Newsnight's investigation found the six retired officers sent the messages between August 2018 and September 2022, a period when all had left the force.

Messages group shared referred to Duchess of Sussex, the queen and Rishi Sunak among other public figures, according to charges

Six former Met officers given suspended sentences for sending racist messages - The six men were sentenced to between six and 14 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

The officers served in the Met's Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection command but were retired when they exchanged the offensive messages, between 2020 and 2022. Lewis, who set up the group, sent some of the messages while working as a part-time Border Force officer,