The Metropolitan Police rejected criticism by police watchdog which said they had not acted sufficiently to learn the lessons that arose from a false VIP child sex abuse scandal.
In a statement released on Friday in response to a damning report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMCFRS) the same day, the Met Police said that they are "determined" to ensure that previous mistakes from Operation Midland can never happen again and are dedicated to implementing many of the recommended changes by High Court judge Sir Richard Henrique.
They accepted that the HMCFRS report accurately identified that more could have been done to implement Sir Richard's proposals but rebuked the idea that it would be possible to make changes in the nation-wide police force, claiming it was "beyond our remit".
"In order to meet best operational practice and to ensure the judiciary and public have confidence in the way the MPS deals with search warrants, training is being delivered to more than 24,000 frontline officers as well as every new recruit and transferee. Every inspector who authorises warrant applications will have been trained within weeks", the report said, quoting IOPC Director General Michael Lockwood.
It was revealed that the Met introduced a programme in October 2019 dubbed 'Operation Larimar', designed to "improve" the quality of investigations and the safeguards around search warrants in thousands of cases each year.
Commissioner Cressida Dick said that everyone should their "comprehensive work should" reassure everyone that the Met has learnt the lessons from Operation Midland and the same mistakes would not be repeated.
In the HMCFRS report inspectors had found that the “poor decision-making" that was seen in Operation Midland is unlikely to be repeated in the future. However, it condemned the police for failing to make the changes suggested by the Henrique review on 31 October 2016 and for only only properly implementing the recommended changes.
"Inexperienced supervisors, weaknesses in understanding, inconsistencies and a superficial approach to supervising crime investigations aren't the most promising findings to have to report", the report read.
"The Henriques report made uncomfortable reading for the Met and the force has been slow to learn the lessons", said HM Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr.
"I'm pleased to see that, since October 2019, the force has been taking bolder steps to learn the lessons", he added.
The 'Nick' Affair
Operation Midland was set up by the Metropolitan police in November 2014 to examine false allegations that the accuser had been abused as a child by multiple high-profile figures in politics and the security services.
He claimed that he had been brought to exclusive club parties throughout London for high-ranking officials. Among those named include the former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, former prime minister Sir Edward Heath, the former home secretary Leon Brittan, the then chief of defence staff Lord Bramall, ex-MI5 head Sir Michael Hanley.
The investigation led to zero arrests and ended in 2016. However the accuser, who's real name was Carl Beech, was jailed for 18 years in July 2019 for making the false claims as well as for downloading child abuse imagery and filming a teenage boy.
He is now appealing the sentence.
Richard Henriques’ 391-page report identified 43 major blunders in Operation Midland and made 25 recommendations and Mr Proctor, said that the report "clearly indicates" that the Met tried to cover-up its wrongdoing during the operation.
Proctor received a sizeable payout in November of £500,000 in compensation and around £400,000 for legal fees from Scotland Yard.
The report also illuminates the involvement of Labour’s former deputy leader, Tom Watson, who met with Beech and encouraged him to come forward with his allegations and that his intervention left police "in a state of panic".
Watson received praise however for being "measured and sensible" in his involvement by Ben Emmerson QC, the former lead lawyer for the government’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
“Mr Watson was quite open, and told me that it was not his role to assess the credibility of the individual allegations he had received, but merely to ensure that they were properly investigated. Due to the sheer volume of complaints that were received in his office, he felt that it was his duty as a parliamentarian to use his platform to ensure that proper resources were put into discovering if there had been a paedophile ring operating with connections to Westminster”, Emmerson said;
Detective Superintendent Kenny McDonald said in December 2014 at the beginning of the investigation that officers believed the accusations were "credible and true".
The HMIC inquiry was launched by Home Secretary Priti Patel last October follow reports by the Daily Mail, revealing the extent of the 'Nick' affair.
