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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/14/operation-midland-case-vips-could-get-payouts-met-chief-bernard-hogan-howe
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| Operation Midland case VIPs could get payouts, says Met chief | Operation Midland case VIPs could get payouts, says Met chief |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| High-profile figures wrongly accused of child sexual abuse as part of Scotland Yard’s controversial Operation Midland investigation are likely to receive compensation from the police force, its chief has said. | High-profile figures wrongly accused of child sexual abuse as part of Scotland Yard’s controversial Operation Midland investigation are likely to receive compensation from the police force, its chief has said. |
| Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said it was “perfectly possible” that the likes of the former Tory MP Harvey Proctor and Lord Bramall, the former head of the British armed forces, would receive payouts. | Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan police commissioner, said it was “perfectly possible” that the likes of the former Tory MP Harvey Proctor and Lord Bramall, the former head of the British armed forces, would receive payouts. |
| Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Hogan-Howe defended the force’s reputation following a damning report from Sir Richard Henriques, a retired British judge, on its handling of Operation Midland, which hinged on what were ultimately deemed to be the fantasies of a single complainant, known as Nick. He is now being investigated by Northumbria police for allegedly perverting the course of justice. | Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Hogan-Howe defended the force’s reputation following a damning report from Sir Richard Henriques, a retired British judge, on its handling of Operation Midland, which hinged on what were ultimately deemed to be the fantasies of a single complainant, known as Nick. He is now being investigated by Northumbria police for allegedly perverting the course of justice. |
| Asked if families affected by Operation Midland should be compensated, Hogan-Howe, who will retire in February, said: “I think it’s perfectly possible. We’re eager to resolve things as quickly as possible. | Asked if families affected by Operation Midland should be compensated, Hogan-Howe, who will retire in February, said: “I think it’s perfectly possible. We’re eager to resolve things as quickly as possible. |
| “I’ve met both Lord Bramall and Harvey Proctor and I’ve apologised to them personally. I think all we’re waiting for now is for them to formulate what they would explain are the damages in the case. | “I’ve met both Lord Bramall and Harvey Proctor and I’ve apologised to them personally. I think all we’re waiting for now is for them to formulate what they would explain are the damages in the case. |
| “The sad reality is that in these cases we got it wrong. The reputation of the Met police should not be damaged by these errors in these cases.” | “The sad reality is that in these cases we got it wrong. The reputation of the Met police should not be damaged by these errors in these cases.” |
| The Henriques report found one of the reasons detectives blundered was because they had to believe the victim under a policy originally aimed at stopping officers hiding the scale of sexual violence. | The Henriques report found one of the reasons detectives blundered was because they had to believe the victim under a policy originally aimed at stopping officers hiding the scale of sexual violence. |
| Hogan-Howe reasserted his view that complainants should not automatically be described as victims and police officers should avoid using the word “belief” or “believe” when dealing with unproven allegations. | Hogan-Howe reasserted his view that complainants should not automatically be described as victims and police officers should avoid using the word “belief” or “believe” when dealing with unproven allegations. |
| “What we should be as police officers is independent, we should be comforting, understanding and sympathetic and accept their complaint,” he said. “To use the word ‘belief’ confuses this. They shouldn’t be automatically described as a victim.” | “What we should be as police officers is independent, we should be comforting, understanding and sympathetic and accept their complaint,” he said. “To use the word ‘belief’ confuses this. They shouldn’t be automatically described as a victim.” |
| Detectives helped Nick fill out a claim for criminal injury compensation and at one point described his claims as “credible and true”. Asked if the officer who used that phrase had been fired, Hogan-Howe said this was subject to investigation. | Detectives helped Nick fill out a claim for criminal injury compensation and at one point described his claims as “credible and true”. Asked if the officer who used that phrase had been fired, Hogan-Howe said this was subject to investigation. |
| The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the conduct of five officers linked to Operation Midland. | The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the conduct of five officers linked to Operation Midland. |
| Hogan-Howe briefly touched on the issue of hate crime in the capital following the EU referendum. He said social media had helped to reveal the “shocking” level of abuse directed against minority communities. | |
| “What gets told to us and what we record certainly went up after Brexit,” he said. “I think it went up by about two-thirds, three-quarters for about 12 weeks and then it has gone back, but not quite to the levels that we saw before Brexit. | |
| “I think it has always been there and what YouTube and social media is bringing to us is the reality of it for our minority communities.” |