Daniel Morgan murder: Ex-Met chief may have breached standards, watchdog says
Morgan familyFormer Met Police chief Dame Cressida Dick may have breached professional standards relating to the murder of a private detective, a review has found.
Daniel Morgan was found in the car park of the Golden Lion pub, south London, with an axe in his head in 1987.
The police watchdog report comes after an independent panel last year found the Met was institutionally corrupt in its handling of parts of the case.
Dame Cressida said she disagreed with the report and she acted "diligently".
Despite five police inquiries and an inquest spanning two decades and costing more than £40m, no-one has been convicted over the father-of-two's death, with the Metropolitan Police previously admitting corruption had hampered the original murder investigation and apologising to his family.
His family believes the police corruption, and reluctance to confront it, could explain the murder and the failed investigations.
Mr Morgan, from Llanfrechfa near Cwmbran in south Wales, died outside the pub in Sydenham on 10 March 1987.
In June 2021, an independent panel found the Met had been corrupt in the way it concealed its failings in the inquiry into the case.
The report said there were several theories as to why Mr Morgan was killed, among them:
- He was on the verge of revealing links between corrupt police officers and organised criminals
- He had mentioned to friends he had been offered £250,000 by a Sunday newspaper for an expose on how he got his information
- Police officers in south-east London who were allegedly making money by selling information and moonlighting as security guards were concerned he was about to expose them - however, the report claims this motive was never seriously investigated
- Mr Morgan had worked as a bailiff and the day before his murder he served a court summons on a man who had previous convictions for violent offences
The latest report by the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said it had determined there was an "indication" Dame Cressida "may" have breached the standards of professional behaviour. The findings relate to a period between 2013-2015 when she was an Assistant Commissioner and the senior officer responsible for the inquiry.
But it concluded that no disciplinary action was necessary, saying there was "no evidence to indicate Commissioner Dick intended to protect corrupt officers".
The IOPC added Dame Cressida had appeared to have "acted in the genuine belief she had a legitimate policing purpose", due to concerns about protecting information but "may have got it wrong".
The IOPC said that, following its assessment of the independent panel's June 2021 report, "there are no new avenues for investigation which could now result in either criminal or disciplinary proceedings".
ReutersMr Morgan's family said they were "disappointed but not surprised" by the IOPC's review.
"What we find here is a rather shabby exercise by the IOPC to avoid the implications of the police corruption and criminality which the panel's report compelled them to acknowledge," they said.
They said that the decision by the IOPC not to take any disciplinary action "shows that it suffers the very sickness within its own ranks that it purports to diagnose within the Met."
Dame Cressida said she and her team had acted "professionally, flexibly, expeditiously, diligently and with integrity in a challenging, unprecedented and complex task".
She added she "deeply" regretted "that no one has been brought to justice for Daniel's murder", and "everything the Met or any of its members have done which has added to the pain of Daniel's family of losing Daniel in such terrible circumstances".
'Salient reminder'
Assistant Met Commissioner Amanda Pearson said the force had "transformed how we investigate homicide, identify misconduct and drive out corruption".
She added the Met was continuing to work on implementing the recommendations made in a recent Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) report, which set out multiple changes to be made to restore public trust in the force.
Sal Naseem, IOPC regional director for London, said what had happened must be a "salient reminder" to police "of the importance of being constantly vigilant in challenging improper and corrupt behaviour swiftly, firmly and robustly".
Dame Cressida stepped down from her role as commissioner in April, after a series of scandals exposing racist, misogynist and homophobic behaviour among some officers in the ranks of the Met Police.
She has been replaced by former counter-terrorism policing chief Sir Mark Rowley.
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