Scotland Yard in turmoil after Yates forced to quit

Published on Monday 18 July 2011 20:41

BRITAIN'S biggest police force was in turmoil last night after another senior officer fell on his sword over the phone hacking scandal.

The Prime Minister was forced to extend parliament to tackle the crisis as Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner John Yates became the row's latest scalp.

In his resignation statement, Mr Yates brushed aside new claims that he secured a job for the daughter of hacking suspect Neil Wallis by insisting that his "conscience is clear". Britain's top counter-terror officer said he had acted with complete integrity, after announcing his resignation less than 24 hours after boss Sir Paul Stephenson announced his intention to quit.

He insisted he had done nothing wrong, after quitting Scotland Yard over the phone hacking scandal. Mr Yates said his decision to resign as assistant commissioner was a matter of great personal frustration.

Mr Yates was understood to have been forced out after being warned that he faced suspension and a damaging investigation by the police watchdog over criticism surrounding his handling of a review of the initial inquiry into the News of the World.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission was set to investigate several complaints over his relationship with Mr Wallis, a former executive at the Sunday tabloid.

London mayor Boris Johnson said it was right for both Sir Paul and Mr Yates to stand down as he announced that Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, the woman who ordered the police shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, would lead the Met's counter-terror strategy on an interim basis.

Deputy Commissioner Tim Godwin takes temporary overall charge at the chaos-engulfed force before Sir Paul's replacement is appointed, it was announced. Mr Johnson said: "Whatever mistakes may have been made at any level in the police service, now is the time to clear them up."

In 2009, Mr Yates carried out a one-day review that concluded there was no cause to reopen the original 2006 hacking investigation. Later that year, he served on the committee that vetted Mr Wallis for the media adviser contract.

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Mr Yates joins a growing list of casualties of the controversy - which tipped into crisis following the revelations that murder victim Milly Dowler's mobile phone had been hacked - including Mr Coulson, News Corp veteran Les Hinton, former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks and the 168-year-old newspaper itself.

Speaking in South Africa, David Cameron paid tribute to Mr Yates' "strong leadership" on counter-terrorism policing.

The Prime Minister called for "swift and effective continuity at the Metropolitan Police Service" as he rejected suggestions that his own position had been tainted.

In a parting shot, Sir Paul indicated that his decision to hire Mr Wallis as a media adviser was less controversial than the appointment of the newspaper's former editor Mr Coulson as Downing Street communications director.

But asked about the barb, Mr Cameron insisted: "The situation in the Metropolitan Police Service is really quite different to the situation in the government, not least because the issues that the Metropolitan Police are looking at - the issues around them - have had a direct bearing on public confidence in the police inquiry into the News of the World - and indeed into the police themselves."

Meanwhile, Labour leader Ed Miliband sought to ratchet up the pressure by claiming the Prime Minister was "hamstrung" by connections to Mr Coulson and Ms Brooks.

Mr Yates and Sir Paul are due to face MPs today as two influential Commons committees grill the most important figures in both News International and the police.

From noon, the Home Affairs Select Committee will question Sir Paul and Scotland Yard's public affairs director, Dick Fedorcio.

It has also recalled Mr Yates so MPs can "clarify" the testimony he gave last week, when he expressed regret at his 2009 decision that there was no need to reopen the phone hacking investigation.

Mr Yates is understood to have been told that he would be suspended by police regulators within half-an-hour before taking the decision to resign.Scotland Yard's top counter-terror officer said it was with "great regret that I make this decision after nearly 30 years as a police officer".

He blamed his departure on a "huge amount of inaccurate, ill-informed and, on occasion, downright malicious gossip".

He continued: "This has the potential to be a significant distraction in my current role as the national lead for counter-terrorism.

"I see no prospect of this improving in the coming weeks and months as we approach one of the most important events in the history of the Metropolitan Police Service, the 2012 Olympic Games."

He said he would "never forgive myself" if he was unable to give total commitment to protecting London and the country.

Mr Yates added: "It is a matter of great personal frustration that despite my efforts, on a number of occasions, to explain the true facts surrounding my role in these matters since 2009, there remains confusion about what exactly took place."