Operation Century
Encyclopedia
Operation Century was the code name for a sting operation by Essex Police
for investigating a triple murder that happened at Rettendon
, Essex
, England
, in December 1995. It was assisted by Royal Ulster Constabulary
Special Branch
officers. The purpose of this operation was to bring pressure to bear on persons whom they suspected of having knowledge to disclose about the triple murder that would incriminate the suspects in question and/or others.
and Royal Ulster Constabulary
Special Branch
while Operation Century was under way increasingly led to police voicing serious threats against the suspects in question. The operation was also carefully timed to coincide with the 1996 Docklands bombing
of Canary Wharf
on the evening of 9 February, which marked the ending of the previous mainland Republican
bombing campaign cease fire. Any persons involved as witnesses during the triple killings were all successfully entered in to a relocation and witness protection programme. One of the targeted Essex
suspects received a call from Belfast
within minutes of the Canary Wharf
explosion. The Rettendon Triple Murders had absolutely no Irish
connection in themselves or with the bombing. Irish affairs were introduced solely by police as part of the underlying leverage for their undercover operation.
Transcripts of these phone calls became available (see later and "sources" footnote) and police eventually had to acknowledge that they were made by Belfast
based Special Branch
officers. These calls were repeatedly made to the Essex
suspects from Ireland
by RUC
Special Branch
posing as Republican
drug runners ("Irish Billy" and "Irish John") making it clear that they could rely upon organisational back up, and additionally claiming that they had funded the criminal activities of one of the Rettendon
murder victims who they were still demanding repayment from. This ruse failed to result in the suspects agreeing to any meetings.
There was a problem in trying to accurately portray what levels of threat and abuse Essex Police
/Special Branch
descended to during the course of this operation - the language was extremely foul-mouthed and threatening (and could have been taken by the suspects as amounting to death threats - see "documents" sources link below). It is clear from the Sun newspaper and (Essex Basildon Echo) reports referred to below that this aspect of the police operation was taken very great exception to.
In one such call on 26 February 1996 undercover Special Branch
threatened: "I've got (expletive deleted) A levels ... A levels in (expletive deleted) whacking (expletive deleted) people ... "it's time you did (expletive deleted) take these calls seriously ... as far as you're concerned you're (expletive deleted) cease fire's going ... I'll be in touch with you very (expletive deleted) soon ..... I've got a way, see what I (expletive deleted) do ... you watch your (expletive deleted) car".
One of the suspects victimised in this manner was the live-in partner of one of the murdered men by whom she had a young child. She claims to have had no knowledge at the time that these threatening tactics were not being deployed by Belfast
-based Republicans
and so she sought the assistance of Essex Police
who, after appearing to have investigated the matter, informed her that the calls were made from Belfast
, there were Republican
connections and that the latter had now crossed to mainland Great Britain
where they had had since been lost track of by police. The effect of these torture tactics upon an already distraught and grieving mother has been deplored.
In addition, an end of Rettendon
Murder trial "Operation Century" had been "bizarre and intimidatory" for having "bombarded (victims name deleted) with death threat calls from Northern Ireland
claiming they were owed money by one of the Rettendon
victims".
Details concerning this undercover police operation came to light when persons were subsequently brought to trial towards the end of 1997 in connection with the Rettendon killings. Dated/timed tape recordings of the threatening police phone calls, recorded by one of the Operation Century "suspects" were produced in evidence by defence counsel and were played in court. They showed that the undercover police calls were increasingly threatening as Operation Century unraveled because the suspects disbelieved that Belfast
Republicans
had ever funded Essex
criminal enterprises and so did not conform as the undercover officers had hoped.
The highly controversial nature of this Operation occasioned journalists to take matters up with the senior officer (Detective Superintendent Ivan Dibley) who deployed and developed it. As a result it came to light that it had been considered an appropriate tactic by Dibley because a recent earlier (Metropolitan Police
) undercover “honey trap” sting operation (Operation Edzell. 1993/1994) against Colin Stagg in the Rachel Nickell murder case
had not actually been described as “illegal” by the Stagg trial judge, Mr Justice Ognall, although he had scathingly dismissed the prosecution because police had used such disgraceful tactics of the grossest kind.
prided itself in having developed well publicised Service Delivery Standards (SDS). SDS 1.4 set out how Essex Police
would treat those whom they had reason to investigate in connection with criminal offences "according to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
... based on the dignity and worth of the individual". However, for this undercover police operation those Service Delivery Standards were abandoned - see documents link in SOURCES below.
of Essex
, John H Burrow. CBE. in correspondence wrote:
A senior Essex
officer (Detective Superintendent Ivan Dibley) subsequently boasted in a media interview that he had had no intention of approaching certain Century suspects in the normal way and claimed that those Century suspects had been Rettendon
murder suspects from the start of their Rettendon
investigations . It was similarly stated to journalists by Det. Supt. Dibley that in deploying Century tactics he was "breaking new ground" and hoping that they'd get away with it at court if evidence had been obtained. Another highly dubious and judicially censored undercover
police operation (Operation Edzell - deployed by the Metropolitan Police
Service in the then relatively current Rachel Nickell murder case) was also cited to journalists by Supt. Dibley as the backdrop against which Century had been adjudged by police as being fit to deploy.
Triple Murder Trial had concluded (January 1998) and Operation Century details had become the topic of very pointed criticism in one national media outlet (The Sun newspaper - referred to above) representations were made (14 February 1998) to both the Chair and every member of Essex Police
Authority. The representations were made in the light of Essex Police
agreement to adhere to "Service Delivery Standards". The (then) EPA Chair (Anthony Peel – 20 February 1998) replied with thanks for “a thought provoking letter”. He stressed that if Operation Century tactics had produced any confessional evidence “they most certainly would not (have) been admissible in evidence at any (criminal) trial”. He sought to lessen the gravity with which Essex Police
Authority viewed Operation Century tactics by avering that “no part of the national media had reported Operation Century” except one national media outlet and that he did not know “the source of the information” provided to that particular newspaper. He stressed that Police
Authorities could not become embroiled in “operational matters”, stressed that there is an established police complaints procedure and that no complaints so far as he knew had been made. “In this particular case the Police
Authority are satisfied that the Essex Police
have detected a particularly nasty violent crime and that this is entirely in accordance with the Local Policing Plan objectives furthering the effective policing of the area”.
A year later in a subsequent letter (2 March 1999) Peel confirmed his view that Operation Century was a "matter of operational policing ... basically not a matter for the Authority ... I have satisfied myself that the investigative matters had been properly authorised ... and therefore did not need to be brought to the attention of the Authority".
Ministers Kate Hoey
M.P. and Paul Boateng
M.P. On 19 May 1999 Hoey enclosed a letter from Mr Boateng (its date had been blacked out) who wrote that Century had been deployed because "all conventional methods had been exhausted and a covert operation was the last option to infiltrate the criminal network. All issues and decisions were considered at the highest level before being actioned ... Since the actions and decisions taken by police
officers ... are operational matters they are the responsibility of the chief officer of police ... there is no authority for Ministers to intervene in police commanders' operational responsibility. I suggest that the matter should be taken up directly with the Chief Officer if there are specific concerns about their work". Kate Hoey
expressed an "appreciation that this was not a response that one would have hoped for".
- The above link now provides this complete original OPERATION CENTURY report text/documents.
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
for investigating a triple murder that happened at Rettendon
Rettendon
Rettendon is a small village in the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England about south east of the county town Chelmsford. Situated near the River Crouch the village was once owned by the Bishop of Ely. The A130 formerly passed through the village...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in December 1995. It was assisted by Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
officers. The purpose of this operation was to bring pressure to bear on persons whom they suspected of having knowledge to disclose about the triple murder that would incriminate the suspects in question and/or others.
Overview
The operation produced no arrests or evidence leading to a criminal prosecution. A prosecution that was eventually brought in connection with the Rettendon Triple Killings was wholly based on police operations subsequent to the abandonment and closure of Operation Century. The tactics deployed by EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
while Operation Century was under way increasingly led to police voicing serious threats against the suspects in question. The operation was also carefully timed to coincide with the 1996 Docklands bombing
1996 Docklands bombing
The Docklands bombing occurred on 9 February 1996. It was conducted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army and brought an end to their seventeen-month ceasefire...
of Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
on the evening of 9 February, which marked the ending of the previous mainland Republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
bombing campaign cease fire. Any persons involved as witnesses during the triple killings were all successfully entered in to a relocation and witness protection programme. One of the targeted Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
suspects received a call from Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
within minutes of the Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
explosion. The Rettendon Triple Murders had absolutely no Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
connection in themselves or with the bombing. Irish affairs were introduced solely by police as part of the underlying leverage for their undercover operation.
Transcripts of these phone calls became available (see later and "sources" footnote) and police eventually had to acknowledge that they were made by Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
based Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
officers. These calls were repeatedly made to the Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
suspects from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
by RUC
RUC
RUC may refer to: or Coimbra University Radio, a Portuguese university station* Rapid Update Cycle, an atmospheric prediction system* Renmin University of China* Roskilde University or Roskilde Universitetscenter...
Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
posing as Republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
drug runners ("Irish Billy" and "Irish John") making it clear that they could rely upon organisational back up, and additionally claiming that they had funded the criminal activities of one of the Rettendon
Rettendon
Rettendon is a small village in the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England about south east of the county town Chelmsford. Situated near the River Crouch the village was once owned by the Bishop of Ely. The A130 formerly passed through the village...
murder victims who they were still demanding repayment from. This ruse failed to result in the suspects agreeing to any meetings.
There was a problem in trying to accurately portray what levels of threat and abuse Essex Police
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
/Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
descended to during the course of this operation - the language was extremely foul-mouthed and threatening (and could have been taken by the suspects as amounting to death threats - see "documents" sources link below). It is clear from the Sun newspaper and (Essex Basildon Echo) reports referred to below that this aspect of the police operation was taken very great exception to.
In one such call on 26 February 1996 undercover Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
threatened: "I've got (expletive deleted) A levels ... A levels in (expletive deleted) whacking (expletive deleted) people ... "it's time you did (expletive deleted) take these calls seriously ... as far as you're concerned you're (expletive deleted) cease fire's going ... I'll be in touch with you very (expletive deleted) soon ..... I've got a way, see what I (expletive deleted) do ... you watch your (expletive deleted) car".
One of the suspects victimised in this manner was the live-in partner of one of the murdered men by whom she had a young child. She claims to have had no knowledge at the time that these threatening tactics were not being deployed by Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
-based Republicans
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
and so she sought the assistance of Essex Police
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
who, after appearing to have investigated the matter, informed her that the calls were made from Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, there were Republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
connections and that the latter had now crossed to mainland Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
where they had had since been lost track of by police. The effect of these torture tactics upon an already distraught and grieving mother has been deplored.
In addition, an end of Rettendon
Rettendon
Rettendon is a small village in the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England about south east of the county town Chelmsford. Situated near the River Crouch the village was once owned by the Bishop of Ely. The A130 formerly passed through the village...
Murder trial "Operation Century" had been "bizarre and intimidatory" for having "bombarded (victims name deleted) with death threat calls from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
claiming they were owed money by one of the Rettendon
Rettendon
Rettendon is a small village in the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England about south east of the county town Chelmsford. Situated near the River Crouch the village was once owned by the Bishop of Ely. The A130 formerly passed through the village...
victims".
Details concerning this undercover police operation came to light when persons were subsequently brought to trial towards the end of 1997 in connection with the Rettendon killings. Dated/timed tape recordings of the threatening police phone calls, recorded by one of the Operation Century "suspects" were produced in evidence by defence counsel and were played in court. They showed that the undercover police calls were increasingly threatening as Operation Century unraveled because the suspects disbelieved that Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
Republicans
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
had ever funded Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
criminal enterprises and so did not conform as the undercover officers had hoped.
The highly controversial nature of this Operation occasioned journalists to take matters up with the senior officer (Detective Superintendent Ivan Dibley) who deployed and developed it. As a result it came to light that it had been considered an appropriate tactic by Dibley because a recent earlier (Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
) undercover “honey trap” sting operation (Operation Edzell. 1993/1994) against Colin Stagg in the Rachel Nickell murder case
Rachel Nickell murder case
The murder of Rachel Jane Nickell took place on 15 July 1992, in Wimbledon Common, London, and resulted in a highly-publicised and controversial investigation....
had not actually been described as “illegal” by the Stagg trial judge, Mr Justice Ognall, although he had scathingly dismissed the prosecution because police had used such disgraceful tactics of the grossest kind.
Service delivery standards
Essex PoliceEssex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
prided itself in having developed well publicised Service Delivery Standards (SDS). SDS 1.4 set out how Essex Police
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
would treat those whom they had reason to investigate in connection with criminal offences "according to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
... based on the dignity and worth of the individual". However, for this undercover police operation those Service Delivery Standards were abandoned - see documents link in SOURCES below.
Essex Chief Constable letter
The then Chief ConstableChief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, John H Burrow. CBE. in correspondence wrote:
Essex Police is, and will remain, committed to ensuring the highest principlePrincipleA principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed...
s in dealing with persons suspectSuspectIn the parlance of criminal justice, a suspect is a known person suspected of committing a crime.Police and reporters often incorrectly use the word suspect when referring to the...
ed of committing crimes..." (14 May 1998), "The approved plan of action quite specifically sought to create a realistic scenarioScenarioA scenario is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the Commedia dell'arte it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play that was literally pinned to the back of the scenery...
without direct threats being made against any individual" (29 May 1998), "I am not prepared to engage in retrospective or hypothetical analysis of issues emanating from Operation Century and can assist no further.(11 June 1998)
A senior Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
officer (Detective Superintendent Ivan Dibley) subsequently boasted in a media interview that he had had no intention of approaching certain Century suspects in the normal way and claimed that those Century suspects had been Rettendon
Rettendon
Rettendon is a small village in the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England about south east of the county town Chelmsford. Situated near the River Crouch the village was once owned by the Bishop of Ely. The A130 formerly passed through the village...
murder suspects from the start of their Rettendon
Rettendon
Rettendon is a small village in the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England about south east of the county town Chelmsford. Situated near the River Crouch the village was once owned by the Bishop of Ely. The A130 formerly passed through the village...
investigations . It was similarly stated to journalists by Det. Supt. Dibley that in deploying Century tactics he was "breaking new ground" and hoping that they'd get away with it at court if evidence had been obtained. Another highly dubious and judicially censored undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
police operation (Operation Edzell - deployed by the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
Service in the then relatively current Rachel Nickell murder case) was also cited to journalists by Supt. Dibley as the backdrop against which Century had been adjudged by police as being fit to deploy.
Essex Police Authority
After the RettendonRettendon
Rettendon is a small village in the Borough of Chelmsford in Essex, England about south east of the county town Chelmsford. Situated near the River Crouch the village was once owned by the Bishop of Ely. The A130 formerly passed through the village...
Triple Murder Trial had concluded (January 1998) and Operation Century details had become the topic of very pointed criticism in one national media outlet (The Sun newspaper - referred to above) representations were made (14 February 1998) to both the Chair and every member of Essex Police
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
Authority. The representations were made in the light of Essex Police
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
agreement to adhere to "Service Delivery Standards". The (then) EPA Chair (Anthony Peel – 20 February 1998) replied with thanks for “a thought provoking letter”. He stressed that if Operation Century tactics had produced any confessional evidence “they most certainly would not (have) been admissible in evidence at any (criminal) trial”. He sought to lessen the gravity with which Essex Police
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
Authority viewed Operation Century tactics by avering that “no part of the national media had reported Operation Century” except one national media outlet and that he did not know “the source of the information” provided to that particular newspaper. He stressed that Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
Authorities could not become embroiled in “operational matters”, stressed that there is an established police complaints procedure and that no complaints so far as he knew had been made. “In this particular case the Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
Authority are satisfied that the Essex Police
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
have detected a particularly nasty violent crime and that this is entirely in accordance with the Local Policing Plan objectives furthering the effective policing of the area”.
A year later in a subsequent letter (2 March 1999) Peel confirmed his view that Operation Century was a "matter of operational policing ... basically not a matter for the Authority ... I have satisfied myself that the investigative matters had been properly authorised ... and therefore did not need to be brought to the attention of the Authority".
Home Office response letter
Representations were made to the (then) Home OfficeHome Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
Ministers Kate Hoey
Kate Hoey
Catharine Letitia Hoey is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Vauxhall since 1989. She served in the Blair Government as Minister for Sport from 1999 to 2001.-Background:...
M.P. and Paul Boateng
Paul Boateng
Paul Yaw Boateng, Baron Boateng is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Brent South from 1987 to 2005, becoming the UK's first black Cabinet Minister in May 2002, when he was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury...
M.P. On 19 May 1999 Hoey enclosed a letter from Mr Boateng (its date had been blacked out) who wrote that Century had been deployed because "all conventional methods had been exhausted and a covert operation was the last option to infiltrate the criminal network. All issues and decisions were considered at the highest level before being actioned ... Since the actions and decisions taken by police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
officers ... are operational matters they are the responsibility of the chief officer of police ... there is no authority for Ministers to intervene in police commanders' operational responsibility. I suggest that the matter should be taken up directly with the Chief Officer if there are specific concerns about their work". Kate Hoey
Kate Hoey
Catharine Letitia Hoey is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Vauxhall since 1989. She served in the Blair Government as Minister for Sport from 1999 to 2001.-Background:...
expressed an "appreciation that this was not a response that one would have hoped for".
Sources
For various relevant documents see- The above link now provides this complete original OPERATION CENTURY report text/documents.