1 year ago
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Image source, PA Media
Steve Rodhouse - who has since gone connected to enactment for the National Crime Agency - was a elder fig astatine the Met
By Daniel De Simone
BBC News
The serviceman who led a disastrous Scotland Yard probe into mendacious VIP enactment maltreatment allegations has a lawsuit to reply for gross misconduct, the constabulary watchdog has said.
Steve Rodhouse ran an cognition that probed invented claims that MPs and generals abused and murdered children.
He presently works arsenic lawman caput of the National Crime Agency.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) looked astatine if helium utilized inaccurate oregon dishonest words successful 2016.
While moving for the Met, helium oversaw Operation Midland, which was mostly based connected claims made by Carl Beech, who was jailed successful 2019 for making mendacious allegations.
Beech was sentenced to 18 years successful situation for 12 charges of perverting the people of justice, 1 of fraud, and for respective kid intersexual offences.
He was lone brought to justness aft a damning reappraisal by retired precocious tribunal justice Sir Richard Henriques recommended helium beryllium investigated by different constabulary force.
But the BBC revealed 2 different complainants who made mendacious claims were not referred by the Met for investigation, contempt Sir Richard recommending they should be.
In 2016, past Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Rodhouse told Sir Richard successful a backstage presumption that helium was "satisfied" the different 2 complainants had "told deliberate lies".
However, erstwhile Operation Midland closed months earlier, Scotland Yard issued a nationalist connection to the media which said detectives had "not recovered grounds to beryllium that they were knowingly misled by a complainant".
Image source, Gloucestershire Police
Image caption,Carl Beech was jailed for inventing the elaborate lies which led to the investigation
The probe by the IOPC related to the opposition betwixt Mr Rodhouse's backstage and nationalist positions.
It is understood that, pursuing the IOPC's inquiry, the 2 complainants person been referred by the Met to an autarkic force, which volition analyse whether the brace perverted the people of justness by lying to police.
The IOPC enquiry followed a ailment by erstwhile MP Harvey Proctor, who was 1 of those falsely accused of execution and abuse.
Responding to the update, helium said: "At past a elder constabulary serviceman of the Metropolitan Police is being held to relationship for gross misconduct".
He added: "As cracks commencement to look successful the constabulary cover-up, it present clip to clasp a afloat nationalist enquiry into Operation Midland and the Metropolitan Police's conduct."
IOPC Director Amanda Rowe said Mr Rodhouse "may person breached constabulary nonrecreational standards of behaviour relating to honesty and integrity regarding comments made to the media astir Operation Midland successful March 2016 and comments subsequently made to Sir Richard Henriques successful August 2016."
The IOPC besides recovered that, by ne'er pursuing Sir Richard's archetypal recommendation, the work provided by the Met was "unacceptable".
The Met had conducted respective interior reviews which each said nary probe was needed, but the IOPC recovered those reviews were "flawed, did not see each of the grounds and their rationales were not sound."
The watchdog has recommended the Met apologise to the individuals affected.
Because Mr Rodhouse near the Met much than 12 months earlier the IOPC probe began, the watchdog said it would present participate into a consultation play regarding a disciplinary hearing.
BBC News has contacted the Met and the NCA for comment.
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