Racism cited as factor in police strip search of girl, 15, at London school

Black child's ordeal, which involved exposure of intimate body parts, took place without parental consent, review finds

A black child was subjected by police to a strip search at her London school that involved exposure of intimate body parts, according to an official investigation which found racism was likely to have been an influencing factor" in the officers' actions.

No appropriate adult was present during the 15-year-old girl's ordeal, described by a senior local authority figure as humiliating, traumatising and utterly shocking" and which took place without parental consent and in the knowledge that she was menstruating.