Leon Brittan Rape Investigation 'Fully Justified', Say Police

The rape claim against the late former conservative secretary Leon Brittan was concluded as "fully justified," albeit charges were dropped, report say.

According to International Business Times, a review on the rape allegation against Lord Brittan was conducted by another police force stated that the victim's account was "far from fanciful" - even though it was more "likely to lead to acquittal than conviction". The late Conservative cabinet minister under Margaret Thatcher was accused of raping a 19-year-old female student in 1967.

Deputy chief constable James Vaughan of Dorset Police conducted the review on the case found countless mistakes in the original investigations including the failure to tape an interview with Lord Brittan due to malfunction of recording equipment. Police interviewed Lord Brittan in May 2014, while suffering from terminal cancer. He died in January 2015 at the age of 75, unaware the investigation against him had been dropped, the news source added.  

A report posted by The Guardian stated that the review into how the Metropolitan police handled the rape allegation resolved that "any reasonable investigator could properly conclude that the allegations made by the complainant were far from fanciful and continued to be proportionate and justified."

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe is to see Lady Brittan to make an apology for his force's failure to substantiate the politician's innocence over the rape claim before his death. Brittan died in January 2015, aged 75, without his knowledge that he had no case to answer. Lady Brittan was only informed in October 2015.

The same news source also held Lord Brittan officially remains under investigation by Operation Midland. The operation aimed to investigate a paedophile ring whose members are men from politics, the military and law enforcement agencies. The investigation was opened in November 2014 following claims that boys were sexually abused by a paedophile ring centered around Westminster more than 30 years ago. Among under investigations were Former MP Harvey Proctor and Lord Bramall, a D-day veteran.

The Metropolitan Police force was slammed for its handling the charges against Lord Brittan. Many called on the Met to instigate an inquiry into how it has handled the allegations.

Tags

Leon Brittan, Rape Case, Operation Midland, Bernard Hogan-Howe, Metropolitan Police, Child Protection, London, paedophile

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