A leading Tory MP has called on Boris Johnson to investigate claims that Scotland Yard officers have abused their position by trying to shut down newspaper investigations into Ukip.
Zac Goldsmith made the demand after a former Ukip official received a harassment warning for talking to The Mail on Sunday about her claims an alleged ‘former mistress’ of Ukip leader Nigel Farage had fabricated a sexual assault case against a fellow Tory MP.
Police are investigating Jasna Badzak’s allegation that Annabelle Fuller falsely accused Andrew Bridgen of inappropriately touching her at his Westminster flat in 2011.
Leading Tory MP Zac Goldsmith has called on Boris Johnson to investigate claims that Scotland Yard officers have abused their position by trying to shut down newspaper investigations into Ukip
The call for an investigation comes as Rupert Murdoch launches legal action against Scotland Yard for ‘hacking’ thousands of journalists emails.
The MP for North West Leicestershire, who denied wrong-doing, was arrested but no charges were brought. Ms Badzak, 43, who used to work as a Ukip press officer, says she has given the police details of messages she exchanged with Ms Fuller about the incident.
But when this newspaper spoke to Ms Badzak last month about a new development in the case – that detectives were planning to question Mr Farage after establishing that Ms Fuller had made phone calls to the Ukip leader on the evening she was in Mr Bridgen’s flat – Ms Badzak was warned off.
Ms Badzak was issued with a ‘Prevention of Harassment’ letter by a Met officer, Detective Sergeant Gordon McKay, on the grounds the conversation had led to Ms Fuller being ‘subjected to numerous phone calls and emails’. The Mail on Sunday sent three emails to Ms Fuller prior to printing our story to clarify the details. When asked what she had said on the phone to Mr Farage on the night in question, Ms Fuller replied: ‘Are you now a police officer?’
Ex-party spin doctor Ms Fuller, 32, was described as Farage’s ‘former mistress’ under Parliamentary privilege in Strasbourg earlier this year by Nikki Sinclaire, a former Ukip MEP. Mr Farage and Ms Fuller strongly deny an affair and Ms Fuller has since stopped working for the party.
Police are investigating Jasna Badzak’s allegation that Annabelle Fuller falsely accused Andrew Bridgen, pictured above with his wife Jackie, inappropriately touched her at his Westminster flat in 2011
Mr Goldsmith, the MP for Richmond Park, who wrote to Mr Johnson on Thursday about the case – as the Mayor he has ultimate oversight of Scotland Yard – said he was concerned by claims officers could have been abusing their office. On Friday, former Tory MP Louise Mensch submitted two criminal complaints about the alleged conduct of officers. Her move came after she learned that another serving officer at the Met had warned two reporters – who had contacted Ukip MEP Gerard Batten to ask about his alleged links to far-Right organisations – against publishing articles ‘deemed to be untruthful and concerning’.
It seems to be an abuse of the criminal law to prevent citizens talking to journalists
Last night a friend of Mr Bridgen said: ‘Andrew was approached by the police as a result of new information provided by Jasna Badzak regarding false allegations made about him by Annabelle Fuller in June 2011. Andrew is extremely concerned by the pace of the investigation into Ms Fuller’s apparent perverting the course of justice.’
Ms Fuller said: ‘I reported Jasna Badzak to the police over her continued harassment of me which started when she made false allegations about me.’
Ms Mensch said: ‘It seems to be an abuse of the criminal law to prevent citizens talking to journalists.’
The row has come amid growing concern over the use of police surveillance powers against journalists. A report published last week by the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said the laws were not ‘fit for purpose’ and should be overhauled.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘On November 1, police received an allegation of harassment. On November 15, a 43-year-old woman was issued with a 1st Instance Harassment Warning.’
News UK claims police ‘hacking’ of journalists emails was ‘revenge’ bid
Rupert Murdoch is suing Scotland Yard for ‘hacking’ into thousands of journalists’ emails – in what was last night dubbed as ‘revenge’ for the phone-hacking scandal.
The Metropolitan Police has arrested dozens of reporters working for the tycoon’s newspapers over plotting to listen in to celebrities’ voicemail messages, making payments to public officials and other crimes, with seven convicted this year.
But in an ironic twist, News UK is now taking Scotland Yard to court, claiming damages for breach of confidentiality. The company, previously known as News International, says the Met kept and searched through an archive of journalists’ emails dating back to 2004 – many of which may have contained sensitive information.
Rupert Murdoch is suing Scotland Yard for ‘hacking’ into thousands of journalists’ emails – in what was last night dubbed as ‘revenge’ for the phone-hacking scandal.
News UK voluntarily handed over emails to police as part of the probe into phone-hacking at the News of the World, in 2011.
It had a policy of deleting old emails automatically after a set period of time, although computer experts were able to find information dating back to around 2004 on 64 storage tapes. News UK says police accessed the data from this without agreement.
Murdoch’s lawyers want the data – still kept by Scotland Yard – to be returned, as well as damages for ‘breach of confidence’ by the Met.
A lawyer involved in the phone-hacking trials said last night: ‘It sounds like there is an element of Murdoch’s revenge about this.’
Both parties declined to comment on the civil case.
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