ktlight
8th July 2011, 06:31
FYI:
A former Scotland Yard chief has revealed that police officers were paid up to £30,000 for information by journalists in 'clandestine' money drops at branch of McDonald's.
The news was revealed today as The Metropolitan Police asked the Independent Police Complaints Commission to investigate such payments.
Deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick said he understood that News International was handing over details about a handful of corrupt police officers who had been paid in exchange for tip-offs about stories.
Mr Paddick told BBC Breakfast: 'Yesterday I met a journalist who said he was paying sometimes £20,000 to £30,000 to police officers for information.
'All of this is done in a very clandestine way. You know the stories about a drive-through fast food restaurant near the News International headquarters, that's where police officers used to go to collect envelopes.
'It was all done very discreetly. I personally never came across it during my career.'
He added: 'Now there are apparently emails being passed to the police by News International giving information about which officers were being paid.
'My understanding is that News International are now co-operating with the police in a handful of cases in terms of officers who may have received payments.
'It is a criminal offence - it is police corruption.
'It goes all the way from tipping off the press that George Michael had been arrested for driving into Snappy Snaps through to jeopardising serious criminal investigations by giving out confidential information that could be useful to criminals.'
The total in illegal payments received by police from journalists is understood to top £100,000, according to the Evening Standard, which quoted a source as saying: 'They were very large sums, coming to more than six figures.'
The Met's referral of the investigation into illegal payments was made in the light of the significant public and political concern expressed following the recent revelations.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers said: 'We recognised the gravity of this case from the outset and involved the IPCC at the first opportunity.
source to read more
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2011861/News-World-phone-hacking-Rupert-Murdochs-links-criminal-underworld.html
A former Scotland Yard chief has revealed that police officers were paid up to £30,000 for information by journalists in 'clandestine' money drops at branch of McDonald's.
The news was revealed today as The Metropolitan Police asked the Independent Police Complaints Commission to investigate such payments.
Deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick said he understood that News International was handing over details about a handful of corrupt police officers who had been paid in exchange for tip-offs about stories.
Mr Paddick told BBC Breakfast: 'Yesterday I met a journalist who said he was paying sometimes £20,000 to £30,000 to police officers for information.
'All of this is done in a very clandestine way. You know the stories about a drive-through fast food restaurant near the News International headquarters, that's where police officers used to go to collect envelopes.
'It was all done very discreetly. I personally never came across it during my career.'
He added: 'Now there are apparently emails being passed to the police by News International giving information about which officers were being paid.
'My understanding is that News International are now co-operating with the police in a handful of cases in terms of officers who may have received payments.
'It is a criminal offence - it is police corruption.
'It goes all the way from tipping off the press that George Michael had been arrested for driving into Snappy Snaps through to jeopardising serious criminal investigations by giving out confidential information that could be useful to criminals.'
The total in illegal payments received by police from journalists is understood to top £100,000, according to the Evening Standard, which quoted a source as saying: 'They were very large sums, coming to more than six figures.'
The Met's referral of the investigation into illegal payments was made in the light of the significant public and political concern expressed following the recent revelations.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers said: 'We recognised the gravity of this case from the outset and involved the IPCC at the first opportunity.
source to read more
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2011861/News-World-phone-hacking-Rupert-Murdochs-links-criminal-underworld.html