§ Mr. FitzpatrickTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will release the report of the investigation compiled as a result of the Operation Countryman exercise. [26749]
§ Mr. MichaelOperation Countryman was an investigation into allegations of corruption, made in 1978, against officers in the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police. The investigating officer was from Dorset Constabulary. Investigating officers' reports are as a class regarded by the courts as subject to public interest immunity. Separately, we are considering issues of discipline in the light of the recent report by the Home Affairs Select Committee.