The former head of the Met Police may have breached professional standards in an inquiry into the botched investigation of a man in Sydenham, the police watchdog has said.
Dame Cressida Dick was accused of withholding information from an independent inquiry into the unsolved murder of Daniel Morgan, a private detective, in a pub car park in 1987.
A separate report published by the police watchdog on Wednesday (August 3), a year after the independent inquiry, found that Dame Cressida “may have breached police standards of professional behaviour by not providing full and exceptional disclosure to the [independent inquiry] sooner.”
But the independent office for police conduct (IOPC) found that this possible breach was not enough for disciplinary action. “We found that she acted with a genuine belief to protect the information but may have got the balance wrong and should have given greater priority to her duty to provide full and exceptional disclosure to the panel,” the report said.
The IOPC report added that there were no further lines of inquiry to pursue into the murder of Mr Morgan, a father of two who was killed by a blow to the head with an axe more than 35 years ago in the car park of the Golden Lion pub.
- Previous article: Daniel Morgan: inquiry brands Met police ‘institutionally corrupt’
Mr Morgan’s family said they were “disappointed but not surprised” by the latest report.
They added: “As Daniel’s family, we became aware of the police corruption and criminality at the heart of this matter within weeks of the murder: we said so then, and we had to say so repeatedly over the decades since the murder.”
“We – and the public at large – have been failed over the decades by a culture of corruption and cover up in the Metropolitan Police.”
The Met has accepted that the original investigation into Mr Morgan’s murder was hampered by corruption, but said it was not institutionally corrupt. There have since been several police inquiries into the killing and two charges, but no one has been brought to justice.
As well as Dame Cressida, it has been reported that the IOPC also found former assistant commissioner John Yates, who retired in 1987, may have breached professional standards by not taking action against the senior investigating officer in the second police investigation, former detective chief superintendent Dave Cook.
Dame Cressida apologised to Mr Morgan’s family in 2021, saying it was a “matter of great regret that no-one has been brought to justice and that our mistakes have compounded the pain suffered by Daniel’s family”.
Sal Naseem, IOPC regional director for London, said: “From the first to last investigation into Daniel Morgan’s murder there were failures to adequately challenge and investigate allegations that officers had acted corruptly.
“In coming to our decisions, we are acutely aware that not one single officer was ever successfully prosecuted or received significant disciplinary action as a result of corruption directly connected to the murder investigations.
“The wrongs that occurred can never be put right, but it may have served as some small comfort to Mr Morgan’s family and loved ones if the officers involved had been held to account and suffered the consequences of their actions at the time.
“The circumstances of these matters must serve as a salient reminder to the Metropolitan Police and the police service more widely, of the importance of being constantly vigilant in challenging improper and corrupt behaviour swiftly, firmly and robustly.”
Dame Cressida rejected the IOPC’s findings that she may have breached professional standards.
“In the period from September 2014 to January 2015, the record shows I and my team acted professionally, flexibly, expeditiously, diligently and with integrity in a challenging, unprecedented and complex task. By December 2014, the Panel had received 133,000 pages of material.”
She added: ““Finally, and most importantly, I deeply regret that no one has been brought to justice for Daniel’s murder and regret 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.”
Dame Cressida stepped down in April amid a wave of controversy over the way the Met handled the Sarah Everard murder and several other scandals that rocked the force.