Former Met Police Commissioner 'lied in VIP child abuse interview'

Lord Hogan-Howe, the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, is to be investigated over his conduct during Scotland Yard's flawed VIP child abuse inquiry.

Months after retiring as Britain’s most senior police officer, Lord Hogan-Howe is set to be probed over a radio interview he gave at the height of Operation Midland in which he allegedly lied.

The controversial historic sex abuse inquiry was launched in 2014 after a single complainant, known as Nick, told police a powerful group of establishment figures, including senior politicians, had raped and murdered children in the 1970s and 1980s.

During a public appeal for information in December 2014, a senior Met detective described Nick's allegations as "credible and true".

But after two years and more than £2.5 million, the Met was forced to apologise, when it emerged the claims were allegedly false and malicious.

Now a year after a report found the Met had made 43 failings during the inquiry, Lord Hogan-Howe is to be investigated by the London Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), who oversee disciplinary issues regarding the Commissioner.

The investigation will focus on comments he made during a broadcast on LBC radio, in September 2015, in which he insisted he had not approved the use of the phrase "credible and true" and it had actually been an unfortunate slip of the tongue by a senior detective.

During the interview, Lord Hogan-Howe told presenter Nick Ferrari: "As you know one of our superintendents, in making a quick recourse in an interview, said the words 'credible and true'."

"What we have said in a statement, which people might have seen...is that he was credible at the beginning and we had to corroborate what he said.

"We said that if the use of the word 'true', if it left the understanding – the belief – that we were closed minded about the outcome, that was wrong."

He went on: "We are just treating the person [Nick] as a witness. We are working our way through what their allegations are."

But former Tory MP, Harvey Proctor, who was one of those falsely accused by Nick of taking part in the abuse, has always insisted Lord Hogan-Howe knew about and had approved use of the phrase.

Mr Proctor initially asked the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to examine the matter but it said it was not a matter for the body.

However MOPAC has confirmed it will now look into the matter, despite the fact Lord Hogan-Howe retired from the force in February.

If the allegation is found to be true Lord Hogan-Howe could be asked to apologise to Mr Proctor over the matter. A spokesman for MOPAC said it was considering the allegations and considering whether to launch an investigation. 

"The complainant has agreed that we will seek to resolve his complaint through local resolution and those discussions are ongoing," he added.

Lord Hogan-Howe retired in February after five and a half years as the country's top police officer. Last month it was announced he is to join the House of Lords where he will sit on the cross benches.

The Telegraph was unable to reach Lord Hogan-Howe for comment