Westminster child abuse gang 'linked to boy’s murder'
Detectives looking at historical sex assault claims are now working with homicide officers
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Detectives investigating allegations of an organised paedophile ring involving former government ministers and senior police officers are examining links to a possible murder, Scotland Yard confirmed today.
The Met said detectives from its Operation Fairbank historic child abuse investigation command were now working with homicide officers in a new investigation called Operation Midland.
The Independent understands the victim is a boy and the person alleged to be responsible for his death in the 1980s is not a politician.
Scotland Yard said in a statement: “Based on our current knowledge, this is the first time that this specific information has been passed to the Met. At this early stage, with much work still to do, it is not appropriate to issue appeals or reveal more information.”
A victim of the alleged paedophile ring said that “former senior military and political figures” as well as “law enforcement” were involved. He claims he was abused for almost a decade after his father handed him over to the group.
He told the BBC: “They controlled my life for the next nine years. They created fear that penetrated every part of me. That was part of my life day in and day out. You didn’t question what they wanted; you didn’t hesitate to do what they asked you to do.
“You did what you were told without question or the punishments were very severe. They had no hesitation in doing what they wanted to do. Some of them were quite open about who they were. They had no fear at all of being caught, it didn’t even cross their mind. They could do anything they wanted without question and we were told that.”
The witness, now in his 40s, claimed the group had regular access to 15 to 20 youngsters. He said the abuse has destroyed his ability to form lasting relationships and called on other victims to come forward.
Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk, who has called for a public inquiry into child abuse, expressed his horror at the latest development.
He said: “The victims were discarded and treated like inferior beings. They didn’t have a chance in terms of the abuse meted out to them. I hope the Met are fully committing resources to establishing what happened.”
Tom Watson, the Labour MP who used parliamentary privilege in 2012 to raise claims of a paedophile ring linked to Downing Street, said: “This is obviously a very significant allegation. We must give the police the time, space and resources to investigate it fully.”
Since the summer, Scotland Yard has tripled the number of officers investigating the allegations of sex abuse following claims of a Westminster cover-up. Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the number of officers looking in to decades-old allegations was now “well over 20”.
Mr Watson used Prime Minister’s Questions in 2012 to allege that a file of evidence used to convict Peter Righton, a former consultant to the National Children’s Bureau, of importing child pornography in 1992 contained “clear intelligence” of an abuse gang.
He wrote to Scotland Yard, which has since spawned two more inquiries from Fairbank - Fernbridge, which is looking at claims linked to the Elm Guest House in Barnes, south-west London, in the 1980s; and Cayacos, which is investigating claims of a paedophile ring linked to Righton.