Neil Basu

In 1992, Basu became a police officer. He spent his career serving in the Metropolitan Police Service.^[4][5] He was the most senior serving British police officer of Asian heritage: his father was from Calcutta, India and his mother was from Wales.^[6][7]

During the George Floyd protests, Basu spoke out about racism in policing, stating he was "horrified" by George Floyd's murder.^[8]

Basu has stated he believes British policing is institutionally racist, criticising other senior British police officers for their reluctance to agree.^[9][10]

Following the resignation of Lynne Owens as Director-General of the National Crime Agency, Basu was one of the final candidates under consideration to replace Owens, until the Home Office restarted the selection process in May 2022.^[10]

In 2025, Basu called for a full public inquiry into group based child sexual exploitation. He stressed they should not become "elongated"; he argued that "political correctness" stopped the police from doing their jobs, especially with regard to protecting white working class children from abuse.^[11]

Basu attended Nottingham University.^[11]