Metropolitan Police officers joked about raping women, beating up their partners and killing black children, a damning report by the police watchdog has found.

Appalling messages shared on social media by officers mainly based at Charing Cross Police station in central London, reveals evidence of violent misogyny, racism and bullying within the ranks.

Nine linked investigations were launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in 2018 following reports that a police officer had sex with a drunk person at a police station.

The investigations focused on teams formed to tackle crime and disorder in the Westminster area and were expanded after officers came forward to report concerns about the conduct of colleagues.

Dozens of extremely offensive messages that had been shared between serving police officers were discovered,  including some in which colleagues joked about rape and domestic violence.

There were also messages that were deeply racist and homophobic in nature.

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, said: “Being a police officer is a privilege which has been abused by these sickening officers.

“It has been clear for some time that there are problems with the culture of the Metropolitan Police, which is why last year I tasked the Angiolini Inquiry and the police inspectorate with investigating these deeply concerning issues.

“I expect the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor of London to implement the recommendations of this report as soon as practically possible. The public rightly expects the behaviour of the police to be beyond reproach – standards must be raised.”

Officers dismiss messages as ‘laddish banter’

In one message, an officer wrote on WhatsApp: “I would happily rape you”, while another officer was referred to as “mcrapey raperson”.

Another wrote: “Getting a woman into bed is like spreading butter. It can be done with a credit card but it’s quicker and easier to use a knife.”

Another officer wrote: “If I was single I would happily chloroform you.”

In further exchange, an officer wrote: “My dad kidnapped some African children and used them to make dog food.”

Many messages shared, made references to domestic violence, including one which read: “And my bird won’t stop taking the p***. Swear to got [sic] I’m going to smack her.”

When challenged many of the officers dismissed the exchanges as “laddish banter ” but the IOPC said it was deeply worrying.

Of the 14 officers investigated, two were dismissed for gross misconduct and put on the barred list, preventing future employment with the police. Both were granted anonymity by the misconduct panel.

A Met spokesman said: “Having considered the representations made, the independent chair directed that the two officers should be granted anonymity. It would not be appropriate to comment further.”

It is understood that the two officers who were dismissed were responsible for the majority but not all of the offensive messages.

A further four officers attended misconduct meetings, while a further two received management action and another officer received “practice requiring improvement”, a process that tackles conduct that falls short of the expectations of the public and the police service.

One of the officers who attended a misconduct meeting also received the “practice requiring improvement” process.

A Met spokesman confirmed that nine officers were still serving in the Met and one of those who resigned has since returned as a contractor in a staff role.

The report comes as the Met is still reeling from the fallout following the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, a serving officer.