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Watchdog accused of whitewash after clearing senior police of wrongdoing over VIP paedophile inquiry

Two senior Metropolitan police officers have been cleared of all wrongdoing over the catastrophic investigation into political and military figures falsely accused of child sex abuse and murder.

The police watchdog’s announcement - that the officers in charge of £2.5 million Operation Midland would face no further action - coincided with the delivery of the Chancellor’s Budget, prompting accusations of a ‘whitewash’. 

The findings of a previous report by Sir Richard Henriques, a retired High Court judge, that found ‘significant failings’ and more than 40 areas of concern was made public by the Metropolitan Police on the day of the US presidential elections.

Field Marshall Lord Bramall, 93, a D-Day veteran and former head of the Army, who was falsely accused of being a member of a VIP paedophile ring, said of the watchdog's decision to clear the officers: "That is ridiculous. It is absolutely absurd. The police themselves admitted they had got it so wrong."

Harvey Proctor, who was wrongly accused of murder, spoke of his disgust that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) had chosen the day of the Budget to make its announcement.

It is my view that no police officer will ever be held responsible for the bungled and disastrous Operation Midland that has ruined my life and left me destitute.

Harvey Proctor

Mr Proctor said: “This brilliant whitewash by the IPCC statement flies in the face of the Henriques Report which stated that 43 errors were made by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in Operation Midland.

“It is my view that no police officer will ever be held responsible for the bungled and disastrous Operation Midland that has ruined my life and left me destitute.” 

Mr Proctor said he did not believe the IPCC’s assurance that the timing of the statement was ‘coincidental’, adding: “The IPCC  follows the well trodden path of the MPS in managing news.”

Mr Proctor along with Lord Bramall and Lord Brittan, the former home secretary, and others found themselves falsely suspected of being members of a VIP paedophile ring.

Their accuser, who can be identified only as ‘Nick’, is himself now under investigation for perverting the course of justice.

‘Nick’ had claimed that Mr Proctor had tried to castrate him with a penknife but that Sir Edward Heath had intervened to prevent it.

The IPCC did not name the officers who have been cleared but they are understood to be Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Rodhouse and Detective Superintendent Kenny McDonald. 

Det Supt McDonald had announced that the claims made by ‘Nick’ were both ‘credible and true’ in a press conference in November 2014. The IPCC said on Wednesday that it had not been asked to investigate that ill-advised comment when the case was referred by Scotland Yard towards the end of last year.

The IPCC concluded that Operation Midland was “extensive and carried out diligently” by a deputy assistant commissioner, a detective superintendent and a detective chief inspector.

The watchdog insisted there was no evidence to indicate “bad faith, malice or dishonesty” by the officers.

However, the unnamed detective chief inspector and two junior detectives remain under investigation over allegations they may have misled a judge obtaining search warrants.

I am of the opinion that there is no indication that these matters would amount to behaviour which would justify disciplinary proceedings,

Carl Gumsley, IPCC Commissioner

Carl Gumsley, IPCC Commissioner who leads the inquiry, said: “The allegation that incomplete information may have been provided to a district judge when applying for search warrants is serious and the IPCC will thoroughly investigate this matter.”

Mr Gumsley said that officers had been cleared of wrongdoing on all other issues. 

“I am of the opinion that there is no indication that these matters would amount to behaviour which would justify disciplinary proceedings,” he said, “Consequently, I have taken the early decision to discontinue the independent investigation into those matters.”

The IPCC denied its statement had been buried on Budget day. A spokesman said: “We can state categorically that the fact of budget day had no bearing on our update. The information was provided to interested persons and published at the earliest opportunity.”

Operation Midland: How it unfolded

Mr Rodhouse  was also under investigation over claims he had extended a separate investigation into Lord Brittan without good reason.

But the IPCC cleared Mr Rodhouse of wrongdoing. The IPCC said: “The evidence indicates a significant delay in making the decision to take no further action in the case but does not indicate the DAC may have behaved in a manner which would justify disciplinary proceedings.”