THE POLICE WATCHDOG in the UK is to investigate claims that the Metropolitan Police Service covered up sex offences over four decades to protect high-profile figures.

The 14 allegations to be looked into include the alleged suppressing of evidence, the hindering and halting of investigations and the covering up of offences because of the involvement of MPs and other officers.

According to a statement by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) today, there are a further two referrals of a similar nature that still need to be assessed.

“These allegations are of historic, high level corruption of the most serious nature,” deputy chair of the IPCC Sarah Green said.

“We will oversee the investigations and ensure that they meet the terms of reference that we will set.

Allegations of this nature are of grave concern and I would like to reassure people of our absolute commitment to ensuring that the investigations are thorough and robust.

Met Police officers have already started reinvestigating the original allegations of child abuse and the new criminal probes looking at alleged police corruption are “closely linked and well underway”, the IPCC noted.

The 14 referrals refer to:

• No action being taken after a document from the Houses of Parliament was allegedly found at an address of a paedophile. The document lists “highly-prominent individuals”, such MPs and senior police officers, who were allegedly involved in a paedophile ring.
• A potential cover-up around failures to properly investigate child sex abuse in South London and further information about criminal allegations against a politician being dropped.
• A claim that an investigation into young men being targeted was stopped because officers were “too near prominent people”.
• An allegation that an account provided by an abuse victim was changed to take out the name of a senior politician.
• Another claim that an investigation into a paedophile ring – which had convicted some people – did not take action in relation to more prominent individuals.
• Allegations that a politician had spoken with a senior MPS officer and demanded no action was taken regarding a paedophile ring and boys being procured and supplied to prominent persons in Westminster in the 1970s.
• A claim that police officers sexually abused a boy and carried out surveillance on him.
• Allegations that in the late 1970s, a surveillance operation that gathered intelligence on a politician being involved in paedophile activities was closed down by a senior officer.
• Another allegation that a dossier of allegations against senior figures and politicians involved in child abuse were taken by Special Branch officers.
• A surveillance operation of a child abuse ring supposedly was shut down due to high profile people being involved.
• Allegations of child sex abuse against a senior politician and a subsequent cover-up of his crimes.
• Allegations that during a sexual abuse investigation a senior officer instructed the investigation be halted and that that order had come from ‘up high’ in the MPS.
• Allegation of a conspiracy within the MPS to prevent the prosecution of a politician suspected of offences.

In a brief statement this afternoon, Met Police said it recognised the severity of the allegations, as well as the importance of understanding whether its officers had acted inappropriately in the past.

The allegations refer to the period from 1970 to 2005.

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