The Metropolitan police have admitted that calling allegations about a paedophile ring at Westminster “credible and true” implied that they had pre-empted the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
The force released a lengthy statement on Monday evening commenting on child abuse investigations, in particular Operation Midland – which is focusing on the alleged killing of three boys and suspected sex abuse by public figures.
The investigation was launched in November after a witness known only as "Nick" alleged that he and other boys were abused by a group of powerful men in the 1970s and '80s. It has focused on the Dolphin Square estate in southwest London.
The senior investigating officer, Deputy Superintendent Kenny McDonald, said in December that officers believed Nick’s testimony was “credible and true”.
In a statement on Monday, the force said:
The integrity of our investigation is paramount, and the public can have confidence that allegations of homicide are being investigated thoroughly. Our officers have the resources to test all the evidence, and we have not yet completed this task.
It is then for the Crown Prosecution Service to make a decision on whether to prosecute. More significantly, only a jury can decide on the truth of allegations after hearing all the evidence.
We should always reflect that in our language and we acknowledge that describing the allegations as 'credible and true' suggested we were pre-empting the outcome of the investigation. We were not. We always retain an open mind as we have demonstrated by conducting a thorough investigation.
The Met said the starting point with allegations of sexual abuse is to believe the victim until officers identify reasonable cause to believe otherwise, and that was why, after Nick had been interviewed for several days, McDonald said that he believed the witness and found him "credible".
"Had he not made that considered, professional judgment, we would not have investigated in the way we have," the Met said.
"Whilst we start from a position of believing the witness, our stance then is to investigate without fear or favour, in a thorough, professional and impartial fashion, and to go where the evidence takes us without prejudging the truth of the allegations. That is exactly what has happened in this case."
The Met conceded that in the past it had been the first instinct of investigators to appear to disbelieve those making allegations of historical abuse.
"This undoubtedly led to crimes going unreported and un-investigated, and we do not want to return to that situation," the statement said.
Police used the statement to also warn the media over their coverage of such allegations and highlight the risks reporting can pose to investigations.
Officers highlighted one case where a journalist reporting on Operation Midland had shown the purported real identity of someone making an allegation of sexual assault to a person who has disclosed that they have been questioned by police concerning those allegations.
Last week the Independent Police Complaints Commission announced it was launching a further 13 investigations into allegations that police officers covered up suspected child sex offences carried out by public officials and MPs.
This brought the total to 30 after another 17 were announced in March.
Commenting on the Met's statement, former director of public prosecutions Ken Macdonald QC told BBC's Today programme this morning that it appeared the police service had lost its sense of balance.
He said there was "a danger of elevating a pub pillory over a courtroom and I think that's precisely what's been happening in recent cases".
Macdonald also warned of the danger of allowing an understandable concern for victims to lead to indulging fantasists and said officers had to conduct impartial investigations.