Met to be criticised for 'unjustified' raid on Tory MP's homes

SCOTLAND Yard is likely to be criticised by the independent police inquiry into the arrest of Tory MP Damian Green, the Standard has learned.

Ian Johnston, the chief constable reviewing the Met's handling of the case, has indicated privately he might rule that the arrest was not proportionate.

He handed in a preliminary report yesterday, which is understood to raise concerns about whether the arrest of the MP and search of his homes and offices was justified by a risk of evidence being destroyed.

Although Mr Johnston has yet to form conclusions, he is confident that the Yard acted lawfully at all times. However, detectives appeared to have breached guidelines and good practice.

Crucially, he is understood to be concerned that the Yard's justification is weakened by an eight-day time-lag between the arrest of alleged Whitehall mole Christopher Galley and the subsequent arrest of Mr Green, the shadow immigration minister.

But for the delay, a major arrest could be defended as necessary to safeguard evidence that might be destroyed if a suspect was invited to attend a police station at a convenient time.

Moreover, it could have been argued that a swift arrest and search guarded against the risk of "highly classified" government documents being passed on, endangering national security.

In the Green case, however, the delay undermined the argument.

Mr Galley was arrested at 5.50am on 19 November at his home and released later without charge. The police waited until 27 November before arresting Mr Green at 1.50pm in his Ashford constituency.

In the interim, Mr Green would have had plenty of time to cover his tracks and was even reportedly telephoned by Mr Galley.

The Met team may also be criticised for breaching a code of practice when they obtained consent to search Mr Green's office at the Commons.

They should have given explicit advice to the Serjeant at Arms, Jill Pay, that she could refuse consent but appear to have assumed she knew her rights from taking independent legal advice.

Mr Johnston's final report is due to be handed in next week. If his preliminary findings are confirmed, it will be a blow to Assistant Met Commissioner Bob Quick, who is in charge of the mole hunt and is a contender for the vacant post of Met Commissioner, Britain's most senior police officer.

Mr Quick took the decision to arrest the MP and informed acting commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson afterwards.

The Yard does not intend to publish the report, on the grounds that it could influence any potential prosecution.

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said: "This is deeply disturbing. This report must be immediately published so we can begin to resolve the unanswered questions in this serious matter."