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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2016/nov/08/operation-midland-report-into-mets-sex-abuse-inquiry-published-live-updates
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| Operation Midland: Henriques report identifies 43 failings - live updates | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 2.54pm GMT | |
| 14:54 | |
| Matthew Taylor | |
| The report says that the investigation could have been carried out without those accused by Nick learning of it | |
| It said the principal cause of the mistakes in Operation Midland was the decision to search several premises, which it described as “a grave error of judgement”. | |
| Henriques found these searches were carried out “when there were no reasonable grounds to believe an indictable offence had been committed”. | |
| 2.46pm GMT | |
| 14:46 | |
| Five officers referred to IPCC | |
| The Met has said it is referring the conduct of five officers to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in the light of the Henriques report. One of them is a deputy assistant commissioner. | |
| IPCC deputy chair Rachel Cerfontyne said: | |
| We were advised earlier today that the Metropolitan police is to refer the conduct of five officers, ranging in rank from sergeant to deputy assistant commissioner, to the IPCC in relation to Operation Midland. We understand the conduct of a deputy assistant commissioner will also be referred to the IPCC regarding a different operation. | |
| We have assembled an assessment team to analyse relevant documentation to be supplied by the force, and provide me with a recommendation. Once I receive that recommendation, I will decide whether there will be an investigation and, if so, what form that investigation will take. I am aware of the significant public interest in these matters and I will announce that decision once I have made it and all concerned parties have been notified. | |
| We have not received any complaints from individuals who may feel they were adversely affected by the actions of officers involved in Operation Midland but, as in all cases, were such complaints to be referred to the IPCC they would be given due consideration. | |
| 2.31pm GMT | |
| 14:31 | |
| Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has released a lengthy statement in response to the report. | |
| This is just a part of it: | |
| Forty-three failings are identified in Operation Midland. The principal errors were: | |
| To believe the complainant Nick was a credible person for too long; | |
| To say publicly that the allegations were credible and true; | |
| To obtain search warrants with flawed and incomplete information; and | |
| Not to have closed the investigation sooner. | |
| I accept on behalf of the Metropolitan police accountability for these failures as I accept accountability for failures in any of our operations and investigations. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. The public identification of suspects compounded the harm of our investigative failures. | |
| They have all suffered as a result of the investigation and our description of the allegations as ‘credible and true’. We should not have said this, and we should have tested the credibility of the complainant more rigorously before conducting the searches. | |
| He goes on to highlight the pressure he says officers were under: | |
| These investigations – and those in Operation Yewtree many of which led to convictions - started at a time when there was significant concern that numerous sexual attacks on children and others had been ignored, including by the Metropolitan Police in decades gone by. | |
| Even worse were the allegations that abuse had been covered up by the establishment, including the government. | |
| It was in the context of the creation of an independent inquiry, together with parliamentary and media scrutiny that officers made their judgment. | |
| I cannot, and do not expect the sympathy of the suspects in these cases. But I do believe that it is necessary to understand the pressure on the investigators at this time. | |
| 2.23pm GMT | |
| 14:23 | |
| Report finds Operation Midland riddled with errors | |
| The report by retired judge Sir Richard Henriques into Operation Midland says that officers misled a judge to get search warrants and identified 43 failings. | |
| It says the investigation was riddled with errors, and a complainant will be investigated for attempting to pervert the course of justice. The report does not name the complainant but the main allegations that triggered the operation came from a man known as “Nick”. | |
| Five officers, including four detectives and a deputy assistant commissioner, will be referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission for failings. | |
| In his report, Sir Richard Henriques calls for an inquiry by the IPCC into the false grounds used to get search warrants. . | |
| The Met commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said he accepted there had been “serious failings” and that the investigation should have been closed sooner. | |
| Updated | |
| at 2.26pm GMT | |
| 2.13pm GMT | 2.13pm GMT |
| 14:13 | 14:13 |
| Hogan-Howe apologises for 'significant failings' | Hogan-Howe apologises for 'significant failings' |
| It has been confirmed that the Met commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, has apologised, ahead of publication of the report, to the former Conservative MP, Harvey Proctor, who was one of those investigated by Operation Midland. | It has been confirmed that the Met commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, has apologised, ahead of publication of the report, to the former Conservative MP, Harvey Proctor, who was one of those investigated by Operation Midland. |
| The head of Scotland Yard, said he was apologising after “significant failings” by the Met were identified in the report. | The head of Scotland Yard, said he was apologising after “significant failings” by the Met were identified in the report. |
| In a letter dated 8 November, Hogan-Howe wrote: | In a letter dated 8 November, Hogan-Howe wrote: |
| Now that we have received the final version of Sir Richard Henriques’s report I am writing to you formally to convey my apologies for the failings by the Metropolitan police service that Sir Richard has identified in the way in which we handled Operation Midland in which you were a suspect. | Now that we have received the final version of Sir Richard Henriques’s report I am writing to you formally to convey my apologies for the failings by the Metropolitan police service that Sir Richard has identified in the way in which we handled Operation Midland in which you were a suspect. |
| Sir Richard has concluded, and I accept, that there were significant failings in the way that the Operation Midland investigation was conducted. | Sir Richard has concluded, and I accept, that there were significant failings in the way that the Operation Midland investigation was conducted. |
| Hogan-Howe told Proctor the approach adopted in believing the complainant at the outset was “wrong”, and that “insufficient attempts” were made to test the credibility of the complainant. He wrote: | Hogan-Howe told Proctor the approach adopted in believing the complainant at the outset was “wrong”, and that “insufficient attempts” were made to test the credibility of the complainant. He wrote: |
| While it was right that the allegations had to be investigated, the effect of the approach adopted was to unnecessarily prolong the length of the investigation. | While it was right that the allegations had to be investigated, the effect of the approach adopted was to unnecessarily prolong the length of the investigation. |
| Hogan-Howe also said it was “wrong” to have searched Proctor’s property, adding: | Hogan-Howe also said it was “wrong” to have searched Proctor’s property, adding: |
| For these failings by the MPS (Metropolitan police service) I would like to offer you now an unreserved apology. | For these failings by the MPS (Metropolitan police service) I would like to offer you now an unreserved apology. |
| 2.03pm GMT | 2.03pm GMT |
| 14:03 | 14:03 |
| Vikram Dodd | Vikram Dodd |
| The key questions we are waiting for from the report are: | The key questions we are waiting for from the report are: |
| 1.57pm GMT | 1.57pm GMT |
| 13:57 | 13:57 |
| Vikram Dodd | Vikram Dodd |
| The media are gathering at a location in south London for the release of the report. | The media are gathering at a location in south London for the release of the report. |
| On a board stating the Met’s values is a slogan: | On a board stating the Met’s values is a slogan: |
| We will learn from experience and find ways to be even better. | We will learn from experience and find ways to be even better. |
| Also: | Also: |
| We will build trust by listening and responding. | We will build trust by listening and responding. |
| 1.49pm GMT | 1.49pm GMT |
| 13:49 | 13:49 |
| The BBC’s home affairs correspondent, Danny Shaw, reports that the former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, who was one of those wrongfully accused of being part of a VIP paedophile ring, has received an apology from the Met police commissioner. | The BBC’s home affairs correspondent, Danny Shaw, reports that the former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, who was one of those wrongfully accused of being part of a VIP paedophile ring, has received an apology from the Met police commissioner. |
| Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe is reported to have apologised to former MP Harvey Proctor over "significant" failings in Op #Midland.... | Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe is reported to have apologised to former MP Harvey Proctor over "significant" failings in Op #Midland.... |
| 1.42pm GMT | 1.42pm GMT |
| 13:42 | 13:42 |
| This is a useful graphic, explaining the people involved in/connected with Operation Midland: | This is a useful graphic, explaining the people involved in/connected with Operation Midland: |
| 1.30pm GMT | 1.30pm GMT |
| 13:30 | 13:30 |
| The review into how Scotland Yard handled claims that prominent establishment figures sexually abused and killed children between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s will be published at 2.15pm today. | The review into how Scotland Yard handled claims that prominent establishment figures sexually abused and killed children between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s will be published at 2.15pm today. |
| The report into the Met’s Operation Midland, which investigated allegations that the likes of former military chief, Lord Bramall, former home secretary, Leon Brittan, and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor were involved in a Westminster paedophile ring is expected to make difficult reading for the force. | The report into the Met’s Operation Midland, which investigated allegations that the likes of former military chief, Lord Bramall, former home secretary, Leon Brittan, and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor were involved in a Westminster paedophile ring is expected to make difficult reading for the force. |
| All of the accused denied the allegations and were subsequently cleared of any involvement without any arrests having ever been made. | All of the accused denied the allegations and were subsequently cleared of any involvement without any arrests having ever been made. |
| Operation Midland, which cost £2m and was based on the claims by a lone complainant known as “Nick”, closed in March amid widespread criticism and calls for the Met police commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, to resign. | Operation Midland, which cost £2m and was based on the claims by a lone complainant known as “Nick”, closed in March amid widespread criticism and calls for the Met police commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, to resign. |
| Hogan-Howe ordered retired high court judge Sir Richard Henriques to conduct an inquiry into the operation after an outcry over police actions and decision-making in the case, which saw officers obtain warrants to raid the homes of suspects and search their possessions. | Hogan-Howe ordered retired high court judge Sir Richard Henriques to conduct an inquiry into the operation after an outcry over police actions and decision-making in the case, which saw officers obtain warrants to raid the homes of suspects and search their possessions. |
| There have already been complaints that the full report will not be published with the Met citing the need to withhold “confidential and sensitive information”. | There have already been complaints that the full report will not be published with the Met citing the need to withhold “confidential and sensitive information”. |
| Proctor has accused the police of a cover-up, demanding that the report be released in full. | Proctor has accused the police of a cover-up, demanding that the report be released in full. |
| Brittan’s widow, Lady Brittan, and Proctor have also criticised the decision to publish the findings on US election day. Proctor said: “They have chosen this date deliberately as a PR campaign, as part of their PR campaign to cover up the disaster that was Operation Midland.” | Brittan’s widow, Lady Brittan, and Proctor have also criticised the decision to publish the findings on US election day. Proctor said: “They have chosen this date deliberately as a PR campaign, as part of their PR campaign to cover up the disaster that was Operation Midland.” |
| After the report’s publication, Hogan-Howe will be holding a press conference at 2.45pm. | After the report’s publication, Hogan-Howe will be holding a press conference at 2.45pm. |