UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
Jamie Grierson and Sandra Laville
Friday 18 September 2015
The Metropolitan police have set up a new team of 90 officers to deal with investigations into alleged attempts to cover up child abuse by high-profile figures.
At Scotland Yard, the Independent Police Complaints Commission is managing internal investigations into 29 allegations of police corruption in the handling of child abuse claims. Among the allegations are claims that special branch and senior police intervened to block investigations into high-profile figures, including politicians.
The team will also deal with the demands of the statutory inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse, led by Justice Goddard, and with criminal investigations relating to Operation Fairbank, the umbrella inquiry into child sex abuse claims involving high-profile figures, and Yewtree, which was set up amid the Jimmy Savile scandal.
In a statement the Met police said: “The MPS is in the process of establishing a specific team in response to the combined demands of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse led by Justice Goddard, the investigations following our referrals to the IPCC, and the ongoing related criminal investigations relating to Operations Fairbank and Yewtree. It is anticipated that this team will comprise about 90 staff, with some staff in place already.”
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