DRUGS COPS BATTER LORD’S DOOR DOWN
Two days after cocaine and call girls video, police finally swoop on flat
POLICE grudgingly shuffled into action last night almost two days after Lord Sewel was exposed snorting cocaine with prostitutes.
The Met launched an inquiry as it became almost impossible to ignore his degrading activities.
It sent a small group of officers, including one on a bicycle, to Dolphin Square, a stone’s throw from the Houses of Parliament.
One officer brandished a bright red battering ram, known as an enforcer, and others held handfuls of transparent plastic evidence bags.
The group, seven of whom were in plain clothes, walked straight up to Sewel’s eighth floor flat.
They are believed to have smashed down the plain brown flimsy door because the apartment was unoccupied and they did not have a key.
They spent around three hours searching the rented apartment where the 69-year- old took part in a sex and drugs party last week. Officers left carrying various bags.
But the substantial delay in taking any action means it will be more difficult for them to find useful evidence to help build a criminal case.
There was also no sign of police moving in to arrest Sewel – who remains in hiding – and question him under caution.
The former Labour minister is believed to have fled the property within hours of being contacted by a Sunday newspaper about his activities. In the hours after footage was published on Saturday night, police showed little interest in bringing the peer to justice.
Sources repeatedly said they were waiting for an official complaint and police would not initiate an inquiry themselves.
And they cast doubt on whether a successful case could be brought against Sewel because it would be impossible to prove what he was
‘It looks lackadaisical’
snorting. This is despite the presence of the two women witnessing him producing the cocaine and carving it up for snorting.
Sewel is even caught on the footage referring to the drug as ‘the big one’ and joking: ‘It comes in a can... it’s Coca-Cola – forget the cola.’
The Met belatedly swung into action yesterday after receiving a complaint from Lordsw Speaker Baroness D’Souza. Officers went to Westminster Magistrates’ Court for a warrant to search Sewel’s home after a day of emergency meetings at New Scotland Yard.
It was granted under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which gives a judge the power to allow police to search a property if there is evidence of illegal drug use. The team of nine officers, i ncluding detectives from the Met’s Special Inquiries Team, arrived at Dolphin Square at around 5.45pm last night.
They drove on to the property, which is on the north bank of the River Thames in Pimlico, in two grey Vauxhall Corsas and a marked dog vehicle.
Bemused fellow residents were told to stay away from the property, which is at the end of a gloomy corridor, while the search took place. While security guards patrolled outside the entrance to his block, another police officer arrived on a bicycle. MPs questioned why police did not act more quickly when faced with the overwhelming evidence of Sewel’s disregard for the law.
Labour MP John Mann, who has called on Sewel to resign from the Lords before he is expelled, questioned why it took so long for police to act. ‘It looks lackadaisical,’ he said. ‘The Metropolitan Police should have been straight inside looking for any evidence.’
Investigators must now consider when and how to question Sewel before deciding if there is a case for prosecutors to look at.
It is understood that the peer is most likely to be questioned under caution by appointment at a Central London police station within the next few days.
Last night, a Met spokesman insisted its investigation began before the official complaint was made. He said: ‘One complaint in relation to this matter has been received. Our investigation commenced prior to this.’
Sewel could face eviction because the orgy may have left him in breach of the tenancy agreement at his grace and favour flat. The peer enjoys a protected rent of £1,000-per-month as well as taxpayer-funded expenses.
Managers at Dolphin Square refused to comment but one elderly resident, who also lives in Nelson House, said: ‘He has driven a coach and horses through the tenancy agreement.’