Breaking news - Bang goes the "Independent" SY Review!!! :-(((

Guest Mon 12 Sep - 17:29

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14888118

Bernard Hogan-Howe new Metropolitan Police commissioner

Bernard Hogan-Howe: Former Merseyside chief
Bernard Hogan-Howe has been named the new commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

The former chief constable of Merseyside was appointed to the position this afternoon by the Queen.

He beat three others to the job after interviews with the home secretary and mayor of London.

The post became vacant after Sir Paul Stephenson quit amid the phone-hacking scandal and claims about links between Scotland Yard and News International.

Mr Hogan-Howe will be in charge of more than 50,000 staff, including 32,000 officers. The force, the biggest in the UK, includes more than a fifth of all police in England and Wales.

The commissioner's job combines policing London and responsibility for national security issues such as combating terrorism.

Mr Hogan-Howe, who has served in the Metropolitan Police before, went on to lead Merseyside before becoming one of Her Majesty's chief inspectors of constabulary in 2009.

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“
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The government's reforms are transforming the police in this country and Bernard Hogan-Howe has the skills and experience needed ”

Theresa May
Home Secretary
He returned to Scotland Yard after Sir Paul's resignation to stand in as acting deputy commissioner while the post holder, Tim Godwin, stepped up to the top job.

His appointment as commissioner was formally made by the Queen on the recommendation of the Home Secretary Theresa May.

The candidates went through a series of interviews, including a final session with both Mrs May and London's Mayor Boris Johnson.

Mrs May said: "I am delighted to announce Bernard Hogan-Howe as the new commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

"As you would expect for such a prestigious position, we had an exceptional field of candidates, but Bernard Hogan-Howe impressed us all with his vision for the Metropolitan Police, his commitment to cutting crime and the important work he has done for the public.

"I made my recommendation following representations from the Metropolitan Police Authority and discussions with the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson."

She went on: "The government's reforms are transforming the police in this country and Bernard Hogan-Howe has the skills and experience needed to ensure the nation's biggest force is at the forefront of this change.

"London is a great city and will next year host the biggest sporting event in this nation's history. I am confident he will lead the fight against crime with determination and vigour."

Tough competition

The other candidates were Sir Hugh Orde, former Chief Constable of Northern Ireland; Stephen House, the Chief Constable of Strathclyde; and Tim Godwin, the Acting Commissioner.

Click to play

Bernard Hogan-Howe's career to date
Boris Johnson said that of all the candidates he believed that Mr Hogan-Howe provided a "firm, strategic lead".

"Londoners deserve strong and dynamic leadership at the helm of the country's largest and most industrious police force.

"Public confidence is paramount for any police force and Bernard Hogan-Howe has the impressive track record to restore confidence and crack down on violent crime and disorder.

"Over recent weeks London has faced immense policing challenges and I truly believe that Bernard Hogan-Howe has the sound expertise to handle critical issues and keep our streets safe.

"It's no secret that I desired someone who has a clear strategy for tackling gang violence and youth crime and restoring pride in our great city.

"Bernard Hogan-Howe has made it clear that this will be a new more transparent era for the Met, making the police more accountable to the public, and strengthening police and public relationships."

This is Bernard Hogan Howe the Chief BALLOON LAUNCHER from 2007 -

People in Liverpool are helping to promote the continued search for missing toddler Madeleine McCann.
A thousand messages of support attached to helium balloons will be released later by Madeleine's grandparents Sue and Brian Healey.

The 4-year-old's grandparents live in the Mossley Hill area - Madeline's mum Kate grew up in the city.

The four-year-old was snatched from her bed while on holiday in Portugal's Praia da Luz resort on 3 May.

The local community want to show support for the appeal.

Failed search

The balloons will cost a pound to sponsor and all money will go to the Madeleine appeal fund.

The Chief Constable of Merseyside Police - Bernard Hogan Howe will lead the release of balloons on the highest point of Liverpool inner city on Mossley Hill Field at 1400 BST.

Portuguese police conducted a search of scrubland nine miles from where Madeleine went missing after a Dutch newspaper published a letter which claimed her body was under rocks there.

Officers failed to recover anything and that line of inquiry has now been discarded.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6761027.stm

Face it, guys - Maddie ain't EVER gonna get justice. It's over.

**Angelique** Mon 12 Sep - 17:32

Iris

Now why do I think he may be a Mason of a High Degree!

**kitti** Mon 12 Sep - 17:33

Dont forget that was just barely a month after she went missing....ALOT off people, Including myself , hoped that she would soon be found and it was way before the dogs came in, so don't lose heart .

Guest Mon 12 Sep - 17:39

They certainly didn't include his Balloon Releasing gig in his latest CV, did they. I wonder whether he regrets it now? I hope it comes back to haunt him. Big time.

duncanmac Mon 12 Sep - 18:59

Why do people believe, that anyone remotely associated with Liverpool, are McCann supporters ?
I can assure you that is not the case.

**margaret** Mon 12 Sep - 19:08

Angelique wrote:Iris

Now why do I think he may be a Mason of a High Degree!

I thought EXACTLY the same as you!

I would hope after the hacking scandal that Scotland Yard won't be so stupid as to corrupt this review....... and duncanmac's right not everyone from Liverpool loves the McCanns, just the same as they're all not Cilla Black fans!

Guest Mon 12 Sep - 19:31

margaret wrote:
Angelique wrote:Iris

Now why do I think he may be a Mason of a High Degree!

I thought EXACTLY the same as you!

I would hope after the hacking scandal that Scotland Yard won't be so stupid as to corrupt this review....... and duncanmac's right not everyone from Liverpool loves the McCanns, just the same as they're all not Cilla Black fans!

I'm not suggesting for one moment that everyone from the 'Pool is a McFan. I know that there are lots of good, honest and sensible people there as well.

But there's no getting away from the fact that this Chief of Police led their publicity stunt at a time when doubts were already starting to be raised. How will it look for him if they are found guilty of anything now?

victor mendez Mon 12 Sep - 19:37

You're right, Iris. It's not looking good.

**Carolina** Mon 12 Sep - 22:47

kitti wrote:Dont forget that was just barely a month after she went missing....ALOT off people, Including myself , hoped that she would soon be found and it was way before the dogs came in, so don't lose heart .

I don't think that that his balloon launch means anything as you say because most people thought that she could be found and I was one of them.

**tanszi** Tue 13 Sep - 1:19

i prayed that she would be even though i had doubts. I still hope she is found.

**pennylane** Tue 13 Sep - 8:20

Iris wrote:
margaret wrote:
Angelique wrote:Iris

Now why do I think he may be a Mason of a High Degree!

I thought EXACTLY the same as you!

I would hope after the hacking scandal that Scotland Yard won't be so stupid as to corrupt this review....... and duncanmac's right not everyone from Liverpool loves the McCanns, just the same as they're all not Cilla Black fans!

I'm not suggesting for one moment that everyone from the 'Pool is a McFan. I know that there are lots of good, honest and sensible people there as well.

But there's no getting away from the fact that this Chief of Police led their publicity stunt at a time when doubts were already starting to be raised. How will it look for him if they are found guilty of anything now?

My guess is Bernard Hogan Howe has been strategically placed to insure Sir Paul Stevenson's past dirty dealings never make it into the public arena...............

and to continue on with the whitewash of the McCanns heinous crime.... jmho.

marxman Tue 13 Sep - 9:05

Don't loose heart. One man can not direct or influence an investigation.
It is a process. Just as Amaral represented the findings of the PJ, so
may Howe.

**Dimsie** Tue 13 Sep - 9:46

pennylane wrote:

My guess is Bernard Hogan Howe has been strategically placed to insure Sir Paul Stevenson's past dirty dealings never make it into the public arena...............

and to continue on with the whitewash of the McCanns heinous crime.... jmho.

With 30 officers working on the case, it would be really difficult for anyone to whitewash the case if anything of importance comes to light, IMO. If the review was always intended as a whitewashing exercise, why would they put 30 officers on the case in the first place? Everyone was surprised to hear how many officers would be involved, most people expected a much smaller number and a much more modest amount of money to be spent, so if whitewashing were the aim it could have been done with just a few hand-picked detectives.

So IMO the review is genuine and won't be compromised no matter who is in charge of the Met as a whole. Unfortunately it probably won't move things along in any significant way, unless new evidence comes to light, something I'm not hopeful about as I think the PJ would have found anything there was to find during their own investigation. The only possibility might be if SY insist on getting some of the information denied to the PJ, such as medical records and financial details of certain people, but while these might be significant they wouldn't necessarily lead to the case being solved.

**margaret** Tue 13 Sep - 10:36

Iris wrote:
margaret wrote:
Angelique wrote:Iris

Now why do I think he may be a Mason of a High Degree!

I thought EXACTLY the same as you!

I would hope after the hacking scandal that Scotland Yard won't be so stupid as to corrupt this review....... and duncanmac's right not everyone from Liverpool loves the McCanns, just the same as they're all not Cilla Black fans!

I'm not suggesting for one moment that everyone from the 'Pool is a McFan. I know that there are lots of good, honest and sensible people there as well.

But there's no getting away from the fact that this Chief of Police led their publicity stunt at a time when doubts were already starting to be raised. How will it look for him if they are found guilty of anything now?

I wasn't directing my post at you Iris, just a general observation. Breaking news - Bang goes the "Independent" SY Review!!! :-((( Icon_flower

**fred** Tue 13 Sep - 10:40

I think it has been established it isn't 30 officers, but only 3.

**pennylane** Tue 13 Sep - 10:47

Dimsie wrote:
pennylane wrote:

My guess is Bernard Hogan Howe has been strategically placed to insure Sir Paul Stevenson's past dirty dealings never make it into the public arena...............

and to continue on with the whitewash of the McCanns heinous crime.... jmho.
With 30 officers working on the case, it would be really difficult for anyone to whitewash the case if anything of importance comes to light, IMO. If the review was always intended as a whitewashing exercise, why would they put 30 officers on the case in the first place? Everyone was surprised to hear how many officers would be involved, most people expected a much smaller number and a much more modest amount of money to be spent, so if whitewashing were the aim it could have been done with just a few hand-picked detectives.

So IMO the review is genuine and won't be compromised no matter who is in charge of the Met as a whole. Unfortunately it probably won't move things along in any significant way, unless new evidence comes to light, something I'm not hopeful about as I think the PJ would have found anything there was to find during their own investigation. The only possibility might be if SY insist on getting some of the information denied to the PJ, such as medical records and financial details of certain people, but while these might be significant they wouldn't necessarily lead to the case being solved.

I hope you are right Dimsie and Marxman Breaking news - Bang goes the "Independent" SY Review!!! :-((( Icon_flower

We have seen with our own eyes these past four plus years, how no matter how big the elephant sitting in the room is (or how rancid the gruesome twosome's ever changing version of events appears) The Home Office, CEOP, Leicester police, politicians, and certain judges et al, have assisted them, even as a police force in Portugal and a British diplomat cast very grave doubts on the pair's innocence. I have spoken to a judge, a prosecuting lawyer, and my friend's son who is in homeland security, and not one of them believes the McCanns are innocent.

If this is the end game to exonerate the McCanns, a team of 30 detectives (some of whom are retired I believe) will offer them their final ticket to freedom so they can sail off with their ill-gotten gains. The average team of detectives is at the mercy of his superiors and the parameters that are put on the table. Who knows what unknown person is being protected - it could be that someone important has to protect the pair in order to protect his own identity from coming to the fore?

I do hope my pessimism is ill-founded. I have always felt it will take something completely out of left field, that nobody within this vile network of corruption could possibly anticipate, for this case to break wide open.

**Angelique** Tue 13 Sep - 11:07

Whilst I do agree with the fact that 30 Officers would not all be corrupt - lets not forget it was in the wake of "cuts" announced by the Government.

If you think of all the Forces in each area that would have to downsize the average "cut" would be anything from say, 10 to 30 Officers which may have been due to retire, take early retirement etc. So it could actually have been a way to allow these Officers to end their careers with 3, or maybe more years notice without having to make them redundant. The redundancy payments could be quite large.

Considering how many Officers are within the Met. - 30 would seem about right.

As pennylane has said there have been many instances when we thought that events would finally bring about a re-opening of the case but to nothing transpired. I too hope that eventually we will see this case re-investigated so we can finally know the Truth and we get justice for Madeleine

**Dimsie** Tue 13 Sep - 12:31

Angelique - it isn't that I think the 30 officers are too many or too few, just that if the review had been done purely as a whitewash they could easily have just used a few and it would be much less likely to find a whistleblower among a few handpicked officers. Putting 30 on the case doesn't seem like a whitewash to me - but I could be wrong, of course, though I hope not. And I agree it would be great to see the case reopened, but I honestly can't see it happening without some new tangible evidence. In the public ministry's final report they said this -

'The inquiry may be re-opened on the initiative of the Public Ministry or at the request of an interested party if new elements of proof emerge that will give rise to serious, pertinent and consequential investigatory activities.'

If SY do find something that might lead to 'serious, pertinent and consequential investigatory activities', then that would be wonderful, but I have doubts that there's anything much to find. Yes, there are many, many odd things about the case, things that don't add up, discrepancies galore, but will any of these things be enough to persuade the Portuguese to reopen the case, to spend more money when they've spent a fortune already and been soundly lambasted by the McCanns for not doing enough or not doing it properly? I'm positive they'd open the case like a shot if there's any real reason to, anything that might move it forward towards a resolution, but I don't expect them to want to start the whole process over again except on very solid foundations. Whether SY can provide something solid enough to work on is the question.

Fred - I think it was said only 3 officers went to Portugal, but AFAIK there are 30 officers assigned to the case overall.

**fred** Tue 13 Sep - 12:41

Fred - I think it was said only 3 officers went to Portugal, but AFAIK there are 30 officers assigned to the case overall.

O.K.

Breaking news - Bang goes the "Independent" SY Review!!! :-((( 944533

Hope it's true, but there is so much rubbish just rumorued around it's impossible to know what is correct.

**Badboy** Tue 13 Sep - 13:25

[quote="pennylane"]

Dimsie wrote:
pennylane wrote:

My guess is Bernard Hogan Howe has been strategically placed to insure Sir Paul Stevenson's past dirty dealings never make it into the public arena...............

and to continue on with the whitewash of the McCanns heinous crime.... jmho.
With 30 officers working on the case, it would be really difficult for anyone to whitewash the case if anything of importance comes to light, IMO. If the review was always intended as a whitewashing exercise, why would they put 30 officers on the case in the first place? Everyone was surprised to hear how many officers would be involved, most people expected a much smaller number and a much more modest amount of money to be spent, so if whitewashing were the aim it could have been done with just a few hand-picked detectives.

So IMO the review is genuine and won't be compromised no matter who is in charge of the Met as a whole. Unfortunately it probably won't move things along in any significant way, unless new evidence comes to light, something I'm not hopeful about as I think the PJ would have found anything there was to find during their own investigation. The only possibility might be if SY insist on getting some of the information denied to the PJ, such as medical records and financial details of certain people, but while these might be significant they wouldn't necessarily lead to the case being solved.

I hope you are right Dimsie and Marxman Breaking news - Bang goes the "Independent" SY Review!!! :-((( Icon_flower

We have seen with our own eyes these past four plus years, how no matter how big the elephant sitting in the room is (or how rancid the gruesome twosome's ever changing version of events appears) The Home Office, CEOP, Leicester police, politicians, and certain judges et al, have assisted them, even as a police force in Portugal and a British diplomat cast very grave doubts on the pair's innocence. I have spoken to a judge, a prosecuting lawyer, and my friend's son who is in homeland security, and not one of them believes the McCanns are innocent.

If this is the end game to exonerate the McCanns, a team of 30 detectives (some of whom are retired I believe) will offer them their final ticket to freedom so they can sail off with their ill-gotten gains. The average team of detectives is at the mercy of his superiors and the parameters that are put on the table. Who knows what unknown person is being protected - it could be that someone important has to protect the pair in order to protect his own identity from coming to the fore?

NOW WHO COULD SUCH A PERSON BE?

**Wallflower** Tue 13 Sep - 14:22

Any ideas BadBoy?

**Badboy** Tue 13 Sep - 15:04

i HAVE HAD VARIOUS IDEAS OF WHOM IT MIGHT BE.
SLIGHLY OFF TOPIC,LOOK CLOSELY ,YOU MIGHT NOTICE SOMETHING STRANGE,A POSSIBLE CLUE AS TO WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.

jeanmonroe Tue 13 Sep - 15:38

Does the new Met chief, BHH, have to make a decision?
If he gets the results of the review from his 30 detectives and it points to the parents and their friends being involved
does he
1) Cover it up and risk one of his more principled officers (on the team) resigning and going to the press
2) Drag them all in for questioning
3) Do the right thing for HIS family and keep his job (£265,000 a year) no matter what the implications for the doctors
4) Cover it up, get found out doing it, and have to resign, in public humiliation and disgrace, as yet another bent cop.

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

**tanszi** Tue 13 Sep - 18:42

Badboy are you referring to the Queen's approval of the appointee.

**Badboy** Tue 13 Sep - 18:46

tanszi wrote:Badboy are you referring to the Queen's approval of the appointee.

QUEEN'S APPROVAL OF THE APPOINTEE, EXPLAIN PLEASE

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Re: Breaking news - Bang goes the "Independent" SY Review!!! :-(((

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