Embattled police chief faces home secretary's wrath

Sunday, 17 July 2011 12:45 PM

By Ian Dunt Follow @IanDunt

The home secretary will make a statement in the Commons tomorrow, as the Met police commissioner is dragged further into the phone-hacking scandal.

Reports in the Sunday Times suggest Sir Paul Stephenson stayed for five weeks at Champneys health spa – a stay that would have cost £12,000. Former News International executive Neil Wallis was a public relations employee at the same time as the stay.

It’s the second time in a week that Mr Wallis' relationship with the Met has raised eyebrows in Westminster. Following his arrest, it was reported that the Met hired Mr Wallis for communications work after the original investigation into phone-hacking.

"I think when the public starts losing faith in the police it is altogether more serious and we are really in trouble", deputy prime minister Nick Clegg commented this morning.

Both Mr Clegg and Harriet Harman have said that Sir Paul "has questions to answer".

"There is no such thing as a free lunch", Ms Harman added.

Speaking on Sky News, Home Office minister James Brokenshire said Theresa May will make a statement on the Metropolitan police and Neil Wallis in parliament tomorrow.

Pressed on the issue, Mr Brokenshire refused to say that the government retains full confidence in the Met commissioner and added that the home secretary was "concerned" about the reports.

The news could not come at a worse time for the embattled police chief, who was called to see a furious David Cameron for an emergency meeting after the news broke that the Met had hired Mr Wallis as a media consultant.

Other reports revealed that Sir Paul shared 18 dinners with News International executives, eight of which included Mr Wallis, while his officers investigated the company for phone-hacking.

That investigation is now the subject of intense scrutiny, as questions are asked about how the police failed to investigate the wealth of evidence officers acquired from private investigator Glenn Mulcaire.

Sir Paul has insisted that his stay at the health retreat was not linked to Mr Wallis, but instead to the spa's owner, Stephen Purdew, a personal friend of the commissioner.

The stay occurred after Sir Paul had a pre-cancerous growth removed from his leg, during which time he went to Champneys for physiotherapy treatment. While the Met says it paid for physiotherapy costs, the accommodation and meals were met by Mr Purdew.

 “This enabled him to return to work six weeks earlier than anticipated," the Met said in a statement.

“Although the provision of accommodation was as a result of a family friendship, unconnected with his professional role, in the interests of transparency it was nonetheless recorded in the Commissioner’s Gifts and Hospitality Register on his return to work in April.”

It added: “The commissioner personally paid for all other treatments and extras, including a number of subsequent physiotherapy and cryotherapy appointments at Champneys Medical.”

Some sources allege the repeated highlighting of links between Mr Wallis and the Met is the result of a News International smear campaign designed to distract attention from its own problems.
 

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• phone hacking
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• sir paul stephenson