jamshīd ʿAlī Dizaī; ) (born 1962) is a former Commander in London's Metropolitan Police Service, Iranian-born with dual nationality, and formerly one of Britain's more senior Muslim police officers.

Dizaei came to prominence as a result of his outspoken views on racial discrimination in the London Metropolitan Police and various allegations of malpractice on his part.

He had received advancement after his criticism of the force following his claims of racism.

He was a frequent media commentator on a variety of issues, mainly concerned with ethnicity and religion.

He moved to the UK in 1973.

He was educated at Slindon College, a private boarding school in Arundel, West Sussex.

Dizaei studied law at university, gaining a BA (Hons) and LLM in Law from City University London and a diploma in policing from Cambridge University, later gaining a PhD from Brunel University, and joined Thames Valley Police in 1986.

He served in Henley-on-Thames, in uniform and the Criminal Investigation Department, rising to the rank of Chief Inspector.

He was appointed an adviser on race issues to the Home Secretary, and then transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on promotion to Superintendent on 29 March 1999 as a staff officer to Assistant Commissioner Ian Johnston.

On 17 May 1999, he was transferred to Kensington police station and, on 3 April 2000, became Superintendent of Operations there.

He was already outspoken on race issues, first coming to media attention in November 1999 to criticize questions asked in promotion exams.

In 2000, Dizaei was investigated by force after allegations of taking bribes, using drugs and prostitutes, and spying for Iran.

Dizaei brought his own claim for racial discrimination in the conduct of the investigations by the MPS. This was withdrawn after the MPS paid him £80,000 and reinstated him in October 2003.

In 2004, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) described Operation Helios as having been "seriously flawed", and it was later described as a "total waste of taxpayers' money."

Dizaei eventually faced a minor disciplinary action, having been cleared of all criminal charges.

The MPS issued a public statement saying that Dizaei returned to work with his "integrity demonstrably intact".

Dizaei was promoted to Chief Superintendent in May 2004 and became Borough Commander of Hounslow and later Borough Commander of Hammersmith and Fulham.

In 2006, he was in the headlines again for criticizing the Forest Gate raid and passenger profiling on aircraft.

The Police Federation has accused him of "blissful ignorance" for the latter.

In December 2006, it was public that during Operation Helios, the MPS had unlawfully tapped over 3,500 private calls made by Dizaei.

The ruling was made by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal after referral by the NBPA.

In March 2007, Dizaei published Not One of Us, an account of his police career and the Operation Helios investigation.

Before publication, the MPS issued a statement noting that it "considers it a matter of regret that Chief Superintendent Dizaei has felt it necessary to write this book", and reiterating its support for the Helios team.

Upon release the book was serialised on BBC Radio 4 and in The Times.

In November 2007, Stephen Otter, then the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall, successfully sued Dizaei and the publishers of his book ″Not One of Us″ for libel.

The libel action centered on claims by Dizaei in his book that Mr. Otter had given false evidence as a prosecution witness during proceedings against Mr. Dizaei at an Old Bailey trial for perverting the course of justice - which resulted in his acquittal.

In April 2008, he was promoted to Commander, responsible for West London.

In August 2008, he was presented with the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal by the Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair.

Dizaei became the President of the National Black Police Association in 2008.

In 2008, Dizaei commenced Employment Tribunal proceedings against Catherine Crawford (the Chief Executive of the Metropolitan Police Authority), Sir Paul Stephenson and others, claiming that they had specifically targeted him for being an outspoken critic of their record on race and for Dizaei supporting Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur in his race discrimination claim against Paul Stephenson and Ian Blair.

On 8 February 2010, he was convicted in the Crown Court before Mr. Justice Simon on charges of perverting the course of justice and of misconduct in a public office, and was jailed for four years.

He had been suspended on full pay since September 2008, and on 31 March 2010 was formally dismissed from the Metropolitan Police.

On 16 May 2011, Dizaei's appeal against this conviction was successful and the conviction was quashed.

Still, after a retrial in 2012, he was again found guilty of perverting the course of justice and of misconduct in a public office.

He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

On 15 May 2012, he was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police.

Dizaei appealed again, but on 14 February 2013 his appeal was dismissed.

The Lord Chief Justice said that 'the guilty verdict was fully justified' and that the conviction 'was and remains safe'.

In 2014, Dizaei formed Covert Security Limited, an international investigations consultancy specializing in tracing and locating assets and individuals and carrying out cold-case reviews.

Dizaei was born in Tehran, Iran where his father was a deputy commissioner of police.