Details of horrific behaviour by Met Police officers including serial rapist David Carrick have been wiped from the force’s website, it has emerged.
Carrick was sacked by Scotland Yard in January, days after he had pleaded guilty to a catalogue of rapes, sexual abuse, and violence over the course of his policing career.
The Met held a public misconduct hearing and published on the report’s findings, but after 28 days the public record has been deleted from the website.
Evening Standard analysis of the Met Police website reveals that some misconduct findings dating back to December 7 last year are still available. Included in those reports is an officer who was sacked for train fare dodging and another who was caught falsifying test results.
However, the details of former officers who committed serious criminal offences have now been wiped.
Among them is Sam Grigg, a PC with an obsession with bondage and sadomasichism who was jailed last month for four years after tying up his female housemate with duct tape.
Grigg admitted he was sexually motivated when he bound and gagged the woman, while the judge ruled he had only been stopped by chance when a postman rang the doorbell.
Among the other misconduct reports which have been deleted are Special Constable Benedict Ashton, who was caught with indecent images of children, and PC William Holyoake who admitted possession of drugs and a weapon.
On Saturday, The Observer newspaper said it had found widespread failures in the 43 police forces around the country to publicise misconduct findings, in spite of a legal transparency obligation.
Some forces routinely delete the findings of displinary panels from their websites after the minimum period of 28 days has passed, prompting accusations that police are trying to “evade public scrutiny”.
Carrick, 48, who had served in the Met’s Diplomatic and Parliamentary Protection Command, is now serving a minimum of 30 years in prison after he admitted rape and abuse of 12 women between 2003 and 2020.
One of his former colleagues on the unit, Lee Ashby, quit the force after being caught taking steroids – in a ruling published in mid-February but now also deleted.
The Met said it has recently changed its policy on misconduct hearings to publish rulings for three months, instead of 28 days.
“This is because we want to be more transparent around misconduct as we strive to improve standards and rid the Met of those who should not be here,” a Met spokesperson said.
It said those involved in misconduct hearings can make submissions on publicity, but “in the vast majority of cases the Met supports publication.
“The chair must consider matters such as protection of vulnerable victims or witnesses, medical and welfare reasons and any ongoing criminal matters that might be prejudiced. “The chair will carefully weigh up all these matters before making a decision on publication.
“It’s worth noting the vast majority of hearings are held in public. Upcoming hearings are advertised on our website and anyone interested can apply to sit in on a hearing to listen to proceedings.”
On its new publication policy, it added: “Our process allows for the automatic deletion of outcome and post hearing notices after three months; we will double check to ensure this remains consistent.”
The force is under intense pressure in the wake of the Casey Report, which branded it institutionally racist, sexist, and homophobic.
The names of sacked officers are placed on to a Banned List held by the College of Policing to ensure they do not try to re-enter the profession.
But that list is not open to full public inspection and can only be search by name.
