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Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Met officer in VIP abuse scandal has gross misconduct charges dropped
The senior police officer who led Scotland Yard's VIP child abuse inquiry has had gross misconduct charges against him dropped. Steve Rodhouse, a former assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police, had been due to face a disciplinary hearing over his handling of aspects of Operation Midland. He had been accused of breaching professional standards and making dishonest statements while leading the operation. Mr Rodhouse, who is currently the director general of operations at the National Crime Agency, was the only officer to face disciplinary proceedings as a result of Operation Midland, which saw several high-profile figures investigated over false allegations of child abuse. On Thursday, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced that it was dropping the charges. A spokesman for the watchdog said the decision had been taken after a large volume of relevant material was unexpectedly disclosed by the Met. The decision means not a single officer has been held to account for the blunders that led to innocent people, including high-ranking military personnel and former ministers and MPs, being investigated over malicious child sex allegations. Operation Midland was launched in 2014 after fantasist Carl Beech went to police claiming he had been raped and abused by a VIP paedophile ring in the 1980s. He told police that well-known figures, including Sir Edward Heath, the former prime minister; Lord Brittan, the former Home Secretary; Lord Bramall, the former head of the Army; and Harvey Proctor, the former Tory MP, had raped and even murdered children. The Met spent 18 months investigating the claims, even raiding the homes of some of those falsely accused, before shutting it down without making a single arrest. In July 2019, Beech was jailed for 18 years after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice and fraud. Two other men, known as Witness A and Witness B, were alleged to have also come forward during Operation Midland to corroborate Beech's lies with false allegations, but they were never charged. The claims against Mr Rodhouse centred on comments he made in the media about the honesty of Witnesses A and B, and subsequent remarks he made to Sir Richard Henriques, the former High Court judge who was carrying out an independent review into the handling of Operation Midland. Following an IOPC investigation, the watchdog concluded that Mr Rodhouse had a case to answer and should attend a disciplinary hearing. But that decision has been reversed following the late disclosure of a cache of material from Scotland Yard. Harvey Proctor, who is the only living Operation Midland victim, described the decision to drop the charges as 'appalling'. An IOPC spokesman said there was no evidence within the material that there was any 'inappropriate motivation' in Mr Roadhouse's comments. The spokesman said: 'There was, however, substantial evidence to indicate the comments made to the media were the result of collaboration between senior Met officers and staff and that there had been appropriate considerations, including a desire not to discourage victims of historic sex offences coming forward.' Amanda Rowe, director of the IOPC, said: 'It is highly regrettable for all concerned that material we requested three years ago during our investigation, and we believed had not been retained due to the Met's retention policy, has only recently been discovered and disclosed. 'Police forces have a legal obligation to provide information to the IOPC when we request it. However, we acknowledge that we could have taken further steps during the investigation to seek additional assurance from the Met that relevant email material was definitely unavailable. 'We apologise to all of those affected and we are working with the force to establish exactly how and why this situation has occurred, and to reduce the risk of it happening again. 'Today's announcement does not change our finding that by failing to follow Sir Richard's recommendation in his review to investigate the witnesses, the Met's service was unacceptable and its subsequent reviews concluding no investigation was needed were flawed. 'During our investigation, we reported a potential crime to the Met, which is being actively investigated by another force.' Mr Rodhouse said the allegations made against him were 'ill-founded and incorrect'. In a statement, he added: 'I am pleased that the IOPC has finally recognised that I acted with honesty, integrity and care throughout a difficult investigation. 'I welcome the IOPC's apology, but I have yet to receive an adequate explanation as to how this debacle occurred. 'I recognise that senior police officers must be held accountable for their actions, and that public complaints must be properly considered. 'However, if police officers are to willingly take on complex and challenging investigations, they must have the confidence that any complaints made about their conduct will be competently investigated in a balanced and timely fashion. That was not the case here. 'Vital evidence was not considered despite it being readily available and repeatedly requested. 'I am grateful for all of the support that I have received, and I now look forward to resuming my career investigating and prosecuting serious criminals.'
BBC News
15 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Misconduct proceedings against VIP abuse inquiry officer dropped
Gross misconduct proceedings have been withdrawn against a former Met Police officer who led an inquiry into what turned out to be false sex abuse allegations against a string of high-profile Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it had stopped its investigation into Steve Rodhouse after a "large volume of relevant material was recently disclosed" to it by the Met faced allegations around comments made to the media in March 2016 concerning his beliefs about the honesty of two witnesses in the a statement, Mr Rodhouse said the allegations were "ill-founded and incorrect", adding that while he welcomed the decision he was "yet to receive an adequate explanation as to how this debacle occurred". He led Operation Midland, which investigated false claims that MPs and generals were among those who abused and murdered children, an operation largely based on claims made by Carl Beech, who was jailed in 2019 for making false Rodhouse was due to face a disciplinary hearing for potentially breaching police professional standards of behaviour for honesty and integrity and discreditable former Met deputy assistant commissioner was also alleged to have subsequently made remarks to former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques, who had been commissioned to carry out an independent review of the handling of the operation in August was sentenced to 18 years in prison for 12 counts of perverting the course of justice, one of fraud, and for several child sexual offences after a damning review by Sir Richard recommended he be investigated by another police the BBC revealed in 2019 that two other complainants who had made false claims were not referred by the Met for investigation, despite Sir Richard recommending they should investigation by the IOPC related to the contrast between Mr Rodhouse's private and public 2016, he told Sir Richard in a private presentation that he was "satisfied" the other two complainants had "told deliberate lies".However, when Operation Midland had closed months earlier with no arrests or charges, Scotland Yard issued a public statement to the media that said detectives had "not found evidence to prove that they were knowingly misled by a complainant". New material presented to the IOPC means that investigation has now closed."There is no evidence within the recently disclosed material that there was any inappropriate motivation in Mr Rodhouse's comments to the media or which supports that he made those remarks during Sir Richard's review," the IOPC said there was "substantial evidence to indicate" comments made to the media were "the result of collaboration between senior Met officers and staff".The police watchdog added that there had also been "appropriate considerations, including a desire not to discourage victims of historic sex offences coming forward".Mr Rodhouse, who is now a director at the National Crime Agency, said he was "pleased" the IOPC had "recognised that I acted with honesty, integrity and care throughout a difficult investigation".He said police officers "must have confidence that any complaints about their conduct will be competently investigated in a balanced and timely fashion", adding "I now look forward to resuming my career investigating and prosecuting serious criminals."IOPC Director Amanda Rowe said its decision on Thursday "does not change our finding that by failing to follow Sir Richard's recommendation in his review to investigate the witnesses, the Met's service was unacceptable".She said: "Its subsequent reviews concluding no investigation was needed were flawed", adding, "we apologise to all of those affected and we are working with the force to establish exactly how and why this situation has occurred, and to reduce the risk of it happening again."Ms Rowe said the police watchdog had reported a "potential crime" to the Met during its investigation, which was being "actively investigated by another force".
The Independent
15 hours ago
- The Independent
Misconduct probe against ex-Met officer over handling of fake abuse claims ended
A police watchdog has withdrawn gross misconduct proceedings against a former senior Metropolitan Police officer over his handling of false abuse claims made against a string of high-profile figures. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it had stopped the investigation into former Met deputy assistant commissioner Steve Rodhouse after a 'large volume of relevant material was recently disclosed to the IOPC by the Metropolitan Police'. Mr Rodhouse was due to face a disciplinary hearing for potentially breaching police professional standards of behaviour for honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct. The allegations centred around comments made to the media in March 2016 concerning his beliefs about the honesty of two witnesses to Operation Midland – a Met investigation into allegations of non-recent sexual abuse. They also involved remarks he is alleged to have subsequently made to former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques, who had been commissioned to carry out an independent review of the handling of Operation Midland in August 2016. Operation Midland was launched off the back of lurid and false allegations made by fantasist Carl Beech – later jailed for 18 years for what a judge called 'cruel and callous' lies. The Metropolitan Police's 16-month investigation into fake claims of a VIP paedophile ring saw raids on the homes of former home secretary Lord Brittan, as well as D-Day veteran Lord Bramall and ex-Tory MP Harvey Proctor. The probe ended in 2016 without a single arrest, after Beech made a series of baseless allegations, including of three murders. The force was heavily criticised for believing Beech too readily despite inconsistencies in his evidence, including naming witnesses who did not exist. The IOPC said there was 'no evidence' within the material provided from the Met that there was 'any inappropriate motivation in Mr Rodhouse's comments to the media' or which 'supports that he made those remarks during Sir Richard's review'. In a statement on Thursday, the policing watchdog said there was 'substantial evidence' to indicate comments made to the media were the 'result of collaboration between senior Met officers and staff' and there had been appropriate considerations, including a 'desire not to discourage victims of historic sex offences coming forward'. It added that by failing to follow Sir Richard's recommendation to investigate witnesses, the Met's service was 'unacceptable' and its subsequent reviews concluding no investigation was needed were 'flawed'. The IOPC said it had reported a potential crime to the Met during its investigation, adding this was being investigated by Sussex Police. A 2016 review of Operation Midland, led by Sir Richard Henriques, found offences of attempting to pervert the course of justice should be considered. As then deputy assistant commissioner, Mr Rodhouse was in charge of Operation Midland. He went on to take up a senior role at the National Crime Agency. The new material, amounting to more than 3,500 emails and attachments, was provided to the IOPC in March following a further request to the force in preparation for the gross misconduct hearing. Mr Rodhouse said the allegations made against him were 'ill-founded and incorrect'. In a statement, he added: 'I am pleased that the IOPC has finally recognised that I acted with honesty, integrity and care throughout a difficult investigation. 'I welcome the IOPC's apology, but I have yet to receive an adequate explanation as to how this debacle occurred. 'I recognise that senior police officers must be held accountable for their actions, and that public complaints must be properly considered. 'However, if police officers are to willingly take on complex and challenging investigations, they must have the confidence that any complaints made about their conduct will be competently investigated in a balanced and timely fashion. That was not the case here. 'Vital evidence was not considered despite it being readily available and repeatedly requested. 'I am grateful for all of the support that I have received, and I now look forward to resuming my career investigating and prosecuting serious criminals.' IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: 'Today's announcement does not change our finding that by failing to follow Sir Richard's recommendation in his review to investigate the witnesses, the Met's service was unacceptable and its subsequent reviews concluding no investigation was needed were flawed.' Ms Rowe added: 'It is highly regrettable for all concerned that material we requested three years ago during our investigation, and we believed had not been retained due to the Met's retention policy, has only recently been discovered and disclosed. 'Police forces have a legal obligation to provide information to the IOPC when we request it. 'However, we acknowledge that we could have taken further steps during the investigation to seek additional assurance from the Met that relevant email material was definitely unavailable. 'We apologise to all of those affected and we are working with the force to establish exactly how and why this situation has occurred, and to reduce the risk of it happening again.'
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Head of Scotland Yard's disastrous Operation Midland VIP paedophile investigation has gross misconduct probe dropped at 11th hour
The only officer to face disciplinary proceedings over the Metropolitan Police 's disastrous VIP paedophile investigation saw the case against him sensationally dropped today. Former Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Rodhouse was due to face a disciplinary board later this month on an allegation of gross misconduct over claims that he lied in public at the conclusion of the Operation Midland probe in 2016. However the charge has been dropped at the 11th hour after the Met 'recently disclosed' a 'large volume of relevant material.' Mr Rodhouse, who was later promoted to Deputy Head of the National Crime Agency, Britain's version of the FBI, oversaw Midland, an investigation based on the lies of fantasist Carl Beech – aka 'Nick'. Beech accused prominent public figures including former home secretary Leon Brittan, former Army head Lord Bramall and ex-Tory MP Harvey Proctor of being part of a murderous paedophile ring. He was jailed for 18 years over the false allegations in 2019. Mr Rodhouse was first cleared of misconduct in relation to his handling of the Midland investigation in 2017, however the police watchdog ruled that he should face a fresh gross misconduct hearing in 2023 over claims he used 'inaccurate or dishonest' words as the investigation concluded. These related to two other serial liars – outed in a Daily Mail investigation – who appeared to back Beech's lies. Beech was only prosecuted following a damning review of the Midland probe by retired High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques, who suggested he be investigated by another police force. However the two other fantasists – known as Witnesses A and B – were not referred by the Met for outside investigation, despite Sir Richard recommending they should be. In 2016, Mr Rodhouse privately told Sir Richard he was 'satisfied' that Witnesses A and B had 'told deliberate lies.' But in a public statement issued just months earlier, Scotland Yard said detectives 'had not found evidence to prove they were knowingly misled by a complainant.' Mr Rodhouse reiterated this in a TV interview over the collapse of the 16-month inquiry. The pair have since been referred to West Midland Police to be investigated over claims they perverted the course of justice. Today, the Independent Office for Police Conduct [IOPC], said it had withdrawn its direction that Mr Rodhouse should face gross misconduct proceedings after a 'large volume of relevant material was recently disclosed' to the watchdog by the Met. The statement said that, following analysis of the recently disclosed material, there was 'no evidence… that there was any inappropriate motivation in Mr Rodhouse's comments to the media'. The bombshell announcement is just the latest blow to victims and relatives of those caught up in the Midland scandal, widely regarded as one of the worst police investigations in living memory. It follows almost a decade of allegations of incompetence and cover-up at the heart of the Met in relation to the investigation and raises serious questions over the competency of the police watchdog, which has repeatedly refused or been unable to hold officers to account. Despite the allegations of incompetence, today's announcement means no officer has been held to account over the fiasco. IOPC director Amanda Rowe said it was 'highly regrettable' that material requested three years ago had 'only recently' been discovered and disclosed. 'Police forces have a legal obligation to provide information to the IOPC when we request it,' she added. 'However, we acknowledge that we could have taken further steps during the investigation to seek additional assurance from the Met that relevant email material was definitely unavailable. 'We apologise to all of those affected and we are working with the force to establish exactly how and why this situation has occurred, and to reduce the risk of it happening again. 'Today's announcement does not change our finding that by failing to follow Sir Richard's recommendation in his review to investigate the witnesses, the Met's service was unacceptable and its subsequent reviews concluding no investigation was needed were flawed. 'During our investigation we reported a potential crime to the Met, which is being actively investigated by another force.' Last year, Mr Rodhouse received a £10,000 pay rise despite being removed from his role as director-general of operations at the National Crime Agency because of the disciplinary hearing, taking his salary to £190,000-£195,000. In a statement in response to today's decision, Mr Rodhouse stood firm and described the investigation against him as a 'debacle.' 'I am pleased that the IOPC has finally recognised that I acted with honesty, integrity and care throughout a difficult investigation,' he said. 'I welcome the IOPC's apology, but I have yet to receive an adequate explanation as to how this debacle occurred. 'I recognise that senior police officers must be held accountable for their actions, and that public complaints must be properly considered. However, if police officers are to willingly take on complex and challenging investigations, they must have the confidence that any complaints made about their conduct will be competently investigated in a balanced and timely fashion. That was not the case here. 'Vital evidence was not considered despite it being readily available and repeatedly requested. Once it was finally considered, it became clear that the allegations made against me were ill-founded and incorrect. 'I am grateful for all of the support that I have received, and I now look forward to resuming my career investigating and prosecuting serious criminals.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chemical castration is vengeance masked as justice
There are moments in the life of a nation when it flirts with a dangerous kind of righteousness – one that masks vengeance as justice. The recent proposal by David Gauke, the former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, to chemically castrate sex offenders is one such moment. It is a step not towards justice, but towards irrevocable cruelty. I speak as someone who has felt the full weight of false accusation and the slow, often brutal machinery of British justice. In 1987, I resigned as a Member of Parliament amid a scandal that ultimately led to my conviction over matters that would no longer be considered criminal today. But it was in 2015 when I was falsely accused by Carl Beech of the most grotesque crimes imaginable – including rape and murder of children – that I truly confronted the fragility of the justice system. Operation Midland, now widely discredited, destroyed reputations and lives. I was never charged, because there was no evidence – only the word of a liar and fraudster who himself was a paedophile. Yet the damage was done. I am not alone. There is the case of Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit – DNA evidence, ignored for years, eventually proved his innocence. More recently, there is Peter Sullivan, who was jailed for the 1986 killing of 21-year-old barmaid Diane Sindall. Sullivan, known as the 'Beast of Birkenhead', spent more than 38 years in jail in what is believed to be the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history. Both cases are recent and tragic reminders of how deeply flawed the system remains. These are just two cases among many – there are countless others whose stories have not reached the headlines. How many others languish behind bars because of false allegations levelled against them? Against this backdrop, the Government's consideration of chemical castration is chilling. It presumes infallibility in a demonstrably fallible system. Chemical castration is not metaphorical. It is physical, invasive, and irreversible. Once done, it cannot be undone – no compensation or apology could make a wrongly accused person whole again. And yet, where is the caution? Where is the humility? As a Member of Parliament, I once advocated for the return of the death penalty. I believed it was a necessary deterrent, a just response to the most heinous crimes. Life's vicissitudes changed my mind. Since becoming President of Facing Allegations in Contexts of Trust (FACT), I have seen first-hand how our justice system gets it disastrously wrong. This reveals a disturbing reality: miscarriages of justice are not rare anomalies – they happen far too often. When we allow the state to exercise irreversible power over the body of the accused, we cross a dangerous moral threshold. We begin to measure justice not by what is fair or proportionate, but by what is punitive and popular. That is not civilisation; it is regression. If we are to entertain such irreversible punishments for sex offenders, should we not consider equivalent consequences for those who knowingly make false accusations? Or for the officers, judges, and ministers who perpetuate injustice through negligence or political expediency? The very idea is, rightly, abhorrent. But that is the logical mirror we must confront if we are to endorse irreversible punishment as a principle. Justice must be tempered with restraint. It must be aware of its own limitations. And above all, it must never forget the fallibility of those who administer it. We must not let the abhorrence of a crime blind us to the possibility of error. In our zeal to punish the guilty, we risk punishing the innocent – and that is a sin no civilised society should commit. Harvey Proctor is the president of 'Facing Allegations in Contexts of Trust' (FACT) Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
