'Dirty tricks campaign': George Galloway accuses senior counter-terrorism officer of entering home without his knowledge and sending fake emails from his computer
Scotland Yard has placed the senior counter-terrorism officer on restricted duties
Cahal Milmo
Cahal Milmo is the chief reporter of The Independent and has been with the paper since 2000. He was born in London and previously worked at the Press Association news agency. He has reported on assignment at home and abroad, including Rwanda, Sudan and Burkina Faso, the phone hacking scandal and the London Olympics. In his spare time he is a keen runner and cyclist, and keeps an allotment.
Thursday 18 October 2012
Related articles
Scotland Yard has placed a senior counter-terrorism officer on restricted duties following extraordinary allegations from the MP George Galloway that he entered his home without his knowledge and sent fake emails as part of a “dirty tricks” campaign.
The Respect MP today outlined his claims against the policeman, who is understood to be a detective inspector, in a Parliamentary motion detailing how the officer allegedly slept in his home and co-ordinated his “operation” from his Metropolitan Police email account.
The Yard said last night that it had voluntarily referred the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and placed limits on the duties that the officer is permitted to carry out.
In his Early Day Motion, the Bradford West MP, who won a shock by-election victory against Labour earlier this year, claimed that “the officer entered [Mr Galloway’s] London home without his knowledge or consent, [Mr Galloway] never having met or heard of him, and he slept in [Mr Galloway’s] home”.
The MP accused the officer, who is of Asian background, of sending emails to his agent and using at two fake email accounts to dupe organisations, including a national newspaper, about his identity.
Calling on the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to make an urgent statement, Mr Galloway added: “He operated under an alias against [me] on Facebook and elsewhere, all the while concealing that he was a senior serving officer at Scotland Yard.”
The Yard confirmed that it received a complaint on the MP’s behalf earlier this week. A spokesman said: “The matter has been passed to the directorate of professional standards to investigate and a voluntary referral is being made to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The officer has been placed on restricted duties pending the outcome of the investigation.”
-
IoS exclusive: MI5 'tried to recruit' Woolwich attack suspect Michael Adebolajo
-
French soldier stabbed in the neck in Paris
-
EDL marches on Newcastle as attacks on Muslims increase tenfold in the wake of Woolwich machete attack which killed Drummer Lee Rigby
-
Fallen angel: Winona Ryder on bouncing back from her decade in the wilderness
-
Hurricane season fears as warning satellite fails
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Independent Dating
Day In a Page
Andrew Mitchell: 'It's no good feeling hard done by'
Corruption and the FCO: Blue skies, white sands, dark clouds
Fallen angel: Winona Ryder bounces back
Patrick Cockburn: Civil war looms in Iraq
Conquering Everest: 60 facts about the world's tallest mountain
Killing with kindness: Burma's religious battleground





