Inquiry into moped stop

A Metropolitan Police officer is under criminal investigation after using a controversial manoeuvre to knock a teenager off his moped, leaving him with serious head injuries.

The officer, who has not been named, is being investigated after carrying out a so-called tactical contact to stop the 17-year-old riding dangerously in Erith, south-east London, in November last year.

The teenager, who was not wearing a helmet, was admitted to hospital with serious head injuries and fractures, but was later discharged.

The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), confirmed it was also investigating a second tactical contact case involving another Metropolitan Police officer, which featured an adult moped rider in Ealing in March.

The second case is not a criminal investigation, but comes amid divided political opinion over use of the tactic.