Jadan Shepherd Olivia Harris

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THERE was growing outrage today after it emerged the Metropolitan Police carried out a stop and search on a boy of nine.

Jadan Shepherd was sitting on a wall in Camberwell with his brother and three friends when officers emerged from a police van to tell the primary schoolboy and his friends to stand up and undergo the examination.

The officers searched the boys under police anti-knife powers because, they said, there had been a spate of local stabbings. Only his 13-year-old brother, Rashaun, was spared among the group.

Jadan was given a receipt by the police to confirm he had been searched. The schoolboy (pictured holding the paper) took it home to his mother, Sandra, 40.

She has lodged an official complaint with Scotland Yard, insisting she or another adult should have been present during the search.

“They were just sitting there minding their own business,” she said. “The police said there had been a couple of stabbings recently but didn’t explain any more. They just patted Jadan’s pockets and gave him a receipt. If they want to stop and search, fair enough, but a responsible adult should have been present.”

"For a young child it’s likely to be terrifying. If it is absolutely essential to search a child, then it should be done in the presence of a responsible adult"

She added: “Looking at him you can see he is underage and doesn’t look like a suspect.”

The incident took place at 6pm on 5 August near Jadan’s home.

When news of the search emerged today, radio stations were inundated with hundreds of calls of outrage. Civil-rights campaigners demanded a change to police tactics.

Corinna Ferguson, legal officer at Liberty, said: “For a young child it’s likely to be terrifying. If it is absolutely essential to search a child, then it should be done in the presence of a responsible adult.”

Metropolitan Police Authority member Jenny Jones said: “I can’t see this is an appropriate or effective use of resources. It risks undermining community safety.”

A Met spokesman confirmed its Directorate of Professional Standards was investigating.