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| Child abuse: Protect police who aid inquiry, MPs tell Cameron | Child abuse: Protect police who aid inquiry, MPs tell Cameron |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Police and intelligence officers who give evidence on an alleged Westminster paedophile ring must be protected from prosecution, two Labour MPs say. | Police and intelligence officers who give evidence on an alleged Westminster paedophile ring must be protected from prosecution, two Labour MPs say. |
| Tom Watson and Simon Danczuk said David Cameron must guarantee officers would not face official secrets charges for aiding an inquiry into the Met Police. | Tom Watson and Simon Danczuk said David Cameron must guarantee officers would not face official secrets charges for aiding an inquiry into the Met Police. |
| Investigators are looking into claims that the Met covered up abuse because MPs and police officers were involved. | Investigators are looking into claims that the Met covered up abuse because MPs and police officers were involved. |
| Ministers said assurances had been given that police could give evidence. | Ministers said assurances had been given that police could give evidence. |
| Earlier, a former police officer told BBC Newsnight an undercover operation which gathered evidence of child abuse by the late MP Cyril Smith and other public figures was scrapped on the orders of a senior officer. | Earlier, a former police officer told BBC Newsnight an undercover operation which gathered evidence of child abuse by the late MP Cyril Smith and other public figures was scrapped on the orders of a senior officer. |
| The former officer said he and his colleagues were ordered to hand over all their evidence and were warned to keep quiet about the investigation or face prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. | The former officer said he and his colleagues were ordered to hand over all their evidence and were warned to keep quiet about the investigation or face prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. |
| And an investigative journalist has said he was threatened by Smith and then his office was raided by the police after he began looking into abuse in 1984. | |
| 'High-level corruption' | 'High-level corruption' |
| On Monday, the Met said it had voluntarily referred 14 allegations against itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) - plus two others which the IPCC is still considering whether to take on. | On Monday, the Met said it had voluntarily referred 14 allegations against itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) - plus two others which the IPCC is still considering whether to take on. |
| The corruption allegations, which span a period from the 1970s to the 2000s and include claims that child abuse was covered up, arose from Operation Fairbank, a Met investigation launched in 2012 looking into historical child sex abuse claims involving politicians and other public figures. | The corruption allegations, which span a period from the 1970s to the 2000s and include claims that child abuse was covered up, arose from Operation Fairbank, a Met investigation launched in 2012 looking into historical child sex abuse claims involving politicians and other public figures. |
| The IPCC said the claims against the Met were of "high-level corruption of the most serious nature". | The IPCC said the claims against the Met were of "high-level corruption of the most serious nature". |
| Mr Watson, who has been credited with raising the profile of child abuse with a Commons statement in 2012, said: "It is now clear that the prime minister must guarantee that former police and intelligence officers who wish to help the IPCC with their inquiries will have the threat of the Official Secrets Act lifted." | |
| He said it was the "duty of all former police officers, intelligence officers and civil servants who have knowledge of a cover-up" to come forward. | He said it was the "duty of all former police officers, intelligence officers and civil servants who have knowledge of a cover-up" to come forward. |
| Mr Danczuk, who is MP for Smith's old seat of Rochdale and helped expose the late Liberal MP as a child sex abuser, also said ex-officers must be given the "freedom to speak out". | |
| "There has to be a more formal response from government which says that former police officers who co-operate, give evidence and share their knowledge of what went on with regard to this alleged cover-up should not be disciplined in any way, with regard to the Official Secrets Act or in any other way," he said. | "There has to be a more formal response from government which says that former police officers who co-operate, give evidence and share their knowledge of what went on with regard to this alleged cover-up should not be disciplined in any way, with regard to the Official Secrets Act or in any other way," he said. |
| In a statement, the Home Office said: "The home secretary has given clear assurances that the Official Secrets Act is not a bar to giving evidence to either the independent panel inquiry into child sexual abuse or ongoing police investigations." | In a statement, the Home Office said: "The home secretary has given clear assurances that the Official Secrets Act is not a bar to giving evidence to either the independent panel inquiry into child sexual abuse or ongoing police investigations." |
| It said police officers "can be authorised" to disclose information which would be covered by the Official Secrets Act "so long as it is disclosed in an appropriate way". | It said police officers "can be authorised" to disclose information which would be covered by the Official Secrets Act "so long as it is disclosed in an appropriate way". |
| BBC home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds said there "is definitely a view that the government should be clearer about saying there is absolute immunity for police officers… whistleblowing in this sort of situation". | BBC home affairs correspondent Tom Symonds said there "is definitely a view that the government should be clearer about saying there is absolute immunity for police officers… whistleblowing in this sort of situation". |
| "The question arises, for example, what if a retired police officer speaks to a journalist? Is he at risk of being prosecuted then?" he said. | "The question arises, for example, what if a retired police officer speaks to a journalist? Is he at risk of being prosecuted then?" he said. |
| Power of the Official Secrets Act |