Yard forced me out for warning over VIP abuse witch-hunt, says detective

A DETECTIvE who dismissed sex abuse claims against Leon Brittan claims he has been ‘hounded out’ of Scotland Yard.

Paul Settle, who has taken early retirement, concluded he had no future in the force after exposing the failings of colleagues investigating the former Tory home secretary, who died in 2015.

Mr Settle, who was a detective chief inspector, blamed Labour deputy leader Tom Watson’s intervention in the case for the demise of his 25-year police career. The 44-year-old accused Mr Watson and several Labour activists of being ‘politically motivated’ in allegations against Tory grandees that were found to be unsubstantiated.

After an extensive investigation, Mr Settle – appointed head of the Met’s vIP sex abuse inquiry Operation Fairbank in 2012 – concluded there was no evidence to support allegations from a Labour Party supporter that she was assaulted by Lord Brittan at his London flat in 1967.

But in May 2014, three months after telling the accuser of the decision, Mr Settle was removed from his post. A month earlier, he learned, Mr Watson had written to the Director of Public Prosecutions asking for the decision to be reviewed and Lord Brittan – then dying of cancer – to be interviewed. The letter was sent on to Met chiefs.

Mr Settle said: ‘The management at the Yard were absolutely petrified of Tom Watson. They were scared of what he could do to their careers.

‘They hung me out to dry. It was about their self-preservation. I was quite emphatic that the allegations against Lord Brittan were nonsense.’

Mr Settle was the only senior detective to warn of a ‘baseless witch-hunt’ when he appeared in front of the Commons’ home affairs committee in October 2015.

A year ago he was finally exonerated of wrongdoing by retired High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques’ damning report into the Met’s handling of the investigation.

Mr Settle said he was ‘ completely sidelined’ by senior colleagues and given a nonjob marking exam papers.

He had a mental health breakdown and was on a combination of sick and gardening leave for three-and-a-half years before retiring last month.

He said he had exposed the failings of senior officers, adding: ‘I was hounded out at the Met purely because I stood up and said, “We should not do that.” But I can look myself in the mirror. I did the right thing.’

Scotland Yard said individuals’ reasons for retiring were ‘a private matter’, but it did not believe Mr Settle had been hounded out. Mr Watson declined to comment.