|
Police chief takes on the Met over media claims |
|
|
|
Media Guardian
By Julia Day
March 17, 2006
Controversial police chief Brian Paddick is contemplating mounting legal action against the Metropolitan Police after a row about claims that he briefed the media. Deputy assistant commissioner of Scotland Yard, Mr Paddick is facing a Metropolitan Police Authority investigation over allegations that he briefed the media about the shooting of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.
The MPA said it was considering taking action against Mr Paddick over media reports about the ongoing inquiry into the July 22 shooting of Mr de Menezes, whom the police mistakenly believed was a suicide bomber.
But Mr Paddick has today told the BBC he was he was in talks with libel lawyers over a Met statement, which he believes accuses him of lying.
Met commissioner Sir Ian Blair, the UK's most senior officer, is under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) over claims that he lied to the public in the aftermath of the shooting.
Sir Ian has always said he did not know the victim was the innocent Brazilian man until 24 hours after the shooting.
But yesterday (Thursday) the BBC reported that one of Sir Ian's private staff had believed there had been an error just six hours after the shooting, which the Met denied.
The Met said in a statement: "The officer in the Commissioner's Private Office has categorically denied this in his interview with, and statement to, the IPCC investigators. We are satisfied that whatever the reasons for this suggestion being made, it is simply not true."
But later media reports said the information about Sir Ian's staff had come from evidence Mr Paddick had provided to IPCC investigators, and the Met's original statement was withdrawn.
And now Mr Paddick is pondering legal action over the contents of the withdrawn statement, saying he believes it accuses him of lying.
Mr Paddick told BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw that he was the officer who made the original statement to the IPCC and the Met's response was tantamount to accusing him of lying.
The Met said it would not comment. Meanwhile the MPA said it was looking at taking disciplinary action against Mr Paddick.
"We can confirm that the MPA has received information that alleges a senior officer, Brian Paddick, made an unauthorised disclosure of confidential police information," an MPA spokeswoman said.
"The MPA will be making preliminary inquiries in order to decide whether there is any matter that warrants investigation," she said, adding the information had arisen from the Met's confidential phone line for whistleblowers.
Mr Paddick, Britain's highest ranking openly gay officer, is no stranger to controversy. He pioneered a contentious "softly, softly" approach to cannabis and was moved to other duties in 2002 from his job over claims he had used the drug. He was later cleared of any wrongdoing. |
Events Calendar