Met communications chief on 'extended leave'

Thursday, 11 August 2011 11:14 AM

By Alex Stevenson Follow @alex__stevenson

The Metropolitan police's communications chief has gone on "extended leave" until the phone-hacking scandal is resolved.

Dick Fedorcio, the Met's director of public affairs, is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) over his contact with former News of the World assistant editor Neil Wallis.

Mr Fedorcio employed Mr Wallis' PR company and asked former assistant commissioner John Yates to conduct due diligence.

The IPCC is now seeking to assess whether Mr Fedorcio committed any act of gross misconduct.

"To allow Mr Fedorcio to prepare for the IPCC investigation it has been agreed that he can work from home on a period of extended leave until the matter is resolved," the Met said in a statement.

"Mr Fedorcio also accepts that it would be inappropriate for him to continue to come into the office whilst there was on an going investigation and until other DPA staff had been
interviewed."

The Met commissioner's chief of staff, Caroline Murdoch, will conduct the directorate of public affairs while Mr Fedorcio is away.

Mr Fedorcio told the Commons' home affairs committee on July 19th: "I had no reason to doubt Mr Yates' integrity... I think with hindsight lots of things would have been done differently."

Mr Yates told MPs afterwards that Mr Fedorcio's comments were "slightly over-egging the pudding, to put it mildly".

Yesterday lunchtime saw Met officers investigating the phone-hacking scandal arrest former News of the World news editor Greg Miskiw.

He was arrested on suspicion of unlawful interception of communications, contrary to Section1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977 and on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications, contrary to Section1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977.

Mr Miskiw has been bailed to a date in October pending further enquiries. He is the 12th person to be arrested in connection with phone-hacking.

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• metropolitan police
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• phone hacking