A Freedom of Information Request has revealed that the then Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman and Assistant Commissioner John Yates had lunches and dinners with News of the World and executives of News International while investigating alleged criminal allegations against the News of the World.
Dee Doocey, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly policing spokesperson and member of the Metropolitan Police Authority said:
Such a cosy relationship between the News of the World, News International and senior Met police officers who were leading an inquiry into the News of the World phone hacking allegations goes to the very heart of the problems that have arisen.
Tomorrow Doocey will call on the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to support her call for John Yates’ resignation at Mayor’s Question Time at City Hall. She said,
It is shameful that John Yates found time to have five lunches with the News of the World and News International, but after just a few hours decided there was no additional evidence to justify a further investigation into phone hacking.
John Yates has failed literally hundreds of victims of phone hacking. While he remains in post as Assistant Commissioner of the Met its reputation will not recover.
He must take responsibility for this pitiful review and accept that he has lost all credibility. It is time for him to go.
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2 Comments
I am astonished that it is even legal for a Met commissioner to even have lunch with the people they are investigating.
As a former Licensee of a Public House, It was “Illegal” to even give a Police officer whilst on duty a free drink “even non alcoholic”
It was against Licensing Laws as it could be seen as trying to gain police favor.
If News International where picking up the Tab for the meal, and the said “police commissioners” where on duty at the time, which I am sure would not be hard to prove, Then surely some Law would been broken.
These officers need to be sent to jail, not merely fired.
How many offences must the met commit, in activities ranging from brutality to political policing to receiving bribes, before we acknowledge that this isn’t just a case of a few ‘bad apples’ but rather an indication of the institutional bad practice and disrespect for the law at the heart of the Met Police?