The former head of the Met Police who presided over the botched £2.5million probe into a fantasist’s claims of a VIP paedophile ring now enjoys a home in the Alps, a seat in the Lords and consultancy roles with at least four different companies.
Lord Hogan-Howe was the Commissioner at Scotland Yard during the force’s disastrous Operation Midland probe, based on the wild claims of Carl Beech, who was convicted of perverting the course of justice yesterday.
Sir Bernard has been slammed by those whose names were dragged through the mud and their families for allowing the doomed investigation to go on so long and cause such damage to those who were wrongly accused.
Sir Bernard, who left the Met in 2016 with an estimated £5million pension pot, was made a life peer in 2017 and has since taken up a number of consultancy posts for various firms.
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has come in for fierce criticism this week after Carl Beech, the man whose wild claims of a VIP paedophile ring launched a police probe, was convicted of lying
Carl Beech’s claims were barely scrutinised by the Met. Harvey Proctor (right), one of those falsely accused, said the police had acted as ‘lapdogs’ for those with a political agenda
His House of Lords register of interests shows that, as well as his £1million home in Dorset, he has a property in the Swiss region of Valais, beloved of skiers in the winter and hikers in the summer.
The register of interests also shows he is a adviser on ‘financial crime risk reduction’ to global bank HSBC, as well as a consultant to tech firm Excession Technologies and an adviser to cyber security firm Glasswall Holdings.
Last year, he was appointed as an adviser to Powerscourt, a ‘strategic communications’ consultancy.
The register also gives an insight into his lifestyle since retiring from the Met.
In March this year, he was paid and flown to Lake Como in Italy to speak at a ‘Global Legal Leaders’ Conference.
Last summer, he and his wife Marion were the guests of Yorkshire County Cricket Club to watch England play India in a One Day International.
He is also member of the board of advisers for Carbyne, an Israeli firm which is developing technology to track mobile phones to within a metre. That role is unpaid role but has share options.
Following Beech’s conviction yesterday, former Tory MP Harvey Proctor said Sir Bernard had allowed the Met to become ‘lapdogs’ of people with an agenda to push, such as Labour’s Tom Watson.
Sir Bernard now has a home in the picturesque Swiss Canton of Valais (pictured) after retiring with an estimated £5million pension and being made a life peer
The son of Lord Bramall, whose Normandy hero father had his life turned upside down, insisted Sir Bernard indicated that he didn’t believe his father was involved in the paedophile ring before officers raided his home, but police were under pressure after the Jimmy Savile scandal. The former police chief denies this.
Nicolas Bramall said: ‘Surely to God when this came up old Hogan-Howe or someone would have said, “Hang on a minute. Let’s look at this bloke”.
‘If only for self-preservation you’d think they’d think, “Before we start raiding these houses, we really need to be certain that this chap is who he says he is”. But they didn’t make sure. They took his story and ran with it.’
Sir Bernard announced he was standing down as Met Chief in September 2016, just two months before a damning report into the Met’s handling of Operation Midland by retired judge Sir Richard Henriques.
Carl Beech was convicted of perverting the course of justice yesterday and faces jail
Despite highlighting 43 blunders in the Operation Midland inquiry, Sir Richard’s report however exonerated Sir Bernard, but the then-police chief sent a letter of apology to Harvey Proctor in its wake.
Responding to criticism over Midland yesterday, Sir Bernard told the Mail that the ‘investigations of claims of historical child abuse were complex and of great public interest at the time’.
He added: ‘There are clear lessons to be learned from this investigation, which caused damage to those who were investigated. I also believe that damage was made worse by the publication of the suspects’ identities before charge.
‘In terms of my apology to Lord Bramall, I have a different recollection of this conversation which tried to convey why apparently incredible claims had to be investigated by the police.’