Gay police chief believes he is being made the fall guy for the tube shooting

By Benjamin Cohen • March 19, 2006 - 0:00

Britain Paddick is furious at being “hung out to dry”

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Sources close to the most senior gay police officer in Britain say that he has been made "the fall guy" in a campaign to save the job of Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan police commissioner.

Colleagues of Britain Paddick, the deputy assistant commissioner say that he is furious at being "hung out to dry" by the force after he gave a testimony on his boss, Sir Ian to the investigators looking into the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old Brazilian at Stockwell tube station last year.

"Ian Blair has become a lame duck commissioner. His job is hanging on a thread," the Sunday Times claims a Home Office source said.

Patrick Mercer, Conservative Home Affairs spokesman said: "This infighting must stop immediately. The Met and the commissioner must now focus on its most important task of protecting London from terrorism."

Sir Ian was last week involved in a row with Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general over allegations that he secretly tape-recorded private conversations with the Labour peer.

Last week, PinkNews.co.uk reported that Mr Paddick may pursue legal action against the Metropolitan Police to defend claims that a member Sir Ian Blair's private team knew the Stockwell Tube shooting victim Mr de Menezes was an innocent man just six hours after his death.

Mr Paddick believes he is being accused of lying after the Met said that rumours of a senior officer knowing Mr de Menezes was wrongfully shot just six hours after his death were untrue.

The officer may face a probe from The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) for leaking the information.

He told the BBC that he had made the original statement to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which said a member of the head of the Met's office believed the wrong man had been targeted just six hours after the shooting in July.

However, Scotland Yard yesterday released a statement insisting the claims were "simply not true."

They said the officer "has categorically denied this in his interview with, and statement to, the IPCC investigators, this has also been corroborated by other staff in the private office."

"We are satisfied that whatever the reasons for this suggestion being made, it is simply not true."

Mr Paddick, the most senior gay police officer in the country first attracted public notoriety when as commander of Brixton Police, where he pioneered a liberal attitude to cannabis and told an online publication that he was attracted by the concept of anarchy.

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