Senior Scotland Yard officer facing misconduct probe for contact with officer convicted over child abuse photo

A senior officer at Scotland Yard is said to have been placed on restricted duties as he faces an inquiry over contact he had with a colleague who was found guilty of possessing a video of child sexual abuse. 

Former acting chief superintendent Novlett Robyn Williams, 54, was sentenced to 200 hours of community work and forced to sign the sex offenders' register for five years over the illegal video, even though experts said there was no evidence she had solicited or viewed it.

On Friday, it emerged that she had contacted Chief Superintendent Simon Ovens for advice, according to the BBC. 

As a result, it is understood Ch Supt Ovens has been placed on "restricted duties" and is now subject to an inquiry by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

An IOPC spokesman said: "The IOPC received a referral from the Metropolitan Police Service in June 2018 regarding allegations a Chief Superintendent may have failed to disclose information that could have assisted in a criminal investigation.

"At that time we advised the officer that we had started a criminal investigation into those allegations.

"The officer was served with a notice informing them they were subject of a misconduct investigation. It should be noted that the serving of a notice in no way indicates disciplinary proceedings will follow.

"We suspended our investigation in November 2018 because of linked criminal proceedings which have now concluded, meaning the IOPC investigation has now resumed."

Scotland Yard criticised for failing to show discretion in WhatsApp message case

Scotland Yard refused five times to review the case of a senior black female officer who was being investigated for unwittingly receiving an indecent image via WhatsApp, The Telegraph can reveal.

Allegations of institutional racism have once again been levelled at the country’s biggest force after former acting chief superintendent Novlett Robyn Williams, 54, was found guilty of possessing an illegal video, even though experts said there was no evidence she had viewed it.

The highly decorated officer, who had an unblemished career, was one of 17 people to be sent the video via WhatsApp.

But she was the only person in the group to be prosecuted and supporters claim she has been unfairly targeted because of her race.

She is now planning to launch an appeal against her conviction in a desperate bid to salvage her 36-year career and reputation.

Williams was placed under investigation in February 2018 after her sister forwarded her the 54 second clip featuring a child engaging in a sex act with a man.

Throughout the investigation she steadfastly insisted she had not opened or been aware of the contents of the video and her lawyers asked the Met five times to review the evidence and apply some discretion to the case.

But the force repeatedly ignored the pleas and in February this year she was charged with one count of possessing an indecent image and one count of covering up the offence to protect her sister.

Following an Old Bailey trial, Williams was convicted of the first charge, but acquitted of the second, and earlier this week was sentenced to 200 hours community service and forced to sign the sex offenders' register for five years.

Williams has previously been awarded the Queen's Police Medal and had been praised for helping to raise the profile of black female officers.

She was honoured for her senior role during the 2011 London riots and again for helping Grenfell victims in 2017.

Last night a friend of the officer said she felt she had been hounded by the force and questioned whether race had played a part.

The friend said: "This whole situation has been one long nightmare for Robyn, who has now been convicted of receiving a video that she never viewed and was completely unaware of.  

“The Met's own policy is to allow some discretion in such cases, so the question is why did they not do so in this situation. There were 16 other people who received this same video, but Robyn was the only one to be charged. If discretion was applied in their cases, why not in hers?”

"This is a chilling and deeply sinister case which raises very real concerns about institutional racism within Scotland Yard.”

Tola Munro, President of the Black Police Association also questioned whether race had played a part in her treatment.

He said: “Here we have one of the most senior black, female officers in the land being taken down. What message does that send at this time when we are trying to promote diversity across the service and point to positive role models?”

Victor Marshall from the Police Superintendents’ Association said: “Superintendent Williams has shown complete dignity and professionalism throughout the investigation, fully cooperating, whilst continuing to support communities and colleagues in her role as a Superintendent.  

“She has always strongly denied all allegations of any wrongdoing. The Police Superintendents’ Association has supported Superintendent Williams throughout this process and will continue to do so as her legal team considers an appeal."

A Met spokesman said: "This case was thoroughly investigated by the Met with a file of evidence presented to the Crown Prosecution Service who made the decision to charge. A jury then convicted the defendants of a range of offences.

"It is completely wrong to suggest this serious matter involving possession of a indecent image of a child being sexually abused was pursued due to the ethnicity of the defendants. 

"The Met investigates without fear or favour every day and the public rightly expects us to act when allegations of crime are reported to us, even more so when those allegations involve a police officer. It would be entirely wrong for criminal allegations of this severity to be dealt with ‘internally’."