Fresh blow for Met chief as top officer faces conduct probe
WATCHDOGS have overruled the Metropolitan Police to order a gross misconduct inquiry into one of the force’s most senior officers, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
In a fresh blow to Commissioner Cressida Dick, the Independent Office for Police Conduct has ordered an inquiry into allegations that Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Horne illegally undermined a bullying probe into himself while at Essex Police.
Scotland Yard bosses refused the IOPC’s initial recommendation but have now been overruled. Mr Horne was appointed in 2019 as the Met’s £150,000-a-year head of professional standards – the so-called ‘Line of Duty squad’ – despite being previously found guilty of three charges of misconduct while at Essex Police.
Ms Dick supported Mr Horne under questioning in Westminster earlier this year, telling MPs her colleague was ‘a very capable man’ who ‘has been doing an excellent job since he has been in the Met’.
Mr Horne, who is also facing a criminal investigation over the bullying probe allegations, is now head of ‘futures work’ at the Met after being relieved of his previous job while under investigation.
Dave Clark, a former City of London Police temporary commander, is also under criminal investigation over the matter, amid accusations that he illegally accessed information and passed it to Mr Horne. He will also face a gross misconduct hearing by City of London Police who agreed with the IOPC’s recommendation.
An IOPC spokesman said: ‘We can confirm that a former senior City of London Police (CoLP) officer and a senior Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officer will face gross misconduct proceedings as the result of an IOPC investigation. Our investigation followed a complaint lodged against the (now) former CoLP officer that, in 2018, he accessed confidential information that was subsequently passed to a senior MPS officer.
‘We also investigated an allegation that he disposed of his personal mobile phone after he became aware of our investigation.
‘We determined he had a case to answer for potential breaches of police professional standards. CoLP agreed with our recommendation and it will now be a matter for the force to hold those disciplinary proceedings.
‘We also investigated the senior MPS officer for allegations that in 2018 he… received and made use of that confidential information as part of disciplinary proceedings.
‘We decided he had a case to answer for potential breaches of police professional standards. After the MPS disagreed with our recommendation, last month, we directed the force to hold disciplinary proceedings.’