Ex-met chief in botched sex ring case faces investigation

THE officer in charge of Scotland Yard’s disastrous VIP child abuse scandal is to be investigated for gross misconduct, the police watchdog has announced.

Former assistant commissioner Steve Rodhouse, who ran the Met’s Operation Midland inquiry, has been accused of breaching professional standards and making dishonest statements during his handling of the case.

Mr Rodhouse is the first officer to face disciplinary proceedings as a result of Operation Midland, which saw highprofile figures investigated by police over false allegations of child abuse.

The decision to charge Mr Rodhouse with gross misconduct represents a victory for some of those who were falsely accused and their loved ones who have fought to have someone in the police held accountable for the failings.

Operation Midland was launched in 2014 after fantasist Carl Beech went to police claiming he had been raped by a VIP paedophile ring in the 1980s.

He told police that high-profile figures including Sir Edward Heath, the former prime minister, Lord Brittan, the former Home Secretary, Lord Bramall, the former head of the Army, and Harvey Proctor, the former Tory MP, had raped and even murdered children.

The Met spent 18 months investigating the claims before closing the case without having made a single arrest.

In July 2019 Beech was jailed for 18 years after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice and fraud.

Mr Rodhouse retired from the Met in 2018 and took up a £200,000-a-year job with the National Crime Agency.

Mr Proctor lost his home and job after the accusations but later received an apology and settlement from the Met.