BBC man arrested on undercover job as police recruit

An undercover BBC journalist who had joined the Greater Manchester police to investigate claims of institutional racism was arrested yesterday.

The reporter, believed to be in his 20s, had been a probationer PC with the Stockport division for four weeks, where he was secretly filming in search of evidence of racism.

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Last night the BBC said it was backing its investigation which it described as being based on a credible source.

A BBC statement said: "The BBC has spent several months investigating allegations of institutional racism within the Greater Manchester police. We believe this to be a matter of significant public interest.

"We believed the only way to test the allegations was by a BBC journalist going undercover to be apart of the recruitment process, to see what happens when a recruit joins the force, is instructed at the training school, and is then placed on the force.

"That is the investigation that was under way. Monies paid by the police to our reporter have always been kept in a separate account and always with the intention of being returned to the Greater Manchester police."

http://media.guardian.co.uk/bbc/story/0,7521,1020123,00.html

til he collects a police pension.

Or the NYT? Once upon a time, maybe the network mags would have come close. Maybe it's over the top- I don't know what kind of lead they had gotten about the racism.

This is a committed, adversarial press, now especially with the heat on the Kelly story. They aren't just standing around reading official govt press releases, that's for sure.