Under new strip-search measures, prior permission from a police inspector will be needed in two London boroughs before a strip search can be carried out.The new measures were introduced due to the distressing case of Child Q.

Child Q is a 15-year-old black schoolgirl who was strip-searched by police while on her menstrual cycle after being wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis. This sparked outrage in the local Hackney community and protests took place.

The Metropolitan Police are running a pilot scheme across Hackney and Tower Hamlets to require an inspector to give approval before a strip-search takes place. The Met have said that the new rules would be trialed in these two boroughs before they consider a wider expansion across London. Deputy assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said that this will ensure "appropriate oversight of such an intrusive intervention".

The new change is in addition to existing requirements, that a conversation with a supervisor should take place and an "appropriate adult" be present.Three police officers have been investigated for misconduct by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is finalising its report. Scotland Yard has apologised and said the incident "should never have happened".In a letter to the Mayor of Hackney, Taylor said the force has been "deeply affected by the depth of feeling generated by this incident and understand that we need to do something different to address these ongoing concerns".