VIP child abuse probe ‘seriously hit faith in police’: Six former home secretaries write letter demanding inquiry into investigation launched over claims by fantasist Carl Beech
- Group from across political divide join up to demand action over police probe
- Former Home Secretaries including Michael Howard and Jack Straw sign letter
- They want inquiry into police actions over false ‘VIP paedophile’ ring claims
Six former home secretaries have demanded a fresh inquiry into Scotland Yard’s shambolic VIP probe and the watchdogs that controversially cleared detectives of misconduct.
In an unprecedented joint intervention, they said confidence in the police had been seriously damaged by the multi-million-pound investigation into false allegations of an Establishment paedophile ring.
They urged Home Secretary Priti Patel to order an independent inquiry into Operation Midland, the £2.5milion probe into false claims made by Carl Beech, aka ‘Nick’.
Six former home secretaries have demanded a fresh inquiry into Scotland Yard’s shambolic probe into false false claims by fantasist Carl Beech
Writing to The Times today, three former Tory home secretaries – Lord Baker, Lord Clarke and Lord Howard – and three ex-Labour ones – Jack Straw, Lord Blunkett and Lord Reid of Cardowan – say they are ‘acutely conscious of the need to maintain public confidence in the police’.
They say they agree with Sir Richard Henriques, the retired High Court judge who wrote a scathing report into Operation Midland, that ‘confidence in the police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has been seriously damaged’.
They wrote: ‘We concur with Sir Richard’s view that confidence in the police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct has been seriously damaged and endorse his call and that of the former chief magistrate for an independent investigation. We urge the home secretary to establish it.’
The demand for an independent criminal investigation will increase pressure on Dame Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, who sanctioned the setting up of Operation Midland in 2014 under the command of Steve Rodhouse, then a deputy assistant commissioner.
Former Home Secretaries from across the political divide – including Tory Michael Howard (left) and Labour’s Jack Straw (right) – have joined together to call for an inquiry
It is also a huge blow to the IOPC watchdog, whose inquiry into five Operation Midland detectives was branded ‘lamentable’ and a ‘whitewash’ by Sir Richard. According to The Times, a source ‘close’ to Miss Patel said there were questions that ‘need to be answered’.
The letter comes after a former district judge demanded a criminal inquiry into detectives who asked him to sign search warrants in the disastrous inquiry.
Howard Riddle said that if police failed to reveal evidence undermining Nick’s credibility, the warrant applications appeared to amount to perverting the course of justice.
Scotland Yard detectives used them to raid the homes of Lord Brittan’s widow, former Armed Forces chief Lord Bramall and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor.
The false allegations led to Beech being jailed for 18 years for perverting the course of justice and other offences.