Follow-up to my post 23397(*):
Is Mossad mole Andy Hayman the right man to supervise the London bombings investigation? Make up your mind:
Race scandal cops scoop top Yard jobs
Exclusive by Lester Holloway
28/1/2005
TWO SENIOR police officers tainted by the Ali Dizaei and Mal Hussain racism scandals have both been handed plum jobs at Scotland Yard.
Andy Hayman was the top cop responsible for leading the much-criticised £7m failed investigation into Iranian-born superintendent Ali Dizaei.
Despite police being strongly criticised over the Dizaei case, Hayman has just been appointed as Assistant Commissioner (AC) for the Metropolitan Police.
And Paul Stephenson, in his role as chief constable of Lancashire, was criticised for his force's 'failures' to help shopkeeper Mal Hussain, who has endured 13 years of constant race attacks on his store in Ryelands estate.
concern
Stephenson has been appointed as the Met's Deputy Commissioner, making him second command at Scotland Yard, after Sir Ian Blair, who takes up his new post as Commissioner on Tuesday.
The appointments were criticised by the Metropolitan Black Police Association. MBPA chair George Rhoden told Blink: "Their strategic involvement in these cases are a matter of concern.
"In light of their past, I hope both officers work to prove themselves on issues of diversity and managing difference."
Operation Helios, the four-year police probe into Dizaei was condemned as a 'racist witchhunt.'
Dizaei was suspended in 2001 and put under surveillance after officers accused him of corruption and abusing his position. Dizaei was cleared of two dishonesty charges in 2003, was awarded £80,000 compensation and has since returning to work [...] promoted to chief superintendent in Hounslow, west London.
errors
Criticising Operation Helios, led by Hayman, Independent Police Complaints Commission chairman Nick Hardwick said: "We feel that there were grievous errors of judgment in the handling of his case and the people who made them were the Met."
Hayman, who leaves his post as Norfolk's chief constable, was chosen as Deputy Assistant Commissioner ahead of Brian Paddick, the former Lambeth chief constable, who is openly-gay.
Paul Stephenson has been criticised over his handling of the Mal Hussain case while chief constable of Lancashire. Oldham councillor Mohammed Azam, of the Coalition Against Racism, has supported Hussain and his wife Linda Livingstone.
attitude
He told Blink: "They did not get the support they should have got from the police. He [Stephenson] has got to change his attitude now he's in London.
"If he carries on with the same sort of attitude, as he did in Lancashire, he won't last long. In London people are going to put a lot more pressure on him, and he's going to have to respond differently to them."
Stephenson was appointed to the Deputy Commissioner post ahead of Tarique Ghaffur, who stays as an Assistant Commissioner.
Ghaffur has previously been tipped as a possible candidate to become commissioner, is certain to be disappointed at his rejection.
disappointed
Rhoden commented: "We wish to register our disappointment that Tarique Ghaffur did not make the shortlist. We will be asking for the reasons why, as he has an exemplary track record."
Hussain has been the victim of more than 4,000 race attacks since moving to the Ryelands estate in 1991, including arson attacks and threats to kill. Their shop has been turned into a fortress, complete with barbed-wire and CCTV cameras.
Lancashire police has apologised to Hussain in 1999 for "shortcomings" over their failure to protect him from race attacks. But Blink has revealed that in 2003 Hussain presented the police with a CCTV tape of two race attacks on him, but cops refused to send the evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.
As well as petrol bombs and race abuse, Hussain was once forced to defend himself under physical attack by white racists, but found himself arrested and charged with four counts of GBH.
It was not until 1995, when BBC cameras captured the shop being firebombed, that the policing strategy began to offer more protection to Hussain and his store.
blink.org.uk
(*) Message 21533644 |
