Britannia Radio

TELEGRAPH   8.12.08 [on web 3.42 pm 7.12.08]
Sir Ian Blair used 'cash for honours scandal to survive de Menezes 
affair'
Former Metropolitan police chief Sir Ian Blair was a "cheerleader" 
for the Labour government who used the cash for honours scandal to 
secure his position during the de Menezes affair, according Britain's 
former top-ranking Asian officer.

By Alastair Jamieson

Cheerleader for the government: Sir Ian Blair had blurred the 
boundaries between politics and policing, according to his former 
deputy Photo: Cathal McNaughton

Tarique Ghaffur, who retired from the force last month after reaching 
an out-of-court settlement in a bitter racism row, claims his former 
boss used the inquiry into donations and peerages to gain "leverage" 
over the Home Office.

He also accused Sir Ian, who also retired last month with a payout 
worth at least £300,000 after being forced to resign by London mayor 
Boris Johnson, of "meddling with the Met".

He also claimed that Sir Ian was "making us concentrate on internal 
bureaucracy rather than focus all our attention on the high terror 
threat".

Mr Ghaffur, 53, alleges he was sidelined by the former Commissioner 
long before the racism row that divided the force and threatened to 
end in an explosive tribunal until is was settled with a £300,000 
payout.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he claimed Sir Ian excluded him from 
the cash for honours inquiry into donations to the Labour Party by 
individuals subsequently awarded peerages.

He said this was done in favour of higher profile officers so that he 
could gain "leverage over the Home Office" during the investigation 
into the shooting of of Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes.

"He needed its ongoing support as he dealt with the aftermath of the 
de Menezes affair and, with cash for honours hanging over the 
Government for a year or more, nobody in Whitehall would want to 
antagonise him," said Mr Ghaffur.

"Such behaviour was indicative of just how far sir Ian had blurred 
the boundaries between politics and policing."

He added said Sir Ian had been a strong supporter of the government 
over controversial issues such as ID cards and 42 days' detention.

"Tony Blair's Government made ID cards a key issue and shamefully Sir 
Ian voiced his support for the initiative during a general election 
campaign," he said. "I was shocked. Of course the Met should be 
politically accountable but I did not believe it should be 
politically driven. It seemed to me he was acting as a cheerleader 
for the Home Office when safety and security has always been, and 
should still be, a neutral agenda.

"He was a vociferous supporter of [holding terror suspects for up to 
42 days] even though operationally it was pointless. Existing laws 
gave police sufficient time to question suspects and then charge or 
release them. Quite apart from which if you hold someone for 42 days 
and then release them you create the wrong kind of hero."

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said it would not comment on the 
accusations which were Mr Ghaffur's "personal view".

Mr Ghaffur was suspended in September after staging a press 
conference to accuse the leadership of the Met of undermining him in 
his role of co-ordination the security for the London Olympics in 2012.

Sir Ian Blair could not be reached for comment.