Crime chief won’t discuss No.10 aide’s porn arrest because of human rights
BRITAIN’S crime agency last night refused to discuss the arrest of a senior No.10 aide three months ago – in case it breaches his human rights.
Whitehall adviser Patrick Rock was detained on child porn charges in February, but the National Crime Agency has never admitted it.
Yesterday, director general Keith Bristow suggested the information blackout was to protect Rock’s ‘right to life’.
Speaking for the first time about the controversy, the former Warwickshire chief constable said he feared such publicity could drive suspects to suicide.
And he suggested reporting that someone had been arrested could deprive them of their ‘right to a fair trial’. His comments, which will add to growing fears over secret arrests, provoked outrage among child abuse campaigners.
Mr Bristow also said he wanted his staff to be known as crime fighters, not police officers, adding: ‘We are not the police, we are a different type of agency. We have the powers of constables but we are different. We are pleased to be described as crime fighters.’
Described as David Cameron’s policy fixer, Rock, 62, was a key member of the Prime Minister’s inner circle at Downing Street, and had been involved in drawing up Government policy on internet porn filters.
He was arrested at his London home on February 13 on suspicion of hoarding child abuse images.
Officers from the NCA – known as Britain’s FBI – were called in by No.10 to search his office.
The inquiry was revealed by the Daily Mail a fortnight later after the move was confirmed by senior Whitehall figures. The NCA, which says it aims to be open and transparent, has never commented on the inquiry.
Yesterday, Mr Bristow suggested this was because the rights of suspects override the need for openness.
Asked about the case, he said: ‘It is difficult for us to talk about investigations where we have neither confirmed nor denied investigating anything. We have obligations around right to life and the right to a fair trial. These are obligations we have to balance.’
He added: ‘I believe our interpretation of what is expected of us is right.’
In six months, the NCA has arrested more than 600 people and charged about half, of whom only a handful have been named voluntarily.
Its refusal to confirm it had made an arrest in the Rock case contrasts with the policy of every other police force, which always confirm arrests. Leaders at the College of Policing insist it is in the public interest to do so.
It is understood that NCA policy was shaped by the Leveson Inquiry, which included proposals to rein in the Press. It highlights concerns that the inquiry into Press standards is letting police and other officials withhold information from the public.
Peter Saunders, of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said he was astonished by the secrecy, adding: ‘Abuse persists because it is constantly covered up.
‘There are too many abusers and their apologists in positions of power. Too many with much to lose, and thanks to the public, the media and survivors who have spoken out we finally have them on the run.’