Met police corruption report - gangsters have infiltrated Scotland Yard at choice

[David Guyatt]

I wonder if the Murdoch Mob are included or not?

Metropolitan police corruption report prompts call for inquiry

Confidential report leaked to newspaper was prepared in 2002 and claimed gangsters had infiltrated Scotland Yard

• Press Association
  
• theguardian.com, Friday 10 January 2014 02.21 GMT
  

Historic corruption claims in a report on the Metropolitan police have prompted calls for an inquiry. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

The head of the Metropolitan police will be asked to ensure corruption no longer exists in the force after a confidential report into organised crime infiltrating Scotland Yard was leaked to a newspaper.
The report said organised criminals "were able to infiltrate Scotland Yard at will by bribing corrupt officers", according to the results of the secret internal report written in 2002.
It said the likes of "underworld king" c were able to corrupt police and access sensitive information to help evade prosecution.
The home affairs select committee chairman, Keith Vaz, said he would be writing to the Met commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, to "ensure that these allegations have been fully investigated and to confirm that he is satisfied that corruption no longer exists", the Independent said.
He told the newspaper said: "I am deeply concerned by the findings of this report. It is vital that the police have the utmost integrity.
"The public must be able to trust them to do their job and ensure justice prevails.
"The Met have made vast progress rooting out corruption in the force in the last 20 years but it would appear more may still need to be done."
The secret report said only a few of the corrupt police were convicted but that the problem went to the heart of operations at Scotland Yard, with bent officers alleged to have fraternised with known criminal and informants, the Independent reported.
It resulted in prosecutions being botched and investigations being compromised.
In a statement on Thursday night the Met said it was "determined to pursue corruption in all its forms and with all possible vigour".
It said: "The dedicated anti-corruption command [ACC)] part of the Met's directorate of professional standards, proactively investigates any allegations or intelligence relating to either corrupt police officers and staff and those that may seek to corrupt our officers staff.
"All such allegations and intelligence are taken extremely seriously and any any lessons learnt from resulting investigations are used to further our efforts to reduce the likelihood of such offences occurring in the future.
The Met said it fully recognised that "criminals who seek to corrupt our officers and staff will remain a threat to the work of the MPS, the criminal justice process and therefore a threat to public safety".
The report said notorious gangsters were able to infiltrate the Met - including Hunt.
In 2013 the Sunday Times won a landmark libel action brought by Hunt, said to have been part of a major criminal family in north London, after the newspaper described him as an "underworld king".
Hunt claimed the May 2010 article which the newspaper said was based on years of careful research meant he was the head of a crime organisation who had been shown to be concerned with murder, drug trafficking and fraud.
Hunt's lawyers told London's high court it was a libel of "exceptional gravity" and Hunt himself gave evidence that the allegations were "heartbreaking", had "crucified" him and impacted badly on his business relationships.
But Mr Justice Simon said he was satisfied that it was reasonable for the newspaper to describe Hunt as "a violent and dangerous criminal and the head of an organised crime group implicated in murder, drug trafficking and fraud".