ten downing street

Scotland Yard's race row erupted again when the head of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), Commander Ali Dizaei, was suspended from duty yesterday.

Dizaei was suspended for allegedly wasting police time, perverting the course of justice, assault and unlawful arrest.

The commander is a close adviser to the Met's assistant commissioner, Tarique Ghaffur, who is suing the force for racial discrimination and was suspended last week.

The chairman of the Metropolitan Black Police Association (MBPA), Alfred John, today said he was "shocked" by Dizaei's suspension.

"The two most senior Asian Muslim officers in the country have actually been suspended," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"There is a problem … the fact is that if you are a minority within the Metropolitan police service you are treated less favourably."

Yesterday, John accused the Met of a "witch hunt", saying: "It is an attempt to destabilise our movement. It is a farce."

The former Metropolitan police deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick said the "infighting" at the top of the force did "nothing to promote trust and confidence in the police amongst minority groups" and could deter people from joining the police.

He criticised the Met's handling of the row, saying: "All in all, there appears to be a rather heavy-handed approach, a sort of bullying approach, to this situation rather than trying to get the parties around the table and trying to find a solution to it."

Paddick said more should have been done to halt the festering race row before it spilled out into the public domain.

"To get to a situation where the number three at the Yard is publicly accusing the commissioner of racism - how on earth did things deteriorate to that stage? It should have been dealt with a long time before," he added.

The row intensified today when the MBPA said it would not take part in any further meetings with senior Met managers other than talks concerning Dizaei's reinstatement.

Dizaei was suspended at the offices of the Metropolitan police authority (MPA), being given the news by its chief executive, Catherine Crawford.

The main reason for the suspension was said to be an arrest he made outside a west London restaurant after allegedly being assaulted.

Dizaei says he was approached by a man who shouted at him before attacking him with the mouthpiece of a sheesha pipe.

He arrested the man, who has now made a complaint that is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints commission.

Dizaei was also suspended over claims he gave advice to a solicitor whose client was being prosecuted in a case brought by the Met, and over allegations concerning the use of a police credit card.

The Metropolitan police authority said it had unanimously decided to suspend Dizaei, adding: "Suspension is not a disciplinary sanction, and suspension should not be taken as a presumption of guilt."

As the NBPA's head, Dizaei had been planning further protests against the Met over its treatment of Ghaffur.

Blair's allies insisted their treatment of Dizaei had not been influenced by the fact that he is a vocal and persistent critic of the Met's record on race.

Dizaei was previously suspended in 2001, when the force alleged he was a danger to national security, had consorted with prostitutes and had taken illegal drugs.

He was cleared unanimously by an Old Bailey jury after a £4m inquiry involving covert surveillance and undercover surveillance teams. The unit that investigated him was headed by Blair.

Last year, the Met apologised to Dizaei for putting him on trial and for aspects of the inquiry. After his acquittal, he was reinstated and paid compensation.

He won promotion to the rank of commander earlier this year and oversaw the operation that led to the barrister Mark Saunders being shot dead after he allegedly fired at police and neighbouring homes in west London. -link