A human rights watchdog is to investigate the Metropolitan Police in the wake of a tribunal that found an officer from Croydon suffered sexual and racial discrimination at the force.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) today announced an inquiry into "unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation" of Met employees, after judges awarded £37,000 compensation to firearms officer Carol Howard last month.

The Central London Employment Tribunal found in July that Ms Howard, 35, of Coulsdon, had been "singled out and targeted" by her superior because she was a black woman.

She was discriminated against while working for the Diplomatic Protection Group between January and October 2012, during which time it was headed by Chief Superintendent Andy Tarrant, now Croydon's borough commander.

The tribunal recommended Chief Supt Tarrant should undergo formal equality training after he failed to acknowledge or act upon victimisation of Ms Howard by her superior, Acting Inspector Dave Kelly, despite "damning evidence".

The two senior officers also helped to block Ms Howard's application to transfer out of the Diplomatic Protection Group, described by the tribunal as "an almost exclusively male and predominantly white unit".

The EHRC said its investigation was "a response to long-standing concerns about the Met's treatment of female, black and ethnic minority and gay officers", citing Ms Howard's case in particular.

Its inquiry, led by board member Laura Carstensen, will focus on the Met's internal grievance and misconduct procedures. The commission expects to publish its findings and recommendations by the end of 2015.

Mark Hammond, the EHRC's chief executive, said: "The Commission was established to ensure compliance with the laws that protect everyone’s rights to fairness, dignity and respect. 

"This independent and transparent investigation will establish whether the Met’s procedures for handling employees’ complaints about discrimination comply with the law.

" We look forward to helping the Met ensure that its workplace culture and practices inspire public confidence."

Scotland Yard, in a statement issued after Ms Howard's compensation was awarded, said: "This case is in the process of being fully reviewed.

"It is essential that all staff and the public have full confidence in our fairness at work policy and we are commissioning an independent review of the policy. PC Howard's experiences, as well as other cases, will help inform that review."