Met police chief Lord Hogan-Howe who oversaw bungled inquiry into VIP paedophile ring is handed Government job advising ministers and civil servants about Brexit and coronavirus
- Bernard Hogan-Howe led the London force between 2011 and 2017
- In charge during Operation Midland probe into claims by fantasist Carl Beech
- Made a crossbench peer he surprisingly backed Boris Johnson to be Tory leader
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
The former head of the Metropolitan Police who oversaw the bungled probe into a fictitious Westminster paedophile ring has been handed a job advising the Government.
Bernard Hogan-Howe, who was commissioner of the London force between 2011 and 2017, has been appointed to a Cabinet Office committee that will provide advice on Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.
It comes just months after Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office Minister attacked the force’s ‘shameful’ treatment of war hero Lord Bramall, under his leadership of the Met.
The former head of the Armed Forces and a D-Day veteran who served his country in every major conflict until he retired in 1985, Bramall was smeared by fantasist Carl Beech, known as ‘Nick’, whose lies were swallowed whole by the Met.
His house near Farnham in Surrey was raised by police in 2015, when his wife was terminally ill and he was subjected to a humiliating 100-minute interview under caution.
But he was never charged and died aged 95 in December, after Beech had been jailed for 18 years for perverting the course of justice and fraud.
The former police chief, who now sits in the Lords as Baron Hogan-Howe of Sheffield, initially refused to apologise to victims of the investigations into alleged paedophile rings, but did so after a damning independent review uncovered serious failings.
He will sit as a non-executive member of the department’s audit and risk committee for at least three years.
He was a surprising backer of Boris Johnson in the Tory leadership campaign last year, despite sitting as a neutral crossbench peer, having worked with the Prime Minister when he was mayor of London.
Bernard Hogan-Howe, who was commissioner of the London force between 2011 and 2017, has been appointed to a Cabinet Office committee that will provide advice on Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.
His appointment last month, first reported today in the Times as one of four new appointments, which included Gisela Stuart, the former Labour MP and Leave campaigner in the EU referendum.
Announcing their arrival, Alex Chisholm, the permanent secretary for the Cabinet Office and chief operating officer for the Civil Service said they ‘bring a wealth of experience and expertise.
This is in contrast to Mr Gove’s remarks following Lord Bramall’s death, when he told LBC: ‘It was shameful how he was treated in his last years. Action does need to be taken in order to ensure that those who were responsible for putting him and his family though misery face the consequences.’
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