London Fire Brigade accused of misleading London Assembly Members

The London Fire Brigade has been accused of misleading London Assembly Members on the number of dismissals it has made in relation to the review into toxic culture in the force.

The Nazir Afzal Independent Culture Review found that the London Fire Brigade was institutionally racist, sexist and misogynistic.

In a London Assembly Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee on December 5th 2023, LFB Commissioner Andy Roe responded to questions by Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member on the number of dismissals made since the culture review, stating that she was “incorrect” to state there had been zero dismissals as a result of the culture review and there had in fact been 13. The figure was then widely covered in the press.

However, new information uncovered by Assembly Member Hina Bokhari shows that of the 13 dismissals the Commissioner mentioned, several are in fact standard dismissals not related to the culture review, including “unauthorised absences” and failures to notify the force of outside employment.

A separate written question by the Liberal Democrats also shows that there has not been a single dismissal for racism, misogyny, homophobia or bullying since the publication of the culture review despite 67 investigations having been carried out.

At a plenary session at City Hall yesterday (, Assembly Member Bokhari challenged Commissioner Andy Roe on his previous responses and asked him to correct the record, which he refused to do.

The Liberal Democrats have stated that the information uncovered shows that the pace of change since the culture review has not been fast enough, and that the LFB need to be more transparent about their efforts to implement reform and to review their disciplinary processes which do not seem to be holding those responsible for toxic behaviour to account.

Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Hina Bokhari said, “It is extremely disappointing that the Commissioner did not use the opportunity today to correct the record regarding the misleading figures he gave to the London Assembly in a previous meeting.

“The fact that not a single dismissal has been made regarding racism, misogyny, homophobia or bullying in the year since the culture review into the LFB is truly shocking and shows that the LFB is behind the curve compared to the Met in tackling these issues.

“For the horrific incidents raised in the culture review around these issues not to result in dismissals tells me that the LFB’s progress is not only slow but that their disciplinary process is not delivering justice for those impacted.

“We need to see the Mayor of London and the Commissioner take a much stronger stance on implementing these vital reforms and making sure rouge firefighters are rooted out of the force.”