Watchdog confirms fresh probe into police commissioner claim
A POLICE watchdog has confirmed it has now begun a fresh consideration of whether there could be a criminal case against former South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright over alleged lying to Parliament.
A spokesman for the Independent Police Complaints Commission said it has received a re-referral of complaints against Mr Wright over evidence he gave to the Home Affairs Select Committee in relation the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal.
The IPCC will now decide whether a full investigation is warranted and, if so, whether it carries out the inquiry itself or supervises an inquiry by a police force, which is likely to be the Met in this case.
The IPCC’s renewed involvement comes after the watchdog acknowledged it initially mistakenly concluded perjury would not be a criminal offence and would instead be contempt of Parliament.
South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel, which holds the local police and crime commissioner (PCC) to account, received complaints against Mr Wright in 2015 and referred them to the IPCC, which has responsibility for criminal investigations into PCCs. After receiving the IPCC’s initial response, the panel referred the allegations to the Home Affairs Select Committee instead, which deemed they could be considered criminal and forwarded them to the Met Police last November.
The Met subsequently wrote to the IPCC which led to the watchdog reviewing the legal position and stating it would take back responsibility once the panel had re-referred the complaints, which it has now done.
An IPCC spokesman said: “We have now received that referral and will make an assessment as to whether the matter requires investigation and if so, by whom.”
The case relates to Mr Wright’s appearance before the Commons committee in September 2014 and allegations he gave misleading evidence on oath.