A senior member of Scotland Yard was accused of leaking sensitive information to the media during the Stephen Lawrence investigation, the Leveson inquiry heard.
Detective Chief Inspector Clive Driscoll said that key evidence during his inquiry was withheld from the official because he was well known for unauthorised briefings to the press.
The veteran police officer, who led the recent successful investigation into the racist murder of Mr Lawrence in 1993, said he could not name the suspected leaker because he was under investigation by the Met and the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Mr Driscoll told Lord Justice Leveson of his frustration at media leaks during the Lawrence “Operation Fishpool” investigation, which first began in 2006 and eventually led to the convictions of Gary Dobson and David Norris this year.
He said: “A contact who had provided information to the investigation asked me to keep their name and address a secret because they were concerned about what the defendants might do...
“The contact asked me specifically not to tell a named senior member of the MPS [Met Police]. They asked me to give my word that the person would not have any involvement. The contact said it was well known in Fleet Street that this person briefed outside official meetings and later added a more serious allegation. This concerned the close relationship between this senior member of the MPS and sections of the media.”
Mr Driscoll added: “I became convinced that somebody was deliberately attempting to disrupt the investigation. Information was being put in the public domain that was correct but there was an awful lot that wasn’t.”
He said his inquiry was being “thwarted” because the suspects “would walk into (court) knowing full well what the police may have or may be going to do”.
Mr Driscoll also said that leaks from his inquiry to the Daily Mail had a “negative effect”. He revealed that after one story in 2007, a witness was visited by one of the suspects. However, he later praised the newspaper for the support it provided to the Lawrence family.
