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| Daniel Morgan: Met Police accused of corruption in report | Daniel Morgan: Met Police accused of corruption in report |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Daniel Morgan was found dead in a pub car park in 1987 | Daniel Morgan was found dead in a pub car park in 1987 |
| The Met Police was institutionally corrupt in the way it concealed or denied failings over the unsolved murder of Daniel Morgan, a report says. | The Met Police was institutionally corrupt in the way it concealed or denied failings over the unsolved murder of Daniel Morgan, a report says. |
| The force's first objective was to "protect itself" for not acknowledging its failures since the 1987 killing of the private investigator, chair of an independent panel Baroness O'Loan said. | |
| Mr Morgan's family and the public are owed an apology, the report concluded. | Mr Morgan's family and the public are owed an apology, the report concluded. |
| He was attacked with an axe in the car park of a pub in south-east London. | |
| 'Venal behaviour' | 'Venal behaviour' |
| Despite five police inquiries and an inquest, no-one has been brought to justice over the father of two's death, with the Metropolitan Police admitting corruption had hampered the original murder investigation. | |
| Mr Morgan, from Llanfrechfa near Cwmbran in south Wales, died outside the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham on 10 March 1987. | |
| Mr Morgan's family have been fighting for justice for more than three decades | |
| The panel found the family of Mr Morgan "suffered grievously" as a consequence of the failure to achieve justice for them. | The panel found the family of Mr Morgan "suffered grievously" as a consequence of the failure to achieve justice for them. |
| It criticised the "unwarranted assurances" they were given, the misinformation put into the public domain, and a failure "to acknowledge professional competence, individuals' venal behaviour, and managerial and organisational failures". | It criticised the "unwarranted assurances" they were given, the misinformation put into the public domain, and a failure "to acknowledge professional competence, individuals' venal behaviour, and managerial and organisational failures". |
| "The Metropolitan Police also repeatedly failed to take a fresh, thorough and critical look at past failings," the report said. | "The Metropolitan Police also repeatedly failed to take a fresh, thorough and critical look at past failings," the report said. |
| "Concealing or denying failings, for the sake of the organisation's public image, is dishonesty on the part of the organisation for reputational benefit and constitutes a form of institutional corruption." | "Concealing or denying failings, for the sake of the organisation's public image, is dishonesty on the part of the organisation for reputational benefit and constitutes a form of institutional corruption." |
| Alistair Morgan believes his brother was on the brink of exposing police corruption when he was killed | |
| The panel criticised the Met for then-Assistant Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick's initial refusal to grant it access to a police internal data system and the most sensitive information. | |
| Mr Morgan's brother Alistair said Dame Cressida, now the Met Police Commissioner, should "absolutely" be considering her position in light of the report. | |
| Mr Morgan's family - who believe he was on the brink of exposing police corruption when he was killed - said in a statement: "We welcome the recognition that we - and the public at large - have been failed over the decades by a culture of corruption and cover-up in the Metropolitan Police, an institutionalised corruption that has permeated successive regimes in the Metropolitan Police and beyond to this day." | |
| Live event: Report deeply alarming, Patel says | Live event: Report deeply alarming, Patel says |
| Timeline: Daniel Morgan axe murder | Timeline: Daniel Morgan axe murder |
| Home Secretary Priti Patel told the Commons the report was "deeply alarming" and revealed a "litany of mistakes" by the Met Police. | Home Secretary Priti Patel told the Commons the report was "deeply alarming" and revealed a "litany of mistakes" by the Met Police. |
| She said the behaviour of the force "irreparably damaged the chances of successful prosecution". | She said the behaviour of the force "irreparably damaged the chances of successful prosecution". |
| In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "We deeply regret that no-one has been convicted of Daniel's murder. We have not stopped pursuing justice. | In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "We deeply regret that no-one has been convicted of Daniel's murder. We have not stopped pursuing justice. |
| "We accept corruption was a major factor in the failure of the 1987 investigation. This compounded the pain suffered by Daniel's family and for this we apologise." | "We accept corruption was a major factor in the failure of the 1987 investigation. This compounded the pain suffered by Daniel's family and for this we apologise." |
| It added that it would respond in more detail later. | It added that it would respond in more detail later. |
| Corruption within the Met Police | |
| Tom Symonds, home affairs correspondent | |
| The early years of the Daniel Morgan saga experienced policing that was "poor or below accepted standards", while there was a "historical phenomenon" of regular drinking sessions in which officers mixed with local figures "operating on the fringes of legality". | |
| More serious was evidence that stories were sold by the police to the press; misuse of the police national computer; and the planting of false evidence. | |
| The inquiry also found links between "personnel at the highest levels of the Metropolitan Police and people working for a news organisation linked to criminality associated with the murder of Daniel Morgan". The evidence relates to dealings with the News of the World. | |
| The panel strongly criticises the Met for impeding its investigation by failing to co-operate with elements of its work. | |
| The Met has at times accepted failings in the Morgan case, and suggested corruption was to blame, but when asked to explain what this meant, the panel said often little detail was provided. | |
| The force also placed barriers in the way of the inquiry when the panel asked for a computer terminal so that it could access the police Holmes investigation database. | |
| A series of recommendations includes better vetting of police officers and a requirement for police officers to register their membership of any organisation, including the freemasons. | |
| Other failures criticised by the panel include procedural errors - the crime scene was not searched - and forensic work was of so poor a standard it was described by a senior officer in the second investigation as "pathetic". | Other failures criticised by the panel include procedural errors - the crime scene was not searched - and forensic work was of so poor a standard it was described by a senior officer in the second investigation as "pathetic". |
| "In many respects that investigation was not compliant with the policies and procedures in force at the time," the report says. | "In many respects that investigation was not compliant with the policies and procedures in force at the time," the report says. |
| "From the beginning, there were allegations that police officers were involved in the murder, and that corruption by police officers played a part in protecting the murderer(s) from being brought to justice." | "From the beginning, there were allegations that police officers were involved in the murder, and that corruption by police officers played a part in protecting the murderer(s) from being brought to justice." |
| Panel members Nuala O'Loan, Silvia Casale and Samuel Pollock read out a statement following the publication the report | |
| The panel received evidence from serving and retired officers that some officers who tried to report wrongdoing by other officers had been "ostracised, transferred to a different unit, encouraged to resign, or have faced disciplinary proceedings". | The panel received evidence from serving and retired officers that some officers who tried to report wrongdoing by other officers had been "ostracised, transferred to a different unit, encouraged to resign, or have faced disciplinary proceedings". |
| It also considered the possible impact of conflicting loyalties between the obligations of police officers who were freemasons and their professional role. | |
| 'Current problem' | 'Current problem' |
| The report includes details of senior Met officers refusing to co-operate with the panel, including a seven-year refusal to permit proper, independent and unsupervised, access to the police database. | |
| "The consequential major delays to our work added to the costs and caused further unnecessary distress to the family of Daniel Morgan," the report said. | |
| The family's solicitor Raju Bhatt added: "You heard from the panel that the institutionalised corruption that they found is a current problem in the present tense. | The family's solicitor Raju Bhatt added: "You heard from the panel that the institutionalised corruption that they found is a current problem in the present tense. |
| "The current leadership in the Met has to take responsibility for that continuing." | "The current leadership in the Met has to take responsibility for that continuing." |