Shocking new figures have revealed that the Met carried out 5,279 strip searches on children in the past three years. It is understood the actual figures could be even higher as the data only relates to cases where children were strip-searched following an arrest.

The news comes after outrage over the treatment of 'Child Q', in which a 15-year-old girl was strip-searched by female Met Police officers at her school, whilst on her period, in 2020.The latest figures from the force show that of those children searched, 3,939 - 75% - were from ethnically diverse backgrounds with 16% being between the ages of 10 and 12.One teenager who was strip-searched four times, said there was one instance when it was carried without an appropriate adult with him

."They strip-searched me, as a 17-year-old with no appropriate adult present," he told LBC."I felt extremely uncomfortable - very degraded. I felt like dirt, to be honest like they were just stepping all over me.

"It was a very nasty experience as a child having to show your genitalia to two grown men who you don't know."He told LBC he had been arrested aged 17 with a small bag of cannabis on him, and during the search, he was told to remove his clothing before a custody sergeant walked in and asked his age. When he told them he was 17 they stopped.

The case of Child Q – the 15-year-old black schoolgirl who was strip-searched while menstruating at school in December 2020 – has prompted increased scrutiny of the Met's conduct and treatment of black children.A safeguarding report into Child Q's case found that racism was "was likely to have been an influencing factor" in the officers' decision to undertake the strip-search.Child Q would not be included in the data because she was never arrested for any offence.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the case of Child Q. Earlier this month, the Met admitted the officers "actions were "regrettable" and that it "should never have happened. Meanwhile, the two officers involved in the strip search of Child Q are still employed by the Met, which put them on desk duties on 17 March 2022.