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Daniel Morgan Independent Panel Report
15 June 2021
Lead MP
Priti Patel
Debate Type
Ministerial Statement
Tags
Policing & ResourcesCrime & Law EnforcementStandards & Ethics
Other Contributors: 14
At a Glance
Priti Patel raised concerns about daniel morgan independent panel report in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Government Statement
Daniel Morgan, murdered in London in 1987, saw five failed criminal investigations. The Home Secretary announced the creation of an independent panel in 2013 to review police handling and corruption related to Daniel Morgan’s murder. After eight years, the report was released this year and spans over 1,200 pages across three volumes. It finds extensive police misconduct, including institutional corruption. Significant measures were introduced to combat police corruption post-2015, such as a new police-specific offence of corruption with a maximum sentence of fourteen years and extended disciplinary procedures for retired officers. The Home Secretary also overhauled the complaints process, making it more efficient. She has written to Dame Cressida Dick requesting detailed responses to recommendations and asked HMICFRS to consider further actions. A review of the Independent Office for Police Conduct is being brought forward this summer to assess its effectiveness.
Torfaen
Question
The publication of the report should have been faster. What will be done to prevent similar issues in the future, especially considering paragraph 60 about institutional corruption and a proposed statutory duty of candour?
Minister reply
The Home Secretary confirmed that she is looking into the proposal for a statutory duty of candour. She emphasised her commitment to addressing the recommendations and ensuring transparency within law enforcement.
Torfaen
Question
Does the Government accept that there were missed opportunities over the last decade for reforming police-media relations, as highlighted by the report?
Minister reply
The Home Secretary acknowledged the need to address concerns raised about police-media relationships and emphasised the importance of ensuring strong safeguards are in place while maintaining robust policing.
Torfaen
Question
How does the Home Office plan to address challenges faced by the Daniel Morgan panel during its work?
Minister reply
The minister committed to reviewing internal processes within the Home Office to ensure better support for future panels and inquiries.
Torfaen
Question
When is the periodic review of the IOPC expected to be completed, and will it precede the summer recess?
Minister reply
The Home Secretary stated that the review would commence this summer but did not specify an exact completion date, stressing the need for a thorough assessment.
Torfaen
Question
The MP thanked the Home Secretary for her statement and expressed condolences to Daniel Morgan's family. He criticised the delay of eight years since the independent panel was established in 2013, raising concerns about the impact on the family and the integrity of police conduct. The shadow called for the implementation of a statutory duty of candour and questioned the Government’s failure to address the link between police and journalists over eleven years.
Minister reply
The Home Secretary acknowledged the importance of addressing the delay and expressed sympathy towards the family's situation. She emphasised that lessons must be learned from this case, particularly regarding public servants' honesty in inquiries. She committed to writing to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner for their response to the findings and returning to the House with updates.
Theresa May
Con
West Dorset
Question
The former Home Secretary expressed agreement that while most police officers act with integrity, corruption must be rooted out vigorously. She highlighted that every corrupt activity must be identified and dealt with.
Minister reply
The current Home Secretary agreed with the emphasis on rooting out corruption in policing. She affirmed her commitment to ensuring that police conduct is held accountable for bringing an end to such corruption.
Stuart McDonald
SNP
Glasgow South
Question
The MP asked if the Home Secretary would meet with Daniel Morgan's family, and highlighted the significance of a full parliamentary debate on the report. He raised questions about delays caused by co-operation challenges and suggested the need for a judge-led inquiry similar to Leveson 2.
Minister reply
The Home Secretary thanked the MP and acknowledged the importance of debating the report in Parliament. She committed to pursuing further lines of investigation and accountability with the Metropolitan police, while also affirming her willingness to meet Daniel Morgan's family.
Bob Blackman
Con
Harrow East
Question
The overwhelming majority of serving police officers will be devastated by the publication of this report and by the besmirching of their conduct in carrying out the duties they fulfil. Obviously, our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim, who have suffered over the years, and I welcome my right hon. Friend’s commitment to ensuring that the report and the recommendations are delivered in full. Will she undertake to come back to the House and give MPs the opportunity to question how closely the recommendations have been implemented by all the various institutions that will need to implement them, so that public trust can be restored?
Minister reply
I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. The majority of our police officers will be devastated by the report and the implications for policing. The report is devastating in many ways. Our frontline police officers whom we meet every single day are incredible public servants who put the safety of our citizens and our country front and centre of their conduct every day. It is worth reminding the House that these are men and women who often run into danger to keep us safe and to protect us. My hon. Friend is right to say that I will return to the House with an update after looking at the recommendations, but equally importantly, this is about how we hold institutions of the state to account in order to stamp out some of the corrosive practices that have been outlined in the three volumes of this independent panel’s report. That is something that we are determined to do.
Yvette Cooper
Lab
Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
Question
This is a deeply damning and disturbing report, and all of us will need to consider its findings and recommendations. I welcome the Home Secretary’s commitment to come back with a further response and proposals. The corruption has led in this case to a lack of justice for Daniel Morgan and his family, and it undermines the valued work of so many police officers with integrity across the country. However, this has come to light only because of the determination of the family and the persistence of the independent panel. Most troubling of all is the failure of senior police leadership and of policing institutions to uncover what happened and the scale of the problem over so many years. Can the Home Secretary tell the House why she thinks there has been this failure to uncover that over so many years, and whether she will come forward with specific proposals on the duty of candour that has been recommended by the independent panel?
Minister reply
I thank the right hon. Lady for her question. It is important that we spend some time considering the full report and its recommendations. Given that it has taken eight years to be published, we need to spend a great deal of time understanding the processes and why there was such slowness in sharing information, papers and evidence bases. That is why it is important that I hold the commissioner to account and ask the right questions, as I will do this afternoon. As I have said, it is important that, first of all, we seek answers to many outstanding questions, and that we question and find out what has happened in policing conduct over three decades. On the right hon. Lady’s point about duty of candour, there is absolutely more to do here. When we look at accountability, institutions of the state and public conduct, we cannot shy away from asking some difficult questions, and reforming how we work and how our institutions are publicly held to account.
Wendy Chamberlain
Lib Dem
North East Fife
Question
Like other hon. Members, my thoughts are with the Morgan family on this most difficult of days. As a former police officer, I am saddened, but sadly not surprised, by the findings of the report in relation to police corruption; the minority behaviours tarnish the work of so many brave serving police officers. I note the Home Secretary’s intended actions in relation to the Metropolitan police and Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary, but I reiterate the shadow Home Secretary’s call for clarity on the expected timescales for this work, and also on the expectations on the Metropolitan police in relation to active ongoing complaints linked to the Morgan case. The Morgan family have waited 34 years. How long must they wait to see real meaningful change?
Minister reply
I respect and acknowledge the hon. Lady’s points. She is right to highlight timeframes, bearing in mind the painful period of time that the Morgan family have had to wait for the publication of this report. I can, at this stage, reiterate the comment that I made earlier, which is that I will come back to the House at the earliest opportunity with the information. That is absolutely right, and it is also important for the family that that information is shared with them, and that we learn the lessons associated with this independent report.
Sarah Jones
Lab
Croydon West
Question
Daniel Morgan junior, Daniel Morgan’s son, lives in my constituency. The Morgan family have been waiting 34 years since Daniel Morgan’s death to see any kind of justice. Will the Home Secretary acknowledge the criticism of the Home Office in this report? I have been in touch with the family since they have had a chance to look at the report following its publication, and they are looking to the Home Secretary to implement its the key findings, particularly on the statutory duty of candour. If the Home Secretary is unable to support that today, is she at least able to guarantee that she will come back before the summer recess with a response?
Minister reply
I thank the hon. Lady for her question and her comments. I recognise that Daniel Morgan junior lives in her constituency and understand what a difficult time this is for the Morgan family. First of all, there is criticism of the Home Office in this report, and it is important to acknowledge that, as the right hon. Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) highlighted earlier. For the record, I was not privy to discussions that took place prior to publication between officials in the Home Office and the panel itself. My responsibility was very much to ensure the publication of this report and that, in doing so, my statutory duties were met. Like many right hon. and hon. Members in the House, the hon. Lady asked me about the duty of candour. I state again that we will look at this across Government, because this is relevant not just to this particular inquiry but to future inquiries, for example on covid, and to how the state and the institutions of the state are held to account.
Ellie Reeves
Lab
Lewisham West and East Dulwich
Question
I was six years old, and remember it well, when Daniel Morgan was murdered round the corner from where I lived in Sydenham—the area that I now represent in Parliament. His brutal murder shocked the local community, and the fact that no one has ever been brought to justice has only intensified that. Today, all our thoughts are with Daniel’s family, but they have suffered unimaginable and unnecessary delay. Will the Secretary of State commit today to implementing the panel’s recommendation that, in future, any panel has timely access to the material required to do its work so that this delay never happens again?
Minister reply
The hon. Lady makes one of the most important points about delay and access to information in terms of bringing the report together. It is absolutely right that we spend time looking at the recommendations. As I have already said to all colleagues, I will come back to the House and provide updates on the work that has been commissioned and on the recommendations as well.
Question
The Home Secretary might not know, but my long-term interest in this case comes from a campaigning Welsh lawyer, Glyn Maddocks, who brought it to my attention and I have followed it actively for many years. Indeed, the case eventually led to the formation of the all-party parliamentary group on miscarriages of justice. But the Home Secretary will know that this is not just a one-off. There was systemic corruption in part of the Metropolitan police at the time. Had it not been for Alastair, the brother of the deceased, and their mum, who sadly passed away before this report could be delivered, continuing to campaign over these many years, we would not have got the report at all. Does the Home Secretary agree that this was systemic and the answer has to be system change? I am encouraged by some of her remarks when she addressed this issue. In particular—let us be fair—there were deficiencies in Home Office ministerial teams of both parties.
Minister reply
I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman for his work with the all-party parliamentary group. He is absolutely right to recognise and acknowledge that this is a tragedy in every sense. We all pay tribute to the tenacity of the Morgan family. In terms of institutional issues—the systemic issues that he referred to—we have to prevent these from occurring again. That is why some of the long-term changes that I have touched on still require further investigation in terms of the accountability of institutions of the state. Because that of work, which is absolutely essential and required, including a full review of the recommendations in these three volumes, I am committed to coming back to the House to update it on all actions taken.
Shadow Comment
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Shadow Comment
The Labour MP welcomed the report's publication but criticised delays in releasing it and called on the Government to take decisive action against institutional corruption. He highlighted paragraph 60, which outlines the family’s suffering due to misinformation and organisational failures. Thomas-Symonds also questioned whether a statutory duty of candour would be implemented and raised concerns about past opportunities missed for reforms regarding police-media links. He inquired about addressing Home Office challenges faced by the panel and requested details on when the periodic review of IOPC will be completed, asking if it will precede the summer recess. The shadow MP emphasised that failing to implement necessary changes would let down not only Daniel Morgan’s family but all victims.
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