Thames Valley Police has formally apologised over its handling of the eviction of a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) student wing's UK leader from a property in Slough, acknowledging that police officers failed to properly consider documents showing that he was legally occupying the property as a tenant.
In a written apology, Thames Valley Police, from West London's Slough area, acknowledged that police officers had made a mistake when dealing with the eviction of Moaz Ishan, known widely as Maaz Malik, from Canada Road, Slough. The video of Moaz Ishan went viral after it was filmed and circulated to media, carrying several allegations. In his complaint, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) student wing - Insaaf Students Federation (ISF) - leader had maintained that officers had been shown information and documentation establishing his status as a tenant but failed to properly take it into account and were "misled and misguided" by the property owner.
The police acknowledged in the letter that the documentation provided to officers demonstrating the complainant's status as a tenant "was not properly considered at the time". The Thames Valley apology letter added: "I acknowledge that this was a mistake and officers have failed to fully understand your circumstances sufficiently." Thames Valley Police also accepted that the incident resulted in the tenant losing access to his home and acknowledged the distress caused by officers failing to properly listen to or act upon his concerns.
The senior officer said the force had fallen short of the standards expected of it, including its commitment to treating members of the public with fairness, respect and empathy. "As a result of this incident, lessons have been learned that will be communicated to officers," and that mistakes would be used to educate officers and improve their understanding to prevent similar incidents. The force also apologised for the length of time taken to address the complaint, acknowledging that "a considerable amount of time" had passed since the original incident.