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Scotland Yard has been warned of potential miscarriages of justice after issuing controversial guidance to officers about the language they use.
A 14-page document details dozens of 'inappropriate terms' police must avoid in reports sent to senior officers or CPS lawyers ahead of prosecution decisions, in what is seen as a bid to maximise the chances of criminal charges being brought against suspects.
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charges → see → suspects
Critics say the force risks repeating the mistakes of the past.
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force → say → past
The 'believe-the-victim' policy adopted during the Met's catastrophic Operation Midland inquiry saw the homes of innocent VIPs raided and their reputations trashed on the word of a fantasist.
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reputations → believe → fantasist
A senior officer publicly declared allegations made by serial liar Carl Beech about a supposed Establishment child sex and murder ring were 'credible and true'.
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allegations → declare → ring
Beech was later jailed for perverting the course of justice and child sex offences.
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Beech → jail → justice
Midland is widely regarded as one of the worst police investigations in modern times.
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Midland → regard → times
Now, as the tenth anniversary approaches of a damning report by a High Court judge into the fiasco, there are claims that Sir Mark Rowley's force is not recording evidence against suspects impartially and innocent people could suffer.
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people → approach → suspects
The 'Language Matters Guidance' was issued in response to a highly critical report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, which accused the Met of using victim-blaming language and failing vulnerable children facing sexual and criminal exploitation.
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which → issue → exploitation
Scotland Yard has been warned of potential miscarriages of justice after issuing controversial guidance to officers about the language they use (stock pic)
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they → warn → language
'Victim blaming' terms now effectively banned in Britain's biggest force include that a victim was 'rude and dismissive to police', that they refused to hand over their phone for examination, they associate with gangs or they deal in drugs.
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they → ban → drugs
Officers are given 'suggested alternatives' or 'preferred options' which must be used in police reports instead.
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which → give → reports
The Daily Mail was alerted to the document by a whistleblower, who said there were widespread ethical concerns about it, but that officers were too scared to speak out.
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officers → alert → it
Nazir Afzal, former CPS chief prosecutor for the North-West, has studied the guidance and said: 'No one should doubt the good intentions behind the Met's guidance.
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one → study → guidance
Treating complainants with compassion is overdue.
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Treating → treat → compassion
But miscarriages of justice often begin with good intentions.
'
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miscarriages → begin → intentions
This document does not merely ask officers to be humane, it tells them to abandon neutrality in records that later reach a courtroom.
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that → ask → courtroom
They are told to drop the word 'alleged', to write so that an unproven suspect becomes 'the perpetrator', and not to 'draw attention to' inconvenient material already on a report.
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suspect → tell → report
Every instruction erodes the impartial, complete record on which a fair trial depends and on which convicting the guilty depends just as much, since a slanted record is a gift to the defence.
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record → erode → defence
Sir Richard Henriques warned of exactly this after Operation Midland [in his 2016 report].'
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Henriques → warn → report
Ex-Tory MP Harvey Proctor, who won a £900,000 payout from the Met over its bungled inquiry into Beech's wild VIP abuse allegations against him, said the guidance will 'increase the number of falsely accused people in the UK' and was a 'charter for police wrongdoing'.
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guidance → win → wrongdoing
The Met said: 'This guidance was created as a direct response to findings following a 2024 inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies.
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guidance → say → Constabularies
Police forces are required to act on such recommendations.
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forces → require → recommendations
'Training officers on victim-blaming language is just one initiative to improve trust in policing.
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Training → train → policing
Our handling of Operation Midland remains a matter of deep regret and we are committed to ensuring these errors are never repeated.'
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errors → remain → regret
The Aporia
