David Cameron considers IPCC reforms

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jan/15/david-cameron-ipcc-reforms-police

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David Cameron is considering reforms to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) following police misconduct in the Andrew Mitchell plebgate scandal and errors in the police investigation that ended in the shooting of Mark Duggan by an armed officer.

The prime minister said he was prepared to look at strengthening oversight of the police after David Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham, called on him to accept that reforms of the watchdog were now urgent.

Lammy highlighted the Duggan inquest that concluded with a verdict of lawful killing and found errors in the police investigation. The shooting of Duggan by armed police sparked riots that started in Lammy's Tottenham constituency and spread throughout the country in summer 2011.

The MP also raised the case of PC Keith Wallis, who admitted he lied about witnessing a row outside Downing Street between officers and former Tory chief whip Andrew Mitchell.

Speaking in his weekly questions, Cameron said most of the police do a "magnificent job" but he would not say that "all is well" in the force.

On the Duggan case, the prime minister said there is already an IPCC investigation "and we should let it do its work." However, he added: "I am always prepared to look at reforms of organisations like this. There was a big reform some years ago to make the IPCC much more independent."

Labour has pledged to abolish the IPCC and replace it with a tougher and much more robust Police Standards Authority to restore public trust in the police.At the party's conference in 2012, Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said the need for reform had been demonstrated by the failures around the Hillsborough cover-up, the time it took to find out the truth about the death of Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protest, and the delays in getting new investigations under way into phone hacking and undercover policing.

David Davis, a senior Conservative and close ally of Mitchell, has also called for a royal commission to investigate the "crisis of ethics" in the police.<strong> </strong>

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