Embattled Metropolitan Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe will be grilled
\nby MPs next week over bombshell claims that Scotland Yard and the Crown
\nProsecution Service were involved in a \u2018deliberate cover-up\u2019 of damning
\nevidence of police corruption.<\/p>\n
A court was told that the Met and the CPS repeatedly concealed documents
\nsuggesting that officers investigating a billionaire Nigerian politician
\nfor fraud were paid to leak details of the inquiry that could have helped
\nhim evade justice.<\/p>\n
One detective was said to have received at least 19 unexplained cash
\ndeposits totalling thousands of pounds into his bank account, after
\nillegally disclosing sensitive information, a judge heard.<\/p>\n
But when the corruption allegations were revealed by a whistle-blowing
\nlawyer, the lawyer was accused of forging the evidence, and charged with
\nperverting the course of justice. Police privately expressed fears that
\nhis devastating claims could undermine the \u00a350million fraud trial.<\/p>\n
Last month the charges against the solicitor were dramatically dropped
\nafter the CPS was forced to produce crucial papers, which it had always
\ninsisted did not exist, that suggest serving Met officers took bribes.<\/p>\n
Although the Met insists no corruption took place, the case leaves the Met
\nCommissioner \u2013 already under fire over his refusal to apologise for the
\nYard\u2019s disastrous historical sex abuse investigations \u2013 facing difficult
\nquestions from the Home Affairs Select Committee next week, as he was
\npersonally warned about the potential miscarriage of justice three years
\nago.<\/p>\n
The CPS\u2019s handling of the case, criticised by former police as well as the
\ndefendants, will also increase pressure on Director of Public Prosecutions
\nAlison Saunders, who faced calls to quit over her failure to put Lord
\nJanner on trial.<\/p>\n
As the full astonishing story is told for the first time, it can also be
\nrevealed that a Met Commander, Peter Spindler, who reported directly to
\nSir Bernard, told the BBC the corruption claims were bogus without having
\nchecked if documents were genuine.<\/p>\n
Last night the lawyer who had been accused of forgery, Bhadresh Gohil, MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, said: \u2018Members have The extraordinary case centres on Scotland Yard\u2019s prosecution of James He was jailed for 13 years in 2012 at Southwark Crown Court after Gohil, who was Ibori\u2019s business lawyer, was also jailed for seven years While he was in Wandsworth Prison he was anonymously sent information Documents were also sent to the Met and the police watchdog alleging that Gohil planned to use the evidence of police corruption to overturn his But astonishingly on the eve of his appeal in June 2014, he found himself His defence team were desperate to obtain evidence to back up Gohil\u2019s Then, in a shock development, prosecutors were forced to reveal the very Just days later they dramatically dropped the entire case without In a written submission to Southwark Crown Court last month, days before In a second submission, he accused the prosecution of a \u2018deliberate In open court last week, Kamlish said he planned to fight a renewed appeal The result was, he said, that Gohil\u2019s original appeal against his If granted, this appeal would make legal history: normally the Appeal Kamlish also told the judge: \u2018The investigation by the Department of Briefing the BBC in 2012, the Yard admitted that if they had found The Mail on Sunday<\/span><\/span> can reveal for the first time today some of the One of the more serious corruption claims concerns an alleged meeting According to an RISC document, Knuckey claimed \u00a346.75 in expenses for a Two days later<\/span><\/span>, it was recorded that he held a \u2018meeting with confidential Another document reveals DC McDonald made 19 unexplained cash deposits After the pub meeting, private investigator Knuckey provided a report to Their records stated: \u2018CK [Knuckey] explained that he had met with a A RISC list of payments reveals that between 2006 and 2007 the firm paid In his court submission, Kamlish claimed the Crown knew \u2018that there is DC McDonald was arrested and interviewed by Yard investigators in 2012. He But he insisted he never revealed sensitive information, and that he was DC McDonald was not charged with misconduct or taking bribes and now works Knuckey admitted he had obtained \u00a35,000 cash from RISC to pay his But he claimed that instead of paying an informant, he took the money for Other documents cast doubt on this claim. He had not been on holiday when Gary Walters, a former detective on the original Ibori investigation, \u2018I am extremely disappointed that this case continues to rumble on with no \u2018I was amazed when it suddenly ended with no explanation and I support the A CPS spokesman said: \u2018As a result of information that came to the Scotland Yard said: \u2018The Metropolitan Police Service investigated an \u2018The Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) referred the matter to \u2018Five people including one then-serving officer were arrested and released The NCA said: \u2018Generally an historic allegation against a police officer Knuckey\u2019s solicitors Lewis Nedas said: \u2018The strain on him has been Daily Mail<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Embattled Metropolitan Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe will be grilled by MPs next week over bombshell claims that Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service were involved in a \u2018deliberate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n
\ntold The Mail on Sunday<\/span><\/span>: \u2018I uncovered serious corruption, but when I tried
\nto expose this, I was victimised. Astonishingly, the CPS used the might of
\nthe state and all its resources to cover up what had happened, and brought
\ntrumped-up charges to persecute me. The truth has finally unravelled.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nindicated they will want to ask the Commissioner, when he next appears
\nbefore the committee, to deal with the latest developments which raise a
\nnumber of new questions.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nIbori, who once worked as a cashier at a branch of Wickes DIY store in
\nWest London before returning to his native Nigeria to enter politics and
\nbecome one of Africa\u2019s richest men as governor of oil-rich Delta State.<\/p>\n
\nadmitting fraud and money-laundering following the Met investigation into
\nhis vast wealth, with the court hearing that he siphoned off public cash
\nto live a \u2018lavish lifestyle\u2019, enjoying a private jet, homes in Hampstead
\nand Regents Park, armoured cars and places at top British boarding schools
\nfor his children.<\/p>\n
\nafter admitting fraud, although he claims he was wrongly advised to do so
\nby his then legal team. He was separately found guilty of money-laundering
\n\u2013 a charge he continues to deny.<\/p>\n
\nsuggesting police in the case had been in the pay of a British firm of
\nprivate investigators, RISC Management, hired by Ibori.<\/p>\n
\nofficers had received kickbacks worth thousands of pounds and Gohil told
\nthe home affairs select committee in May 2012 that the case was tainted by
\n\u2018apparent corruption right at the heart of Scotland Yard\u2019.<\/p>\n
\nconvictions.<\/p>\n
\nfacing another jail sentence as the CPS told him he would be charged with
\nperverting the course of justice for allegedly forging the crucial
\ndocuments. His appeal bid was duly rejected.<\/p>\n
\nclaim that Ibori\u2019s solicitors and RISC had improper contact with the
\ninvestigating officers, but the CPS repeatedly insisted there were no such
\ndocuments.<\/p>\n
\ndocuments they had always maintained did not exist.<\/p>\n
\nexplaining why, only admitting that unspecified new information had come
\nto light.<\/p>\n
\nthe charges were dropped, Gohil\u2019s defence counsel Stephen Kamlish QC
\nclaimed the prosecution \u2018in bad faith failed to investigate\u2019 who had
\nreceived cash payments.<\/p>\n
\ncover-up\u2019.<\/p>\n
\nfor Gohil on the basis that \u2018prosecuting counsel misled not only this
\ncourt but the Court of Appeal in saying there was no disclosable
\nmaterial\u2019.<\/p>\n
\nconvictions for money-laundering and fraud had been decided on \u2018false
\nfacts\u2019.<\/p>\n
\nCourt cannot hear a case it has already turned down.<\/p>\n
\nProfessional Standards into Mr Gohil\u2019s allegations of corruption was a
\nwhitewash and was deliberately designed to find that no corruption of the
\ntype Mr Gohil had complained about existed\u2026 it was designed to fail.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nevidence of corruption it would have wrecked the case against Ibori.<\/p>\n
\ndynamite evidence grudgingly handed over by the Crown, and cited in court,
\nthat may have led it to drop the charge against Gohil of perverting the
\ncourse of justice.<\/p>\n
\nbetween DC John McDonald, who was investigating Ibori, and RISC director
\nClifford Knuckey, on September 10, 2007.<\/p>\n
\nmeal he enjoyed in a pub with a source that day.<\/p>\n
\nsource to hand over source payment for information provided\u2026 \u00a35,000.\u2019
\nTelephone records, also newly revealed, include 120 calls from RISC to Met
\nofficers during the Ibori investigation \u2013 including one to DC McDonald on
\nthe day of the pub meeting.<\/p>\n
\ninto his bank account, most of around \u00a3500, while he was working on the
\ncase in 2007.<\/p>\n
\nIbori\u2019s lawyers detailing secret information he had been given about the
\ncase.<\/p>\n
\nsenior officer on 10 September 2007\u2019 and that \u2018DC McDonald (DCM) has had a
\nserious fall out\u2019 with other officers on the case.<\/p>\n
\nsome \u00a3360,000 to a network of confidential sources in Ibori\u2019s and other
\ncases, delivered in cash by couriers to the firm\u2019s London offices. It is
\nnot known if any were serving police officers.<\/p>\n
\nclear and compelling, direct and circumstantial evidence of a corrupt
\nrelationship between RISC and MPS [Met] officers\u2019.<\/p>\n
\nadmitted speaking to and meeting Knuckey.<\/p>\n
\nnever paid. He produced written records he had made of phone calls with
\nKnuckey and other RISC staff, which purported to show they did not discuss
\nhis work.<\/p>\n
\nfor the elite National Crime Agency (NCA).<\/p>\n
\nconfidential informant on the day of the pub meeting.<\/p>\n
\nhimself, as compensation for a Spanish holiday ruined when RISC made him
\nfly to Paris at very short notice.<\/p>\n
\nhe went to Paris, while he booked his flight a week in advance. He was
\ncharged with false accounting, but this case too has been dropped.<\/p>\n
\ninsists there was no corrupt behaviour on his team \u2013 but supports the
\ncalls for answers as to why the case against Gohil was dropped.<\/p>\n
\nmeaningful conclusion,\u2019 he told The Mail on Sunday<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n
\ncalls for a full and independent inquiry. I have yet to see any evidence
\nof corruption on the part of any of the investigators or prosecutors but
\nthe decision of the DPP makes clear that there is a need for further
\ninvestigation and potential prosecutions.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nattention of the CPS on January 13, 2016, the case was reconsidered.
\nFollowing that reconsideration, the Crown offered no evidence in court.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nallegation, received anonymously, that illegal payments were made to
\npolice officers for information by a private investigation agency.<\/p>\n
\nthe Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in October 2011 which
\nagreed to supervise a DPS investigation.<\/p>\n
\nwith no further action. Additionally no misconduct was identified in the
\ncase of the officer.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nwhich has been investigated by the relevant police force\u2019s professional
\nstandards department supervised by the IPCC, in which no misconduct was
\nfound, would not represent a barrier to the officer joining the NCA.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nconsiderable. Mr Knuckey, who had over 30 years unblemished service in the
\nMetropolitan Police, has always maintained his innocence and that there
\nwas no corruption in this case.\u2019<\/p>\n