Overview
- The Metropolitan Police’s ten‑year vetting review found 5,073 personnel were not properly checked, including 4,528 without Special Branch vetting, 431 without Ministry of Defence checks, and 114 whose refusals were overturned by an internal panel.
- The review identified 131 officers and staff who went on to commit crimes or misconduct, including two convicted serial rapists, with David Carrick improperly vetted in 2017 and Cliff Mitchell admitted after an overturned refusal despite a prior rape allegation.
- Officials estimated about 1,200 hires might have been refused under normal practices from roughly 27,300 applications, and about 250 applicants would likely have been rejected had references been properly checked, after 17,355 reference checks were missed or incomplete.
- Deviations from standard practice included transferring officers without renewing vetting, pausing checks against Special Branch and MoD indices in 2020–2021, accepting old clearances for former staff, and reducing renewal checks to minimal database searches.
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood ordered His Majesty’s Inspectorate to inspect the Met’s vetting and assess whether other forces also departed from national standards, as the force says it has tightened procedures and dismissed large numbers of officers since 2022.