Britain’s largest police force has asked officers in sensitive roles to sign “gagging orders”, it was disclosed yesterday.
Scotland Yard is understood to have banned police working in counterterrorism, diplomatic protection and other key areas from writing books in retirement and blogging online about their experiences.
It prompted fresh concerns last night about a clampdown on whistleblowers. Although the Met said that the policy was designed to stop disclosure of “confidential information”, all officers are already obliged to sign the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
The Policy on Publishing and Broadcasting in a Non-Official Capacity is voluntary, but any officers who refuse to sign have been told they will be considered for redeployment.
The requirement was introduced in April last year, shortly after the Met issued a constable with a gross misconduct notice for speaking “without the appropriate authority”. James Patrick, who exposed the manipulation of crime statistics and funding cuts, had highlighted his concerns on Twitter and his blog before giving evidence to a parliamentary committee.
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After a public outcry, his alleged misdemeanour was downgraded to misconduct, meaning that he would not be sacked. He later resigned.
Police forces around the country were ordered to improve their recording of crimes after Mr Patrick’s allegations that offences such as burglary and rape were downgraded or written off to meet performance targets.
Clive Driscoll, the former senior detective on the Stephen Lawrence murder case, said last night that the gagging order appeared to prevent freedom of speech.
He said that it was right that police officers should not release confidential information or material that might undermine operations or endanger their colleagues, but those issues were already covered by the OSA.
Mr Driscoll, who oversaw the operation that brought two of Lawrence’s killers to justice, said: “My view is that you can’t suppress the truth. Every officer knows you don’t talk about confidential information. This just adds to fuel that they [Met chiefs] are trying to hide something.”
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Mr Driscoll claims in his book, In Pursuit of the Truth, that his bosses were reluctant to pursue the Lawrence case even though there was a strong case against a third suspect.
Organisations including the Index on Censorship have raised concerns about Scotland Yard’s approach to leaks after it seized the phone records of journalists at The Sun to uncover their sources in the “Plebgate” investigation.
The Met says that it encourages whistleblowers and that the publishing policy is related to books and blogs. A spokeswoman said that it was designed to stop the disclosure of “confidential information acquired during the course of their duty, and not covered by the Officials Secrets Act”.
She added: “Officers and staff who choose not to sign the agreement will be considered for redeployment to non-sensitive roles.”