The country has been appalled at the revelations made in the Independent Culture Review of London Fire Brigade, chaired by Nazir Afzal.

Sadly, while we are equally horrified, we are not surprised. The bulk of our case work now involves incidents of bullying and sexual harassment. Some incidents are the equal, or worse, of those reported by Mr Afzal. Casual banter descends into systematic bullying and abuse. The constant refrain that ‘things are getting better’ rings hollow to those who see the devastating impact of these behaviours.

A stream of government sponsored reports have highlighted this problem for over two decades, but too little has been done to tackle these problems at the root.

The majority of firefighters deplore these actions and would like to see stronger measures to deal with the perpetuators.

The government gave His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) powers to investigate the fire and rescue service, a move we welcomed. They have a wealth of data on bullying and harassment which can easily be marshalled into a national report with an associated plan of action.

We urge the government to require HMICFRS to produce a report on bullying and harassment in the fire and rescue, and report early in the New Year. Anything else will let down the majority of decent people in the service, past victims, and those who now suffer on a daily basis.