Scotland Yard was today accused of “insensitive and arrogant” handling of child sex abuse claims after it apologised to an innocent former armed forces chief for the way it investigated him.
Tim Loughton MP, acting chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, condemned the force and urged it to release “as many details as possible” of an inquiry into Operation Midland, which investigated allegations of a VIP paedophile ring.
The senior Tory MP hit out after Field Marshal Lord Bramall, a 92-year-old D-Day veteran, told of his anger that his wife died before false child sex abuse claims against him were dropped.
His home was raided by 22 officers in March last year while he was having breakfast with Lady Bramall. She died in July last year and had been suffering from dementia.
The peer said Met chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe had visited him on Wednesday and apologised.
Mr Loughton described the apology as “long overdue” and called for the force to be as open as possible about the inquiry by retired High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques into Operation Midland.
He said: “Given the incompetence and insensitive and arrogant way the police have handled this whole investigation they should go above and beyond to release as many details as possible to explain how this unfortunate trail of events was allowed to happen.”
Sir Bernard has also offered to meet a former Tory MP falsely accused of being involved in child sex abuse and a child murder before publication of the report into his force’s handling of the inquiry.
Harvey Proctor said he had been offered a private meeting with the Commissioner to discuss a final version of the review.
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