An image of a Metropolitan Police Officer went viral over the last couple of days. Those of us who are even vaguely familiar with gun safety will understand why the picture garnered so much attention online. The officer's trigger discipline is non-existent.
— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) October 22, 2026Muslim Female Police Officer is trusted with a firearm
Immediately forgot the first lesson of firearms training pic.twitter.com/CiI3YCBblV
A lot of posts focused on the fact that the officer — who undoubtedly had training — forgot the first rule of firearms training, while some couldn't help but notice the symbolism of what's happening to the United Kingdom these days. But the Met Police, who haven't met a thought criminal they didn't want to persecute in Orwellian fashion, looked at the criticism and responded by completely missing the point.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 22, 2026Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has responded to the unacceptable online abuse directed at a Met officer who received an award at yesterday's annual Police Federation Conference.
PC Fiona Shaik Umar was recognised for the outstanding contribution she has made for women in policing. pic.twitter.com/KfqAdNAa4f
The statement reads:
I’d like to congratulate Fiona on this well-deserved award for which she should rightly be very proud. She works in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, a frontline unit playing a vital role in the mission to protect our democracy by keeping Parliament and Parliamentarians safe.
We are currently advertising for additional talented, brave Londoners from all communities to join us. Every career path is open to you regardless of whether you happen to wear a kippa, turban or hijab like Fiona. She is being celebrated for being an excellent officer demonstrating this reality.
But it angers me that not for the first time, a day that should have been a celebration for Fiona was marred by hateful, intolerant abuse online.
These people haven’t met Fiona. They know nothing of her important work. They just saw that she is a female Muslim officer who wears a hijab and decided she wasn’t deserving as a result.
The same is true for others in public life such as the Members of Parliament she protects - women, Black and Asian MPs sadly face the most abuse. We must all reject such small-minded hatred.
Policing is stronger when it draws talent from all the communities it serves. It fosters trust and also makes us more operationally effective and more able to keep people safe.
That’s easy for me to say, of course, but it’s much harder to do if you’re a woman or someone from a minority background as sadly you will need more resilience and courage as a police officer than someone like me – an uncomfortable truth the Met is confronting head on as we support all officers when they face bigots with much to say but little to offer.
Your courage to step up and accept the challenge that policing presents is what matters.
Fiona has my and the Met's full support. Her colleagues and all those who step forward to stand alongside them will too.
Recommended
Way to completely miss the point. While some criticism focused on her Muslim garb, the real focus for online critics — and something the Met Police should be concerned about as well — is how she's holding that gun.
The account locked replies, and even has a Community Note pointing out the real criticism of the image.
— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) October 22, 2026You are the laughing stock of the world.
I don’t care where you come from or which community you serve.
Get your finger off the f***ing trigger, unless you are about to shoot someone imminently.
Page one. Line one. Lesson one. https://t.co/gnXezNcm4e pic.twitter.com/QhOYlFhRSZ
This writer's 17-year-old son knows this.
— Ivan Ironfist (@IvanIronfist) October 22, 2026The Taliban provided better training in firearm safety than the literal UK police.
The reason why you are facing backlash is because someone who is supposed to be trusted to handle a firearm proficiently is so poorly trained but you took the pic and hit post. https://t.co/6gi5TzAPZq pic.twitter.com/XbosZGzTJq
What an absolute embarrassment.
— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) October 22, 2026To absolutely no one’s surprise at all, replies to this woke word salad have been turned off.
Suffice to say the thought police are very angry. https://t.co/gnXezNcTTM
The Thought Police don't like it when the people speak the truth.
There was nothing "unacceptable" about any of the abuse. She isn't fit to be entrusted with a firearm. And just for the record, I was a British Army Skill At Arms instructor for ten years. If she'd handled a rifle like that in one of my lessons I'd have rammed it up her arse,… https://t.co/AhUQCNcqgm
— Fergus Mason #BurnhamOut 🇬🇧🇺🇦 (@FergusMason25) October 23, 2026
If she had accidentally pulled the trigger, she could have hurt or killed the gentleman standing next to her.
— Peter Boghossian (@peterboghossian) October 22, 2026The more I think about this, the more astonishing it becomes. This woman works in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command. Her job is to protect people. She received an award for service. Yet she doesn't know the MOST RUDIMENTARY THINGS ABOUT GUN SAFETY.
When this… https://t.co/3P1H0eGufP
Part of this is because the U.K. isn't a gun culture, so they do not understand guns. They fear them and do not respect them.
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