I won’t be bullied into apologising over Bramall, says Hogan-Howe
THE head of Scotland Yard lost his cool yesterday as he insisted he will not be ‘bullied’ into apologising to ‘hounded’ war hero Lord Bramall over the peer’s child sex hell.
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, under intense pressure over his handling of the case, told MPs he has no plans to say sorry to the 92year-old former Army chief, whose home was raided over baseless paedophile claims as he ate breakfast with his terminally ill wife.
In comments likely to infuriate Lord Bramall’s supporters, he said his force only apologises ‘where there’s good cause’.
Critics have described the search on Lord Bramall’s home by 22 officers as ‘over the top’ and have also slammed the Met for taking so long to clear him of the allegations.
But appearing before the Commons home affairs committee, Sir Bernard dug his heels in and repeatedly refused to apologise.
He lost his cool when Tory MP Tim Loughton referred to a ‘media circus’ surrounding Operation Midland, the Metropolitan Police’s shambolic investigation into Lord Bramall and other VIPs accused of historic child sex abuse.
Sir Bernard responded: ‘Ah the media circus. If what you mean is that you want me to be bullied into apologising then that won’t happen.’
Mr Loughton replied: ‘So you think you’re being bullied, do you?’
Sir Bernard said: ‘I’m asking you whether that’s what you think.’
Scotland Yard has faced widespread criticism over its investigation into allegations against Lord Bramall, but so far has only ‘expressed regret’ about the case.
Yesterday, more than five weeks after the peer learned he would not face any charges, Sir Bernard maintained the same position. He told the committee: ‘First of all we have expressed regret. Regret of course, that is not an apology. There are difficulties... with apologies to suspects.’
When challenged by Mr Loughton over whether he would apologise, he snapped: ‘I’m not at the moment. I’ve said that at least four times today, and I’ve said it previously.’
The MP claimed that publicity around whether the Met chief would apologise to Lord Bramall undermined the ‘competence and credibility’ of the force and public confidence in the police.