Lord Paddick
Main Page: Lord Paddick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Lord Ashton of Hyde
I am afraid I do not know the answer to that. I will have to write to my noble and learned friend.
Lord Paddick (LD)
My Lords, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner recently told me that there was a lot of evidence to justify police investigations of historic child abuse that could not be made public. What evidence have the police produced to reassure the Government that such investigations have not been deliberately protracted to give the impression that the allegations are being taken seriously? In the case of Paul Gambaccini, for example, it must have become apparent very quickly that the allegations were never going to be substantiated.
Lord Ashton of Hyde
The noble Lord will know full well that the Home Secretary does not get involved in operational decisions with the Met or with any police force. However, if there are concerns about this, there are of course well-known methods by which people can complain: to the individual force itself, to the IPCC, and to the police and crime commissioner.