Politics

Harvey Proctor walks out of BBC Breakfast interview after accusing Naga Munchetty of failing to let him speak



Harvey Proctor walked out of a BBC Breakfast interview with Naga Munchetty this morning as they discussed Scotland Yard’s bungled probe into false claims of a VIP Westminster paedophile ring.

The ex-Tory MP, speaking out after a damning report was released into the Met’s handling of the case, abruptly ended the interview after accusing the presenter of not allowing him to speak.

Mr Proctor told her: “I respect your work very much, but you must not invite people onto your programme and then not allow them to speak.”

When Ms Munchetty said she was allowing for a right of reply incase he was saying things that were “potentially incorrect”, Mr Proctor added: “I’m not having this, I’m sorry”. He removed his earpiece and walked off screen.

Harvey Proctor appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning and was interview by Naga Munchetty (BBC Breakfast )

The exchange took place after Mr Proctor called for Met Commissioner Cressida Dick to go on the programme to face him in a debate over the Met’s handling of the case. 

Mr Proctor, whose home was raided on the basis of claims made by fantasist Carl Beech, appeared on the show amid his calls for Labour‘s deputy leader Tom Watson to “leave the public arena” for his part in promoting the false claims.

He also believes Scotland Yard “must atone” for its handling of the case.

Several people were divided over Mr Proctor’s appearance, with some accusing him of being disrespectful to Ms Munchetty – who was recently at the centre of an impartiality row over her comments on Donald Trump – and coming across as a “bully boy”.

Others said he was right to call out the presenter over her interview style. 

Writing in the Daily Telegraph today, Mr Proctor called for Mr Watson to resign because Sir Richard’s report had found he had added to the pressure on investigating officers.

“His judgement has been found to be consistently at fault – a fatal character defect for a politician,” he said. 

“He should apologise to Field Marshal Lord Bramall and Lady Diana Brittan and others and leave the public arena to reflect on the harm he caused.”

A report said Tom Watson added to the pressure on investigating officers (PA)

The 72-year-old added: “The Metropolitan Police should admit and atone for their complicity in what was a politically motivated manoeuvre.”

Retired High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques – who was called in after the 16-month Operation Midland ended in 2016 without a single arrest – said in the report, released yesterday, that the main cause of the botched probe was “poor judgment and a failure to accurately evaluate known facts”.

Sir Richard’s review concluded the search warrants were “obtained unlawfully” and that the magistrate who granted them was “misled”.

Harvey Proctor wants Mr Watson to resign (PA)

Raids were conducted on the homes of D-Day veteran Lord Bramall and Lady Diana, the widow of former home secretary Leon Brittan.

“The written applications stated that ‘Nick’s’ account had remained consistent and he is felt to be a credible witness who is telling the truth,” it said.

“‘Nick’s’ account had not been consistent throughout. Further, there were, in my judgment no reasonable grounds to believe ‘Nick’ and the statement that he had told the truth was not consistent with information then available.”

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve House following the release of the report into the bungled probe (PA)

Beech is serving an 18-year jail term for fabricating a series of claims of rape, torture and murder by innocent, well-known names from the military, security services and politics.

More findings of the highly critical review of operation, which has to date cost the Metropolitan Police around £4.5 million, were published by the force on Friday after mounting pressure to be open and transparent.

Sir Richard identified 43 police failings in his report.

Daniel Janner, the son of the late Labour politician Lord Janner who was one of those accused by Beech said Mr Watson was “partially responsible”, claiming he “applied pressure on the police and should hang his head in shame and resign”.

But Mr Watson said the review contained “multiple inaccuracies” about him and said it did not make clear letters from him were received by police after they had already interviewed Lord Brittan.

Carl Beech is serving 18 years behind bars for a string of fabricated claims against high-profile figures (PA)

In a statement he said it “cannot be argued that it was pressure from me that led to Lord Brittan being interviewed”.

He added: “I have always said that it wasn’t my place to judge whether sexual abuse allegations were true or false – that was for the police.”

The officer in charge of both operations, Steve Rodhouse, apologised for the “distress” caused as a result, saying the report shows there are “clearly lessons to be learned for future investigations”.

Daniel Janner QC, the son of the late Labour peer Lord Janner (PA)

He said: “In hindsight I can see I did not ensure that we got the balance right” between a “determination to maintain confidence” and the police’s “duty to robustly test the allegations being made”.

Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House said: “Mistakes were made in Operation Midland and we have apologised for those. We apologise for them again today.

“However, we do not agree with everything Sir Richard wrote in his report or indeed all of his recent statements regarding further investigations into the actions of officers.”

On Thursday, Home Secretary Priti Patel wrote to Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor , asking for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to review how officers handled the case.

Five officers were referred to another police watchdog now known as the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). But the body found no evidence of wrongdoing or criminality.

Ms Patel has also asked the HMICFRS inspection to take into account this subsequent IOPC investigation, known as Operation Kentia. The full report is yet to be published.

Mr Proctor is suing the Met for £1 million and a settlement has yet to be reached.



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