Met took three years to act on criticism of false VIP sex claims
THE Metropolitan Police waited three years before acting on the results of a damning review into false claims about the existence of a VIP Westminster paedophile ring, a watchdog has found.
It is alleged that force bosses were more concerned with “restricting access” to the 2016 report by former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques, which identified 43 police failings.
One officer described the fallout of the botched £2million Operation Midland investigation as “one of the most secret learning experiences the Met has had”.
The report published today, from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), was ordered in October by Home Secretary Priti Patel.
It was tasked to look at how the Met responded to Sir Richard’s probe after more of his findings were made public.
Now HMICFRS has made 16 recommendations, which include proposals that may change the way police approach victims during investigations.
Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor described the watchdog’s report as a “devastating criticism” of the Met and branded the force’s response to the Henriques review as a “cover-up”.
Operation Midland was launched in 2014 into false claims – made by fantasist Carl “Nick” Beech sentenced to 18 years in jail – of rape, torture and murder by innocent high-profile names from the military, security services and politics.
It ended without one arrest, though the 16-month probe saw dawn raids on the homes of D-Day veteran Lord Bramall, the late Lord Brittan and Mr Proctor.
The Henriques report reprimanded the Met for believing Beech for too long and a senior detective for saying publicly that his claims were “credible and true”.
The HMICFRS found the Met started acting on the Henriques recommendations only towards the end of last year.
A Met advisory group’s “discussion
A BEAUTIFUL 19th-century mosaic floor has been uncovered during the restoration of a historic cathedral. The decorative neo-gothic work, by renowned architect EdwardWelby Pugin, was found beneath a suspended wooden floor covered by carpet. A team of conservation specialists made the find when carrying out renovations at theVictorian Grade II-listed Shrewsbury Cathedral in Shropshire on March 2.
The Rt Rev Mark Davies, the Bishop of Shrewsbury, said: “It is always an amazing moment to see something that has been hidden from sight for generations suddenly uncovered. “I found it particularly moving to find the floor so well preserved and giving testimony, in all of its intricacy and beauty, to the faith and sacrifices of generations before us.We was heavily weighted towards restricting access to the report rather than learning the lessons from it”, the report claimed.
The watchdog did admit Operation Larimar, set up by the Met in October, is creating a “more robust structure” to act on the findings of the Henriques review.
The Met claims it had been “deliberately cautious” due to criminal proceedings and the Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation.
Current Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick insisted that the force “took Sir Richard’s report extremely seriously and quickly recognised that many of the recommendations would affect policing nationwide”. look forward to being able to share this beauty with all who come here.”
The tiles, which have been slightly damaged, are now being cleaned with the building scheduled to be reopened in time for Holy Week, which is from April 5 to 11.
Richard Keddie, the development officer, added: “This is a great thing not only for the cathedral itself but also for the whole of Shrewsbury and our local communities that will, hopefully, benefit.
“The cathedral is a place of immense historical and religious importance.”
The mosaic is inspired by the design of Augustus Pugin, father of Edward, who pioneered the Gothic revival in architecture. It was intended that Pugin senior would carry out the work but he died before he could start.
Work on building the cathedral began in 1853 and it was opened by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman in 1856.
Seven of the windows are stained glass masterpieces in the Arts and Crafts tradition by Margaret Rope, a locally born artist.
In 1984, the cathedral was reordered under instruction from the Vatican.