The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has announced that five Metropolitan Police officers and three former officers are currently under investigation for potential gross misconduct in connection with the handling of the investigation into the murders committed by serial killer Stephen Port.
The IOPC disclosed that the officers are being probed for potential breaches of police professional standards related to equality and diversity, duties and responsibilities, authority respect and courtesy, and honesty and integrity.
This development comes after the IOPC launched a re-investigation in 2022 into the Met’s initial handling of the murder investigations of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, and Jack Taylor in Barking, east London.
Previously, the IOPC’s predecessor, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), completed an investigation in August 2018 which examined the actions of multiple officers, with 17 of them being subjects in the probe. During interviews, 16 out of the 17 officers opted to provide written accounts.
It is worth noting that five of the officers currently under investigation for gross misconduct were also involved in the initial IPCC probe.
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