Review of Met VIP paedophile probe

Priti Patel wrote to the Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor yesterday, asking him to review the actions of the Metropolitan Police over Operation Midland.

Her letter asks him, as part of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), to examine the bungled probe a day before the force publishes more of an already heavily critical report into the same investigation.

Today, the force is to release further sections of a review by former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques, who was called in after the 16-month operation ended in 2016 without a single arrest.

It saw the homes of D-Day veteran Lord Bramall; Lady Diana Brittan, the widow of former home secretary Leon Brittan; and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor raided on the basis of false claims made by fantasist Carl Beech.

Beech is serving an 18-year jail term for fabricating a series of claims of rape, torture and murder by innocent, well-known names from the military, security services and politics.

In her letter, entitled “Maintaining public confidence in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) following the publication of Sir Richard Henriques’ review”, she said: “I am grateful to the MPS for the steps they are taking to ensure that there is transparency around the failings identified by Sir Richard that had such a distressing impact on those falsely accused.

“It is imperative that the public receive assurance that the MPS has learned from the mistakes identified in Sir Richard’s report and have made – and continue to make – necessary improvements.

“To this end I am writing to you to request, under the provisions in s54 of the Police Act 1996, that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) undertake an inspection at the earliest practicable opportunity to follow up on Sir Richard’s review.”

Some details of Sir Richard’s report were released by the force three years ago, in which he criticised the Met for believing Beech for too long; one officer announcing publicly that his claims were “credible and true”; applying for search warrants with flawed information and failing to close the investigation sooner.

Then-force chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe made a series of extraordinary apologies over the disastrous investigation, which has to date cost the force around £4.5 million.

Five officers were referred to the police watchdog, then known as the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and now the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), but the body found no evidence of wrongdoing or criminality.

Ms Patel also asked for the inspection to take into account this subsequent IOPC investigation, known as Operation Kentia. The full report is yet to be published.