Met chief: Officers in Damian Green porn row could face prosecution

Damian Green: Picture credit - PA

Former police officers who accused Damian Green of accessing porn on his work computer could be prosecuted, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has said. 

Cressida Dick has condemned the actions of Bob Quick and Neil Lewis who have both said publicly that they found pornographic material on Green’s computer during a 2008 investigation in to Home Office leaks.

The allegations first emerged last month in an article by former Met assistant commissioner Quick. Lewis later came out and said there was “no doubt” that the material had been found.

But Green has maintained his innocence, and said in an initial statement: “I can only assume that they are being made now, nine years later, for ulterior motives.”

Senior Tories have questioned the officers’ behaviour, with Education Secretary Justine Greening suggesting over the weekend they could be in breach of professionalism and privacy rules.

And in a fresh twist yesterday, Dick told LBC “there could be a prosecution” if an offence had been committed.

She said: "Police officers have a duty of confidentiality. We come into contact with personal information very regularly, sometimes extremely sensitive.

“This is a daily occurrence for any officer. We all know that we have a duty to protect that information and to keep it confidential.

"In my view, that duty endures. It endures after you leave the service, so I believe that what this officer and, indeed, other retired officers, appears to have done is wrong and my professional standards department will be reviewing what has happened in relation to how information has been handled and if any offences are disclosed, we will investigate them.”

Asked if they could face prosecution, she replied: "Undoubtedly, if offences have been disclosed and that can be proved, it would be a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service, but there could be a prosecution.”

Green is currently subject to a Cabinet Office investigation over the porn claims and accusations of behaving inappropriately towards a female Tory activist, who said he touched her knee and sent suggestive text messages – allegations he also denies.