Scotland Yard officers investigating historical accusations of child sex abuse by high-profile figures committed dozens of errors and misled a judge to gain a search warrant, an independent inquiry has found.
Retired judge Richard Henriques said that those accused of sex offences should be granted anonymity until they are charged with an offence and that their accusers should be referred to "complainants" rather than "victims".
Sir Richard’s review examined the conduct of officers during three paedophile investigations, including Operation Midland, which concerned claims that a “VIP ring” of paedophiles operated in Westminster 30 years ago.
Those accused included former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor and former chief of the defence staff Lord Bramall, but the investigation closed in March without making a single arrest.
The accusations were based on evidence given by a man known as “Nick”, whom police publicly described as a credible witness. The judge revealed on Tuesday that the man is now under investigation for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
“The principal cause of the many failures in this investigation was poor judgment and a failure to accurately evaluate known facts and to react to them,” he said. “A major contributing factor was the culture that ‘victims’ must be believed.”
Brittan investigation
Sir Richard found that another investigation, into accusations against former home secretary Leon Brittan, was similarly flawed. Brittan died in January without being told that he had been exonerated, although the police knew they had no evidence against him.
“I am in no doubt that he should have been informed during his lifetime that no action would be taken,” Sir Richard said.
The retired judge found that police failed to adequately investigate Nick and kept him up to date with the details of their investigations into those he accused. Meanwhile, they carried out searches of the homes of those accused, which were deeply intrusive.
"The police inspected every piece of paper and recording equipment in the homes of Lord Bramall, Lady Brittan and Mr Proctor, including letters of commiseration and Golden Wedding invitations," Sir Richard said.
Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe, who was not criticised in the report, on Tuesday apologised for the actions of his officers. He acknowledges that the public identification of those accused compounded the harm done to them.
Personal dismay
“It is a matter of professional and personal dismay that the suspects in the investigation were pursued for so long when it could have been concluded much earlier,” he said. “I am today issuing a public apology to Lord Bramall, Lady Brittan and Harvey Proctor for the intrusion into their homes and the impact of Operation Midland on their lives.”
Mr Proctor accepted the apology but said the damage done to himself and his family was irreversible.
Peter Saunders, founder of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said the failure of Operation Midland should not deter those who were abused as children from coming forward.
“It’s not a good day,” he said. “But what I hope and I pray is that people who have been affected by these crimes – young people, children and the adults that they become – if they are able to report these crimes, still do so.”
