Meet The Owner – Emily Morris and Her 1968 London Met Panda Car

“I bought her from my father-in-law in August 2024, who had owned her for about 10 years. I've owned another Morris Minor since 2012, so I wasn't new to Moggie ownership; I just wanted to add the police car to the collection as I'd always admired it.” 

Emily is the registrar of Ex-Police Register, of the Morris Minor Owners Club -  and her Panda Car is a prime example of the ‘Unit Beat’ patrol cars operated by the London Met in the late 1960s. In 1965, Lancaster Constabulary introduced Unit Beat Policing, in which officers in the Kirby area patrolled in black-and-white-liveried Ford Anglia 105Es rather than on foot.

Their colour scheme earned them the nickname “Panda Cars”. 

In 1967, the Home Office invested £2 million to expand the scheme. Roy Jenkins, the Home Secretary, said: 

“People will always go to a policeman on foot or in a small car, but they would hesitate to stop a big black patrol car” - such as a Wolseley 6/110 or Jaguar S-Type.  

The Minor Panda cars were made on the standard Cowley production line, and the Met Morrises were finished in White and Bermuda Blue. They were intended to be used by a single officer, unlike the Wolsleeys and Jaguars, and the driver would communicate with their own two-way radio. Nor was there a blue beacon, two-tone horns or a bell. Emily says that her Minor: 

Was in service for just under two years. I've got a fair amount of paperwork with it, including the first bill of sale after she left the Met, dated November 1969 (she was first registered January 1968 and was part of the first batch of Metropolitan Police Morris Minor Panda Cars, which all had 'SYT' registration marks). The first private owner passed it on to her grandson in 1985, who then sold it to my now-husband in 2014, who recommissioned it for his father, so she's technically only been part of two families since leaving the police. 

As for driving the Minor Panda Car: “I've always found Morris Minors, particularly the late ‘60's ones, nice and easy to drive, but then I have been driving them for 14 years now, so it's second nature to me”. Naturally, it causes a sensation at events: 

She always has a good reaction from the public, especially when on display at shows with all the police signage. Children seem to love her because she's a bit different, and there are always people coming over to ask questions about her. Since taking over the Morris Minor Owners Club's Ex-Police Register last year, it's been great getting together with other Morris Minor panda cars too, as they definitely get a lot of attention together! 

And Emily has preserved an aspect of British social history that is utterly fun to drive. You really cannot ask for more from a classic car.

With thanks to Emily Morris for her time.

With thanks to Emily Morris for the use of the images in this blog.