EXCLUSIVE: High-ranking Met Police officer on £100,000-a-year who was found to be a regular user of ‘high-class’ prostitutes was allowed to keep his job after he was let off with a minor rebuke
- High-ranking officer was given minor rebuke after his sex shame was discovered
- The handling of the case was in sharp contrast to the treatment of junior officers
A high-ranking Scotland Yard officer was allowed to keep his job despite being found to be a regular user of ‘high-class’ prostitutes, the Mail can reveal today.
The middle-aged man, who commands a salary package of more than £100,000 a year, was given a minor rebuke when colleagues in the Met’s Professional Standards unit discovered his sex shame.
The softly-softly handling of the case was in sharp contrast to the treatment of junior officers, who are frequently sacked for gross misconduct if they are found to be paying for sex.
Details of the latest scandal to engulf Britain’s biggest police force emerged weeks after a withering report found the Met to be ‘broken’ and its ‘rotten’ ranks riven with racism, misogyny and homophobia.
The review by Baroness Louise Casey prompted Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley to call for more power to sack hundreds of officers who are not fit to serve.
A high-ranking Scotland Yard officer was allowed to keep his job despite being found to be a regular user of ‘high-class’ prostitutes, the Mail can reveal today
He said it was ‘nonsensical’ that he was unable to remove staff who conducted themselves inappropriately at work and repeated his plea to Home Secretary Suella Braverman to amend this.
However his force was plunged into further controversy today as it declined to answer a series of key questions about the senior officer at the centre of the sex worker scandal.
Amid fears of a cover-up, whistle-blowers who alerted the Mail to the case said they were concerned about the double standards employed by the Met to sweep it under the carpet.
The senior officer at the centre of the row, who the Mail has decided not to name, is still serving in the capital’s force. He had an important command position in London when, in 2019, he was found to be routinely paying hundreds of pounds for sex.
An examination of his phone during an investigation into unrelated allegations, which were later dropped, discovered his sordid habit.
Colleagues familiar with the case expected him to be hauled before a misconduct board and sacked for discreditable behaviour.
But instead, according to multiple sources, Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball, a close ally of then Met boss Cressida Dick, decided to give him ‘words of advice’ – the lowest form of censure.
It meant the officer was allowed to keep his job and embarrassing details about his conduct were never made public.
Details of the latest scandal to engulf Britain’s biggest police force emerged weeks after a withering report – commissioned by Baroness Louise Casey (pictured in March) – found the Met to be ‘broken’ and its ‘rotten’ ranks riven with racism, misogyny and homophobia
Colleagues familiar with the case expected him to be hauled before a misconduct board and sacked for discreditable behaviour. But instead, according to multiple sources, Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball (pictured in December 2021) decided to give him ‘words of advice’ – the lowest form of censure
A source said: ‘It was all kept incredibly tight. It appeared to be a clear case of gross misconduct, and should have gone to a hearing where details would have gone on the Met’s website.
‘By using the services of sex workers, the senior officer was potentially exploiting vulnerable women, who we are supposed to protect, and leaving himself open to possible bribery attempts.’
Another whistle-blower said: ‘What this officer did was morally repugnant. He was using high-class prostitutes. It was a pattern of behaviour. The way this was handled is another indictment of Cressida Dick’s regime.’
A distinguished former chief constable, who spent his early career in the Met, said: ‘When I joined the police, we were warned about the “three Ps” – property, prisoners and prostitutes. I am shocked to learn that this officer was allowed to keep his job.’
Ex-Met chief superintendent Phil Flower, who held a senior position in the force’s Professional Standards unit during his career, said: ‘It is extremely surprising that a more robust decision was not taken in this matter. In my humble opinion, it should have been referred to a misconduct board which, if properly informed, would have imposed a much more significant penalty up to and including dismissal.’
Earlier this month it emerged that Sir Mark, who succeeded Dame Cressida as Met chief in September, wrote to the Home Secretary and Mayor of London outlining his progress in improving standards.
He revealed that 161 officers with criminal convictions were serving in the force and 196 individuals accused of sexual offences or domestic abuse were facing risk management measures and the prospect of losing their jobs.
Sir Mark is under intense pressure to restore confidence after the force was rocked by scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard by PC Wayne Couzens, who was a regular user of prostitutes, and firearms officer David Carrick being unmasked as a serial rapist.
Baroness Casey, who spent a year examining the Yard’s culture and practices, said there was a ‘rot’ at its heart that allowed racism to go unchallenged and predatory behaviour to ‘flourish’. She said successive Met commissioners had ‘failed to ensure the integrity of its officers and the organisation’.
Many officers in the Met and other forces are sacked for gross misconduct for using the services of sex workers, even when off duty.
Last year the Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset, Sarah Crew, issued a scathing statement after a junior officer who paid for sex was sacked by her force.
She said: ‘We in policing know that sex workers are often vulnerable victims of exploitation, control and physical and sexual violence. Our role as police officers is to work with partner agencies to try to keep vulnerable people safe and signpost to support services.’
The review by Baroness Louise prompted Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley (pictured last month) to call for more power to sack hundreds of officers who are not fit to serve
She also spoke of the potential for sex workers to be linked to organised crime groups which posed a risk to police integrity.
Scotland Yard said it would not respond directly to questions from the Mail about the sex worker scandal, saying that in line with national policy, it will identify officers subject of misconduct complaints only when they proceed to a formal public hearing.
On the general issue of police officers and sex workers, a spokesman said: ‘The Met expects the highest standards. Officers must not to behave in a way that will discredit the police and undermine the public’s confidence in us.
‘Police play a key role in protecting sex workers, both men and women, from physical and sexual violence, coercion, control and exploitation.
‘Alongside work being undertaken on a national level, the Met is finalising expectations of our workforce in this area.’
Source: Read Full Article
