A police oversight body, IOPC has declined to provide records pertaining to a paedophile ring probe, even though it publicly utilised them to refute significant corruption claims.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has concealed witness testimony obtained during its reinvestigation of the infamous Elm Guest House, a Richmond brothel where a national commission determined in 2020 that “child sexual abuse occurred.”
This document has lodged a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on the concealment, contending that it establishes a perilous precedent.
Concurrently, our efforts to get other official papers related to the case have been denied on the basis that they are untraceable.
In 1982, law enforcement conducted a raid on a brothel located on Rocks Lane in Barnes, resulting in the arrest of 20 individuals, including a minor employed as a masseuse providing “sexual services.”
Thirty years later, following Jimmy Savile’s death, which prompted a surge of historical abuse revelations, the former adolescent masseur lodged significant allegations with the IOPC.
He alleged that two undercover police officers engaged in sexual intercourse with him at the brothel.
He further claimed that authorities extorted protection money from the brothel’s proprietor, Carole Kasir, and only initiated an investigation when she refused to continue payments.
The individual asserted that he was undressed and sexually abused by policemen following the raid, and stated that the police subsequently threatened him with violence if he did not remain silent.
Officers involved in the 1982 investigation were located to provide testimonies.
The statements were utilised in 2018 to dismiss all of the former masseur’s allegations as unsubstantiated.
A report presented concise, paraphrased summaries of each officer’s comments, with the whole remarks included as appendices; however, the appendices were never released.
We solicited them last year pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.
The IOPC proposed that it should not be obligated to divulge witness testimonies in full, since they constitute “personal data.”
“We assert that an individual’s statement qualifies as personal data as it reflects their perspective, opinion, and recollection of events,” it stated.
We have submitted a formal complaint to the ICO, requesting it to classify the IOPC’s stance as unlawful.
We contended that failing to invalidate the IOPC’s reasoning would establish a detrimental precedent, thereby prohibiting public access to any witness testimonies in council standards investigations, alleged miscarriages of justice, or other related situations.
Our case has been accepted and assigned to a caseworker for examination.
Following the raid, Mrs. Kasir was initially indicted on charges of child sex offences but was ultimately convicted just for maintaining a disorderly dwelling.
Nevertheless, a 1990 inquiry revealed that she was discovered deceased from an insulin overdose shortly after informing child protection officials and a private investigator that law enforcement and security agencies were menacing her.
She asserted possessing evidence that boys from a Hounslow children’s home, known as Grafton Close, had been trafficked for exploitation, including by prominent individuals.
Last year, our publication utilised the Freedom of Information Act to cross-reference inquest documents with police files, demonstrating that aspects of her narrative might be substantiated.
However, efforts to acquire other records have been futile.
We obtained a coroner’s officer’s note of the inquest testimony; however, similar to the IOPC report, it is a selective, paraphrased document. Consequently, we requested the original statements from each witness.
We were informed that none could be found.
“We cannot confirm or refute the existence of additional statements; however, there is no documented rationale for the file’s failure to be archived intact per standard protocols,” stated the West London Coroner’s Court.
When enquired if it was customary to summon all witnesses to an inquiry without prior statements, it did not respond.
Simultaneously, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) reported that Mrs. Kasir’s criminal records could not be found.
The NPCC stated, “We cannot confirm or deny the existence of any additional information pursuant to S31 Law Enforcement and S24 National Security.”
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.