Met chief accused of misconduct by ex-MP

DAME CRESSIDA DICK has been reported for alleged misconduct over her role in the disastrous Operation Midland investigation, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

Harvey Proctor, the former Tory MP, lodged a formal complaint with the Mayor of London’s office, accusing the Met Commissioner of a dereliction of duty during the opening weeks of the inquiry in 2014.

Mr Proctor, 72, was investigated by Scotland Yard for more than a year when fantasist Carl Beech told detectives he had been raped and abused by him and other high profile figures in the Seventies.

A senior officer declared Beech’s comments to be “credible and true” and the homes of Mr Proctor, Lord Bramall and Lord Brittan were raided by detectives.

Dame Cressida, who had overall responsibility for the investigation in its opening weeks in November 2014, recently admitted that she knew the use of the phrase “credible and true” was a mistake, but she failed to correct it. She has since admitted she should have taken action, saying: “perhaps in retrospect I should have said something”.

Mr Proctor claims that amounted to misconduct in public office and he has asked Sadiq Khan – who deals with complaints about the Commissioner – to investigate.

‘Perhaps in retrospect I should have said something [about officer’s mistake in saying claims were true]’

Last week Mr Proctor, who lost his home and his job as a result of the police investigation, accepted £900,000 in compensation from the Met.

But he has refused to go quietly and has also lodged a criminal complaint against five senior Met officers, accusing them of misleading a judge in order to obtain illegal search warrants.

A spokesman for the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime said: “A complaint has been received and it will be considered in due course.”