A senior Met Police officer who gave a televised, tear-filled address after a crash at a prep school that killed two eight-year-old girls is being investigated over the handling of the tragedy – including a claim of racial bias.
Clair Kelland is among 11 officers now under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following a complaint by the parents of Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau.
The schoolgirls died when a Land Rover Defender smashed through a fence into their Wimbledon primary school The Study Preparatory School as they picnicked on the last day of term in July 2023.
Claire Freemantle, the 48-year-old driver, was not charged after she said she suffered an undiagnosed epileptic seizure and had no recollection of the crash. She was re-arrested in January 2025 after the investigation was reopened.
Kelland, who was seen as a rising star at the Met, managed the initial investigation into the crash, which failed to interview key witnesses.
The then-detective chief superintendent was later promoted to a commander in charge of London’s ‘public protection’, where she focuses on tackling gendered violence.
The IOPC announced it was investigating complaints made against 11 officers involved in the crash’s case, which included ‘concerns about the standard of the [initial] investigation’.
The watchdog said its inquiry will examine allegations that officers ‘provided false and misleading information to those affected’.
It is also investigating whether ‘officers’ treatment of those affected was influenced by their race’. The IOPC announced previously it was ‘unconvinced that the investigation was conducted thoroughly’.
It revealed four serving officers were under investigation, including a commander, detective chief inspector, detective sergeant and detective constable. Two detective constables are also being investigated at misconduct level.
It has emerged Kelland is the most senior officer being investigation, as reported by a Sunday newspaper.
Nuria and Selena had been enjoying a tea party celebrating the end of a term on the morning of July 6, 2023. More than 12 people, including Nuria’s mother Smera Chohan, were injured.
Selena died at the scene, while Nuria died from her wounds in hospital three days later.
Kelland, who was in charge of policing southwest London, tearfully read a statement to media outside of the school mere hours after the crash.
With a breaking voice, she said: ‘Our officers, along with our colleagues from the other emergency services, provided first aid to a number of people who had been injured. Very sadly, one of the children, an eight-year-old girl, died at the scene.’
Ms Freemantle, who expressed her ‘deepest sorrow’, was arrested on the day of the incident but prosecutors decided not to bring criminal charges. This followed an investigation by the Met’s Roads and Traffic Policing Command (RTPC).
However the Met reopened its investigation into the crash in October 2024 following an internal review.
Ms Freemantle was re-arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. She was most recently interviewed by police in July 2025.
The CPS confirmed it has received a full file of evidence from the Met and sought legal advice last week, though further factors need to be considered before a decision is made on whether a charge can be brought.
Prosecutors wrote to the victims’ families on Friday to say they expected to be able to announce whether or not they had reached a charging decision by the end of April. The families are due to meet with the CPS on Tuesday for an update.
It is understood the IOPC is probing claims that officers did not follow protocol because Ms Freemantle was a wealthy white woman, who lives in a £4million house, and causally failed to properly challenge her account of events.
The Met said it supports an independent investigation into the fatal collision.
In an interview with the BBC, Nuria’s parents – Smera Chohan and Sajjad Butt – said the Met had ‘failed them’.
Ms Chohan said: ‘I hope the IOPC will cover that. I really want to understand why I have been treated so cruelly, unfairly and in an inhumane way.
‘I would like the keepers of law, of the system, to come and tell me. I am not asking for any favouritism, any leeway or any sympathy.
‘I’m just saying, ‘do it right’. It’s been left hanging for three years and that isn’t right’.
Ms Chohan is facing a fifth surgery on her legs after suffering injuries in the same crash which killed her daughter.
Mr Butt said he and his family have ‘not been protected’ and ‘left out in the cold’ by the police force.
The families of both Nuria and Selena said their lives have been ‘irreparably shattered’ in a statement released on Tuesday.
It read: ‘The past 33 months have been incredibly difficult for everyone affected including those who lost family, were seriously injured or witnessed the horrific incident, and we are still trying to come to terms with what happened on that fateful day.
‘We have always maintained that the initial investigation was flawed. When the Crown Prosecution Service took the decision for no further action against the driver on the 26th of June 2024, we asserted that the original investigation was poor, and we were unconvinced that the investigation was conducted thoroughly.
‘We are encouraged that the Independent Office of Police Conduct have opened an inquiry. We have always sought the truth, and will continue to champion the pursuit of complete clarity on the events of that devastating day and subsequent actions taken by the Metropolitan Police. The truth must come to light.’
IOPC director Amanda Rowe said of its investigation: ‘We are investigating complaints made against 11 Met Police officers over their handling of the initial investigation into the road traffic incident, in which the two children sadly died and multiple other people were injured at The Study Preparatory School in Wimbledon.
‘The complaints relate to concerns about the standard of the investigation, including its management and direction, the conduct of the investigation team, and their engagement with the victims.
‘We are also investigating allegations that Met officers provided false and misleading information to those affected and whether the officers’ treatment of those affected was influenced by their race.
‘We have now served notices advising four serving officers, whose ranks are commander, detective chief inspector, detective sergeant and detective constable, and a former detective inspector, that their conduct is being investigated at the level of gross misconduct.
‘Two detective constables are being investigated at misconduct level. Our investigation is ongoing and should any further conduct issues be identified then officers will be served notices.
‘All officers served notices will be interviewed in due course. The serving of notices does not mean that proceedings will necessarily follow.’
A previous statement from the Crown Prosecution Service read: ‘After careful consideration of all the evidence and material provided by the police as part of this reinvestigation, and upon receipt of advice from counsel on 7 April, we have concluded that there are some further factors we must consider before a decision on charge can be reached.
‘We appreciate the ongoing distress any delay may cause and are committed to making a final decision as soon as possible.
‘Our thoughts remain with the families of Nuria and Selena and all those impacted by this tragic incident.’
The Met Police have been contacted for comment.
