Metropolitan Police officers investigating serial killer Stephen Port made were accused of homophobia after a leaked report by police watchdog raises concerns about assumptions about gay men which ‘cannot be ignored’. A Channel Four news investigation has had sight of an as yet unpublished report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) finding that ‘the public cannot be satisfied that police are making decisions based on evidence and fact’ as a result of assumptions made about ‘the lifestyles of gay men’. ‘The investigations into the four deaths reveal that assumptions were made and could have been based, consciously or unconsciously, on discriminatory views,’ the leaked report continued.

Port was convicted of murdering four gay men he met through dating websites over a 15-month period. According to Channel Four News, victims’ relatives have ‘expressed their fury’ at how the investigation was initially handled. In an interview with C4 reporter Minnie Stephenson, Ricky Waumsley, whose partner Daniel Whitworth was one of Port’s victims,  accused the Met Police of homophobia.

According to the IOPC report: ‘Assumptions are being made about gender, sexuality and age – whether gay men are less vulnerable, gay men cn not be victims, young gay men are involved in chemise and a fatal overdose is expected – the public can not be satisfied that the police are making decisions based on evidence and fact.’