§ 5. Mr. Gordon PrenticeWhat steps he is taking to eliminate corruption in the Metropolitan police. [20160]
§ Mr. StrawThe Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is determined to root out corruption in the Metropolitan police. He has my full support in doing so. He has set out his strategy for tackling corruption in the "London Beat", his five-year strategic plan. He informs me that, as for all criminal offences, he is using proactive methods and intelligence to target suspects. I 645 await with interest the report and recommendations of the Home Affairs Select Committee in respect of the police complaints and discipline system more generally.
§ Mr. PrenticeI thank my right hon. Friend for his reply, which many people will find reassuring, especially after the astonishing news at the weekend that the police threw road blocks around the headquarters of the flying squad at Walthamstow. Will my right hon. Friend tell me again whether the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolitan will have all the resources necessary to root out corruption? More importantly, will he answer this simple question: why is corruption allowed to take root in the Metropolitan police? Why was there not a system in place to prevent that sort of thing happening?
§ Mr. StrawI am grateful to my hon. Friend for his remarks. He asks whether the Commissioner will ensure that all the resources necessary are available to the Metropolitan Police Complaints Investigation Bureau; that is the case, and the number of officers assigned to that bureau has recently been increased. I do not accept the implication of my hon. Friend's specific final question, that corruption is widespread in the Metropolitan police. The extent to which it occurs is a matter of profound concern; there should be no corruption in any police force. But no police officer should be in any doubt about the resolve of both the Commissioner and myself to ensure that any corruption is rooted out vigorously and firmly.
§ Sir Brian MawhinneyPreliminarily, does the Home Secretary accept that my colleagues and I wish him and his colleagues, you, Madam Speaker, and all hon. Members a happy Christmas? Will the right hon. Gentleman accept that I share his strong view on the unacceptability of corruption in the Metropolitan police or any other police force? Does the Home Secretary believe that the dismissing of officers from that force is a sufficient response to prima facie corrupt behaviour? Will he ensure that the Commissioner has all the legal powers he needs to deal ruthlessly with corrupt behaviour?
§ Mr. StrawI return the right hon. Gentleman's slightly ambiguous compliment in a wholly unambiguous way. Labour Members wish the right hon. Gentleman and his right hon. and hon. Friends a happy Christmas and a good new year, particularly in their Front-Bench positions—long may their positions continue.
The right hon. Gentleman also asked whether I believed that the power to dismiss police officers was sufficient. It is necessary in respect of corrupt police officers; it may not be sufficient. I note fully what he says about the need for the Commissioner and other chief constables to have the full range of legal powers available to them. The implication of the right hon. Gentleman's question was that he believed that the current powers were not particularly satisfactory. I await with great interest the report of the Home Affairs Select Committee on complaints and discipline in the police, on the basis of which I shall make recommendations to the House and the other place.
§ Mr. MullinDoes my right hon. Friend recall that, as long ago as 1993, his predecessor had plans for a radical shake-up of disciplinary procedures in the police, 646 which would have greatly assisted the Commissioner in dealing with the most recent allegations of corruption, but that for some reason that shake-up did not occur? Can he think of any reason why the shake-up was not proceeded with? Will he assure the House that he will not give way to any of the mighty vested interests that might be pressing him to do little or nothing about the problems?
§ Mr. StrawI know the reason that the shake-up was not proceeded with. The proposals were made in a speech to the Police Superintendents Association in 1993 by my predecessor but one, the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke). They were abandoned when my immediate predecessor, the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard), became Home Secretary. As I said to the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire (Sir B. Mawhinney), we await the report of the Select Committee on Home Affairs, which my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) chairs with such distinction. I repeat our determination, which is shared by all hon. Members on both sides of the House, to ensure that the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and other chief constables have the full range of powers effectively and ruthlessly to root out corruption inside the police service.