Police watchdog will not investigate Met over No10 party

[W12GT]

Anyone else read this with dismay?

I lost my faith in politicians quite some time ago so very little surprises me now with the allegations that are bounded about these days.

But, having served in the MPS at the very start of my working life I have to say I’m both saddened and shocked that I’ve lost trust in the Met too, and now even the police watchdog look to me like they’ve been nobbled.

Do the powers-at-be not realise that denying and covering up these recent events (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg) that the spread of anger and distrust weakens the position of officers on the front line? Not to mention total disbelief of anything that comes out of a politician mouth/Twitter account etc?

I saw news footage this week of the anti-Vax protests where there was some very aggressive verbal and physical assaults on police officers ‘just doing their job’ and felt disgusted by it. Yet today, here I am reading this won’t be investigated and somehow I feel more empathetic to those that are so frustrated by the inequality in the system.

Edited by W12GT on Thursday 23 December 10:36

[Earthdweller]

It would seem to me that the complaint was politically motivated and not because someone had been negatively affected by the actions of a Police officer acting illegally or in breach of a police conduct regulations

The allegation that because the Police control access to the gates of Downing St means that they knew a party was being held within the precinct of a Gov building they don’t control and failed to take action about, is somewhat fanciful.

I believe that the complaint about the Commissioner refusing to retrospectively investigate has been referred to the the Mayor’s office for consideration

[rodericb]

They've been promised an invite to the next party.

[W12GT]

rodericb said:

They've been promised an invite to the next party.

They were probably there already! Conflict of interest / self incrimination.

[edthefed]

"Political" hot potato that no agency want to make a difficult decision over

And even the Met if they investigated have got to get the CPS to agree to prosecute, which even if there are full admissions from persons present is not guaranteed

[Earthdweller]

edthefed said:

"Political" hot potato that no agency want to make a difficult decision over

And even the Met if they investigated have got to get the CPS to agree to prosecute, which even if there are full admissions from persons present is not guaranteed

I can see why the Met referred it to the IOPC and split the complaint about conduct and the Commissioners decision

The allegation that the Police controlling the gate of Downing St knew who was in the controlled area and should have known they were having and party and stopped it is a joke

To allege that those officers manning the gate neglected their duty, were malfeasant or criminal in their actions is just daft

The issue of the Commissioner making a decision that the organisation would not retrospectively investigate historic allegations of breaches of the coronavirus regs has a little more substance, but is baseless if that has been the way they have dealt with every other historic allegation ( regardless of whether it applies to the Crown Estate which I’m not sure it does )

It remains to be seen what the Mayors office make of that .. and that could be political

But the other allegation was just daft

[Greendubber]

Earthdweller said:

edthefed said:

"Political" hot potato that no agency want to make a difficult decision over

And even the Met if they investigated have got to get the CPS to agree to prosecute, which even if there are full admissions from persons present is not guaranteed

I can see why the Met referred it to the IOPC and split the complaint about conduct and the Commissioners decision

The allegation that the Police controlling the gate of Downing St knew who was in the controlled area and should have known they were having and party and stopped it is a joke

To allege that those officers manning the gate neglected their duty, were malfeasant or criminal in their actions is just daft

The issue of the Commissioner making a decision that the organisation would not retrospectively investigate historic allegations of breaches of the coronavirus regs has a little more substance, but is baseless if that has been the way they have dealt with every other historic allegation ( regardless of whether it applies to the Crown Estate which I’m not sure it does )

It remains to be seen what the Mayors office make of that .. and that could be political

But the other allegation was just daft

Agreed.

It's working building, the bobbies on the outside will simply see appropriately accredited people going into a building that they work in. That's where their involvement ends, people come and go all day.

[bitchstewie]

It's a matter of perception I guess and right now for many people this is what it is both of the politicians and the Met response.

Courtesy of Cold War Steve.

https://twitter.com/Coldwar_Steve/status/147399189...

[ant1973]

Earthdweller said:

edthefed said:

"Political" hot potato that no agency want to make a difficult decision over

And even the Met if they investigated have got to get the CPS to agree to prosecute, which even if there are full admissions from persons present is not guaranteed

I can see why the Met referred it to the IOPC and split the complaint about conduct and the Commissioners decision

The allegation that the Police controlling the gate of Downing St knew who was in the controlled area and should have known they were having and party and stopped it is a joke

To allege that those officers manning the gate neglected their duty, were malfeasant or criminal in their actions is just daft

The issue of the Commissioner making a decision that the organisation would not retrospectively investigate historic allegations of breaches of the coronavirus regs has a little more substance, but is baseless if that has been the way they have dealt with every other historic allegation ( regardless of whether it applies to the Crown Estate which I’m not sure it does )

It remains to be seen what the Mayors office make of that .. and that could be political

But the other allegation was just daft

The retroactivity point is nonsense as you correctly say.

The Police should investigate this. If they were content to fine students £10k, they should be all over this. After all, if the government want to invent silly laws with disproportionately large penalties, it must be a serious matter...

[Some Gump]

Earthdweller said:

It would seem to me that the complaint was politically motivated and not because someone had been negatively affected by the actions of a Police officer acting illegally or in breach of a police conduct regulations

The allegation that because the Police control access to the gates of Downing St means that they knew a party was being held within the precinct of a Gov building they don’t control and failed to take action about, is somewhat fanciful.

I believe that the complaint about the Commissioner refusing to retrospectively investigate has been referred to the the Mayor’s office for consideration

All the more reason to investigate and report back.

"we checked, and at the time, there were 50 poeple in the building. This is normal for this time of day. Our officers stay outside the door, and are not privy to any of the meetings or discussions inside the parliment offices. Therefore, there is no vase to answer".
vs
"Nah, not checking, it's pointless".

The first one, whilst a box ticking exercise at least stops the "all coppers are bds" mob from scoring points. The second is like leaving an open goal for various people to throw stones into with no likelyhood of a rebuttal.

[Lardydah]

Greendubber said:

Agreed.

It's working building, the bobbies on the outside will simply see appropriately accredited people going into a building that they work in. That's where their involvement ends, people come and go all day.

Totally agreed it's not the fault of the boys in blue manning the gate and they shouldn't be expected to know what's happening inside.

However, didn't the Met say there was no/not enough evidence to investigate? I wonder if they checked the logs for any deliveries (booze), unusual guests? Did everybody leave at the same time pissed up, maybe ask the officers on duty if they remembered anything in particular from the evening in question etc? Downing St seems like the sort of place where the Met should be quite well placed to obtain evidence.

[ant1973]

Lardydah said:

Greendubber said:

Agreed.

It's working building, the bobbies on the outside will simply see appropriately accredited people going into a building that they work in. That's where their involvement ends, people come and go all day.

Totally agreed it's not the fault of the boys in blue manning the gate and they shouldn't be expected to know what's happening inside.

However, didn't the Met say there was no/not enough evidence to investigate? I wonder if they checked the logs for any deliveries (booze), unusual guests? Did everybody leave at the same time pissed up, maybe ask the officers on duty if they remembered anything in particular from the evening in question etc? Downing St seems like the sort of place where the Met should be quite well placed to obtain evidence.

Well, there's a variety of photographs that demand an explanation given the laws in force at the time. It seems to me that represents a reasonable basis for further enquiries. Presumably interviewing people identified in the photographs would be another way to obtain the evidence that is apparently lacking. I don't blame the cops on the ground one bit. I do blame the police hierarchy for ducking the issue in 2021 given the zeal with which they pursued other people last year. The fact that Carrie is in the pictures undermines the suggestion that the purpose of the gathering was business related. And the cheese and wine...

[TRIUMPHBULLET]

It would be a waste of time and not in the public interest financially.
Any investigation would be a whitewash and no one would ever face prosecution.
As we have seen over the last 2 years, facts are irrelevant and worthless to those that choose to ignore them.

[Jasandjules]

Some pigs are more equal than others.

Just serves to fuel the corruption fire.

[Murph7355]

Jasandjules said:

Some pigs are more equal than others.

Just serves to fuel the corruption fire.

They'll pay for that in a few years' time. I expect the Met realise this and appreciate there are probably more important things for their officers to be investigating.

(How many students have been fine 12mths after having a possible party that was possibly against the rules?).

The dual standards thing is valid and an absolute joke with this government. But it would be foolish to pretend it's a new thing under this government as politicians and the great and the good have always been up to it for as long as I've been politically engaged. I wish one group would take the moral high ground on it, but it seems like being elected to the houses suddenly makes moral fibre a thing of the past. Just ask why Starmer et al haven't pushed it as hard as you would think they might...if the police were to investigate every piece of duplicity across the whole house they'd be doing nothing else for years.

[Lucas Ayde]

W12GT said:

Anyone else read this with dismay?

I lost my faith in politicians quite some time ago so very little surprises me now with the allegations that are bounded about these days.

But, having served in the MPS at the very start of my working life I have to say I’m both saddened and shocked that I’ve lost trust in the Met too, and now even the police watchdog look to me like they’ve been nobbled.

Do the powers-at-be not realise that denying and covering up these recent events (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg) that the spread of anger and distrust weakens the position of officers on the front line? Not to mention total disbelief of anything that comes out of a politician mouth/Twitter account etc?

I saw news footage this week of the anti-Vax protests where there was some very aggressive verbal and physical assaults on police officers ‘just doing their job’ and felt disgusted by it. Yet today, here I am reading this won’t be investigated and somehow I feel more empathetic to those that are so frustrated by the inequality in the system.

Edited by W12GT on Thursday 23 December 10:36

Of course they're not going to take any action. How on earth could you be so naive to think that they would .... Really, how much more crap do people have to be exposed to before they realise just how corrupt our entire system is? Anyone who still thinks we live in some sort of fair society with everyone on a level playing field must have some sort of mental impairement.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

W12GT said:

But, having served in the MPS at the very start of my working life I have to say I’m both saddened and shocked that I’ve lost trust in the Met too, and now even the police watchdog look to me like they’ve been nobbled.

Yet another nail in Cressida Dick's coffin. Her coffin must be all nails and no wood by now. How she is still in situ, given the utter calamity of her tenure, and her record before, is completely beyond me. The Met cannot continue to police London without the trust of the majority of the people they serve, and we must be reaching that tipping very soon.

She's got to go.

[Earthdweller]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Yet another nail in Cressida Dick's coffin. Her coffin must be all nails and no wood by now. How she is still in situ, given the utter calamity of her tenure, and her record before, is completely beyond me. The Met cannot continue to police London without the trust of the majority of the people they serve, and we must be reaching that tipping very soon.

She's got to go.

I have a lot of respect for her as a person and a manager. She is without doubt very smart and able

But …

I agree with you, she has to go

She is not the leader that the Met needs… She is a systems and admin manager … a very good one ..the epitome of modern corporate management, but not the leader the Met needs


I think that it needs a complete clear out of the senior command level and a massive rethink on the promotion system and I’d go as far as saying the abolition of the College of Policing

We are currently seeing in GMP, following the ousting of the Chief there, a complete clear out of senior ranks and a revisioning of it back into a Police Force, which if it follows through can only be positive

It’s not just what the Met needs, it’s what the entire police “service” needs

I’ve said for a long time now that a royal commission into policing is desperately needed and the organisation needs a root and branch reform

I think, for a while, it was going in the right direction after the corruption of the 60s/70s but sadly in this century its lost its way, losing sight of its purpose, which I put down to the Gov, legal system and political correctness in society not just the police

So, yes it’s time for a change

[bitchstewie]

MrBogSmith said:

Perception alone doesn't justify an investigation.

The IOPC aren't there to pander to people unable to accept there shouldn't be an investigation.

On the IOPC point I can see that side of it.

On the wider point, and it's on other threads I guess, public sentiment seems to be very much of the view "one rule for them".

Murph's kind of done the old "they're all as bad" thing that many of Johnson's former supporters seem to have started doing now but honestly I'm not sure I can remember a time when it's felt quite this much of a blatant daily piss-take.