Daily Express

MET CHIEF SHOULD NOT WALK AWAY SCOT-FREE AFTER LIVES AND REPUTATION­S WERE TRASHED

- By Michael Knowles

MET chief Cressida Dick says she might be willing to “step down gracefully” in the wake of the Operation Midland fiasco.

Oh might she now? I’m sorry but why the hell should she and the other incompeten­ts in this case who were allowed to retire or, incredibly, got promoted to avoid censure, walk away from this? Not when their incompeten­ce and their evil ruined lives – Leon Brittan, former home secretary, Defence Chief Lord Bramall and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, to name but a few.

Leon Brittan’s wife, Lady Brittan spoke out this week about Operation Midland – one of the worst police investigat­ions in the history of policing where innocent lives and reputation­s were trashed on the word of lying paedophile, Carl Beech, now serving 18 years in prison. So why allow the officers in this debacle to keep their jobs or slide into retirement on full pensions when they deserve to be kicked out with nothing – or charged? The police force is supposed to be about justice. How can it be that when the people at the heart of scandals like this are either idiots or don’t have the first clue about policing? Top judge, Sir Richard Henriques, says there must now be a criminal investigat­ion into the Met and its watchdog the IOPC which after a THREE year investigat­ion reckoned no one was to blame for anything. Nothing less will do.

DOMINIC Raab branded China’s decision to bar BBCWorld News from its TV networks as “an unacceptab­le curtailing of media freedom”.

Hong Kong’s public broadcaste­r also dropped BBC radio.

The action comes days after Beijing’s primary internatio­nal news channel lost its licence in the UK and is another sign of deteriorat­ing relations between Britain and China.

Beijing has criticised BBC reports on the pandemic in China and allegation­s of rape, sexual abuse and forced labour in the Xinjiang region, home to Uighurs.

Foreign Secretary Mr Raab said: “China has some of the most severe restrictio­ns on media across the globe, and this latest step will damage China’s reputation.”

China’s embassy in London accused the BBC of “relentless fabricatio­n” that “reeks of double standards”.

The channel said: “The BBC is the word’s most trusted broadcaste­r.”

JI CAN’T think of anything I’d like less than to appear on Mastermind, or, even worse, host it. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t decry those who do, whether they’re all-time greats in the chair such as Magnus Magnusson (1972-1997) John Humphrys (2003-2021) or historic winners such as London taxi driver Fred Housego, who lifted the trophy in 1980 but was still happily driving his cab in 2007.

Quiz shows have traditiona­lly been largely dominated by men, which is why I was delighted to read this week that BBC journalist Samira Ahmed is the bookies’ favourite to take over.

Not only has she appeared as a contestant twice, including being crowned Champion of Champions, she’s warm, open, and (I’ve started, so I’ll finish) utterly confident on camera. The host with the most, in fact.

A MAN who stabbed a female police officer in the face with a pen has been jailed for nearly four years.

Adrian Popa, 40, had admitted threatenin­g to kill PC Alexandra Dobbs and assaulting her on August 16 last year.

Jailing him at the Old Bailey, Judge Richard Marks QC said: “Attacks on police will not be tolerated and those convicted of such an attack will be dealt with severely by the courts.”

The court heard how Popa had been spotted by a neighbour lurking in the back garden of his ex-partner’s home in Edgware, north London.

The Battersea

Power

Station safety supervisor had been barred under bail conditions from going to the property after being charged over an alleged domestic assault.

PC Dobbs was among the first on the scene and was attacked by Popa as she tried to detain him.

The incident was captured on graphic police body-worn video which was played in court.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom