LEADING BLACK British figures across sport, entertainment and politics have written a letter to the Deputy Met Commissioner calling for him to ensure that the police officers involved in strip-searching a black schoolgirl while she was menstruating are held to account.

Campaigners and the wider public have rallied together in support of the young girl, known only as Child Q, who was falsely accused of smelling of cannabis while sitting her exams at her school in Hackney, east-London.

The schoolgirl was stripped-searched by two female officers after a teacher, who has now reportedly been sacked, called the police while no other adult was present throughout the ordeal.

Hundreds gathered outside Stoke Newington Police Station on Friday calling for the police officers and teachers involved in the “humiliating and traumatic” incident to be lose their jobs and be prosecuted.

The signatories of the letter to Deputy Met Commissioner, Sir Stephen House, said that black communities felt unsafe in the presence of the police and that they lacked “trust or faith that the police will treat people from these communities fairly and without bias.”

“This incident is yet another example of how racism is endemic within the Metropolitan Police and leads to Black men, women and children being assaulted and traumatised by the very people who are meant to protect us.

“As parents, we fear for the safety and wellbeing of our children knowing that racism, discrimination and bias affect their everyday life. Our children and this child should be safe at school, but they are not,” the letter read.

“Trust in the Metropolitan Police from the Black community must be earned. This incident is yet another crush to our sense of freedom and security and we are collectively devastated for this child who has had to bear the brunt of the racism which runs rife through your police force and additionally the education system.

“We feel her pain and trauma throughout our community and we long for a day when Black people do not feel unsafe in your presence.”

A safeguarding review by the City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership, found that racism “was likely to have been an influencing factor” in Child Q’s treatment and that the school had “insufficient focus on the safeguarding needs” of the young girl after she was made to return to her exams after the intimate search.

The review also said that if she was not black, her experience would have been different.

Child Q has since begun legal action against the Met Police and her school following the incident and thanked “thousands of people across the world” who are campaigning for justice for the schoolgirl.

Labour MP Diane Abott, who is also a signatory on the open letter, joined protesters last week in support of the schoolgirl as crowds chanted “power to black girl Child Q” and carried signs declaring “Black Lives Matter.”

In a letter to Borough Commander of Hackney and Tower Hamlets, Marcus Barnett, she labelled the incident “disgusting” and that she was “concerned” by the police officer’s action under his watch, while calling for an urgent meeting with the senior offical.

Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University and signatory – Kehinde Andrews – said to “forget the school-to-prison pipeline” and that schools in Britain have “become prisons,” blaming adultification bias for the young girl’s treatment.

The letter calls on Sir House to “take immediate and decisive action” about the incident as three Met police officers remain under investigation by the police watchdog for their involvement.

The letter has been signed by figures including Candice Carty-Williams, Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock, actor Jodie Turner Smith, as well as singer Jamelia and MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy.

Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, Clotilde Abe from Five X More and ex-footballer Ian Wright are some of the prominent names that have backed the open letter.

Commander Dr Alison Heydari of the Met’s Frontline Policing, said: “While we await the findings of the IOPC investigation, we have already taken action to ensure that our officers and staff have a refreshed understanding of the policy for conducting a ‘further search’ and advice around dealing with schools, ensuring that children are treated as children.

“Alongside this, local officers have been briefed on the incident and are alive to community concerns.  The report and its recommendations have been shared with our Specialist Crime Review Group and our Continuous Policing Improvement Command to ensure that all opportunities for wider learning are acted on immediately.

“We are in full agreement with the Safeguarding Review that this incident should never have happened. It is truly regrettable and on behalf of the Met I reiterate our apology to the child concerned, her family and the wider community.”