London Bridge Attack Hero Sacked Over Offensive WhatsApp Messages
Detective Constable Mark Luker, one of the first responders to the 2017 London Bridge terror attack, has been dismissed from the British Transport Police (BTP) for gross misconduct. The dismissal follows the discovery of offensive language used by Luker in a WhatsApp group regarding Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities.
Details of the Misconduct
The misconduct panel heard that Luker used derogatory language in a WhatsApp group called “Selbie Gumshoes” with other members of the Major Serious and Organised Crime (MSOC) team. On December 31, 2024, during a conversation about someone winning a bottle of whisky with a security tag still attached, Luker wrote: “Was this a raffle on a certain kind of site? Lots of mobile type homes? Lots of ‘Dags’.” He then added: “You are the MSOC pikey liaison.”
The panel concluded that these were “deliberate messages that clearly link the Irish Traveller community to acts of theft.” The term “dags” was found to be derogatory, referencing a scene in the Guy Ritchie film Snatch where a Gypsy character’s accent is mocked The Guardian.
Further messages from March 2025 revealed Luker referencing “scrap metal, lead roofing and cable” after a group member shared a video of a St. Patrick’s Day parade, which the panel deemed “deliberate and discriminatory” in linking the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community to theft. He also used the term “pikey” again, which the panel found to be “disrespectful.” Sky News.
Luker’s Defense and the Panel’s Ruling
Luker stated that he used “derogatory” humour as a coping mechanism for dealing with the trauma of being one of the first responders to the 2017 London Bridge terror attack. He claimed he did not intend for the language to be offensive, and the panel accepted that he is not “inherently racist.” The Telegraph.
However, the panel concluded that Luker likely knew the language was offensive to a minority community. They stated that, as an experienced police officer, he “probably would have known that this was an especially offensive employ of language directed towards members of a minority community.” The misconduct hearing took place on February 9th and 10th, 2026, at Ivason House, London British Transport Police.
The 2017 London Bridge Attack
The 2017 London Bridge attack involved a vehicle-ramming and stabbing attack on June 3, 2017. A van deliberately drove into pedestrians on Borough High Street, and the three occupants then attacked people in the Borough Market area. Eight people were killed and forty-eight were injured, including four unarmed police officers. The attack was claimed by The Islamic State Sky News.