Operation Midland 'riddled with errors', says controversial new report
Victim groups oppose independent inquiry findings over police investigation of alleged VIP paedophile ring dating back to 1970s
A report on a Metropolitan Police investigation into an alleged group of paedophile VIPs who abused and killed children in the 1970s and 1980s has identified 43 failings.
The decision to abandon Operation Midland should have been taken "much earlier", author Sir Richard Henriques said.
Henriques found the operation was "riddled with errors" - officers misled a judge into granting search warrants and should not have identified suspects while "publicly stating the allegations were credible and true", he added.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Scotland Yard's investigation into claims by a lone complainant identified only as "Nick" closed without a single arrest in March. Among those publicly named in connection with the investigation were former MP Harvey Proctor, former Army chief Lord Bramall and the late Tory peer Leon Brittan.
Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said he accepts "accountability for these failures" and apologised to those involved.
"It is a matter of professional and personal dismay that the suspects in the investigation were pursued for so long when it could have been concluded much earlier," he said.
"I am today issuing a public apology to Lord Bramall, Lady Brittan and Harvey Proctor for the intrusion into their homes and the impact of Operation Midland on their lives."
Proctor said he accepted Hogan-Howe's apology but lamented the "irreversible" impact on his life and that of his friends and family. He also said it was "completely outrageous" that Scotland Yard had published the findings of the report on the day of the US election.
"They have chosen this date deliberately... as part of their PR campaign to cover up the disaster that was Operation Midland," he said.
While Hogan-Howe backed the report's findings, others in British policing and victims' groups appeared to oppose it, saying it could damage the fight to bring sexual abusers to justice, reports The Guardian.
An NSPCC spokeswoman said: "It takes unimaginable bravery for victims to come forward – we are concerned that this report's recommendations could undermine the confidence of victims to do so."
David Tucker, the crime lead at the College of Policing, said: "To start an investigation from a position of doubt is unlikely to encourage victims to come forward."
Journalist Mark Watts, who covered the investigation for the BBC, went further, sending out a series of tweets in which he said the "conclusions about how police should investigate child sexual abuse will set Britain back decades".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What message is Trump sending with his Cabinet picks?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION By nominating high-profile loyalists like Matt Gaetz and RFK Jr., is Trump serious about creating a functioning Cabinet, or does he have a different plan in mind?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published