Birmingham Singer Jamelia Reports Racial Abuse At Train Station

28 June 2016, 17:26 | Updated: 28 June 2016, 17:29

Birmingham singer Jamelia claims she's been racially abused by a man she thought was a West Mercia police officer.

She's said she was left scared for the safety of her children after she was racially abused by a man she believed was a police officer.

The singer said she was confronted by a man in uniform after she overtook his car on her way into a railway station car park with her daughters.

Speaking on the lunchtime chat show, she said he swore at her and told her: "You lot make me sick,'' before referring to her as a "black b****''.

She told the panel: "At this point I got really petrified, to be honest, I got really scared for myself, for the girls, and I just wanted to get out of there.''

Asked what made her think she was being abused by a police officer, she said: "To my knowledge, he was wearing a white shirt with epaulettes and on the epaulettes was a letter and some numbers.

"He wasn't in a police car, the only thing that made me think that is because of the way he was dressed.''

She added: "The police have been fantastic, and they did point out to me he is not necessarily a police officer, he could be a more senior ranking officer, he could also be a security guard.

"It was an unmarked car. What ended the whole thing was he pushed the door open as if to get out, and then I was just like, 'I have to grab the girls and run'. That was my first instinct, I just thought, 'What is he going to do?'

"The girls were just, absolutely astonished, we were all just shaking. You never in your whole life expect to go through something like that.

"I'm just taking my kids to school, it's ridiculous.''

Jamelia said she did not believe the incident was related to the spike in reports of racist abuse since the vote to leave the European Union.

Asked by fellow panellist June Sarpong if she thought there was a connection, she said: "The thing is, I didn't, I just thought it was an isolated thing, just a terrible thing, it was unfortunate that it happened.

"I posted it on my social media and I cannot describe the responses that I got, the amount of different stories.''

Superintendent Helena Bennet, of West Mercia Police, said: ``West Mercia Police can confirm that yesterday we received a formal complaint in relation to this incident.

"We have spoken to the victim and discussed the individual's clothing and our uniform with her. The clothing of the man involved differs from that of local operational officers. It is not clear at this time whether the man was a police officer or not and we are keeping an open mind as to his identity.

"Anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have any information is asked to call 101.

"We are carrying out a full investigation into the incident. Local officers are reviewing CCTV from the area and inquiries are ongoing to identify the person involved. We continue to take the matter seriously.

"We do not tolerate racism either within our communities or our workforce and, whether the individual involved is a serving officer or not, we will ensure that the appropriate action is taken.''