Operation Countryman was a wide-ranging investigation into police corruption within the Metropolitan Police Service in London from 1978-1984.[1] After being initially established to investigate allegations of corruption in the City of London Police, the main investigation was soon shifted to Metropolitan Police. More than 400 police officers lost their jobs but none were charged with any criminal offences.[2]
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After several high-profile scandals involving the bribery of vice-squad officers by Soho criminals in the early 1970s, attention shifted to corruption within all of London's police forces. Numerous dismissals continued to happen to stop the ongoing problem. But the situation deteriorated when articles appeared in the press alleging collusion between armed robbery gangs and high-ranking officers in specialised units such as the Flying Squad, the Regional Crime Squad and the Criminal Intelligence Branch (C11).
In response the Home Office, in conjunction with the Met Police Commissioner Sir Robert Mark, appointed the Assistant Chief Constable of Dorset Constabulary, Leonard Burt to investigate the allegations. The decision was seen to be more prudent by assigning an external regional police force to the investigation. This would make it an independent investigation that was outside the auspices of the Metropolitan police's own internal investigations unit.
In August 1978, a team of 200 officers began its investigations into corruption within the London police services. The unit was initially accommodated at Camberwell Police Station in south London. But following attempts to interfere with the team's documents, records and evidence, it moved to Godalming Police Station in Surrey outside the Metropolitan Police District.
Operation Countryman faced massive obstruction from both senior management and the lower ranks of the police. Much of the investigation's evidence was obtained by police officers going undercover as police officers. Such was the scale of the inquiry, after an initial deployment of 200 officers officers, dozens more were seconded to Countryman.
Asst.Chief Constable Leonard Burt told his investigation team not to pass any evidence it obtained against Metropolitan Police officers to the Met Commissioner, David McNee. Shortly before his retirement in February 1980, the Chief Constable of Dorset Constabulary, Arthur Hambleton, the superior of Burt, made allegations that Countryman had been wilfully obstructed by Commissioner McNee and Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Thomas Hetherington. In May 1980 Leonard Burt returned to Dorset Constabulary and responsibility for Countryman passed to Sir Peter Matthews, Chief Constable of Surrey Constabulary. He ordered that all evidence already compiled during the investigation be passed to the Metropolitan Police to be dealt with by their own internal investigation unit.[3]
After six years, and at a cost of over £4 million, Operation Countryman presented its findings to the Home Office and the Commissioner. Parts of the report were leaked to the public, and it was revealed that over 400 police officers lost their jobs during or after the Countryman investigation.
Despite Countryman's recommendation that over 300 officers should face criminal charges, no officer was ever charged with a criminal offence as a result of the investigation.[2]
Questions asked in the British Parliament have, on several occasions, called on the Home Secretary to publicly release the findings of Operation Countryman, but such requests have been refused as these are protected by public interest immunity.[4]