It appears that former Operation Tempura senior investigator Martin Bridger has not been “left alone holding the baby” – as he once quipped – after all.
An 11-paragraph statement received Friday from the U.K. Metropolitan Police service in London has indicated a significant level of support for the retired officer, who is now the subject of three separate inquiries concerning various aspects of ongoing legal matters related to the ill-fated Tempura probe.
However, the U.K. Met police also indicated their desire for a “swift conclusion” for the remaining matters related to Tempura now facing Mr. Bridger.
Criminal allegations
The Cayman Compass reported Friday that Mr. Bridger had become the subject of criminal allegations, complaints to police and contempt-of-court related allegations over the ongoing saga of Tempura.
A complaint made to the U.K. Met’s professional standards unit against Mr. Bridger is currently being assessed, the Met statement read, further confirming Compass reports.
“This complaint relates to how an earlier complaint about the provision of financial support to Mr. Bridger was handled,” the statement from Asim Bashir of the Met police read.
Former Operation Tempura witness John Evans filed the complaint with the U.K. Metropolitan Police force in London concerning Mr. Bridger’s receipt in 2011 of more than $200,000 in funding from the former Metropolitan Police Authority to assist with his legal defense in a U.K. court action brought against Mr. Bridger by the Cayman Islands attorney general’s office.
Legal funding
According to reports in the U.K. press, Mr. Bridger has received approval for additional funding recently – totaling in excess of $300,000 – from the London Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime to assist in his defense of the court action.
“If a former officer faces significant legal costs or liabilities as a result of their work whilst they were in the Metropolitan Police Service and their actions were made in good faith and in accordance with police and law, the [Met] would generally support any application to the Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime for financial support,” Mr. Bashir’s statement noted.
“[The Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime] has agreed to authorize funding to cover Mr. Bridger’s legal fees on strict conditions that these matters are brought to a swift conclusion. The [Met] supports the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime’s decision which allows us to fulfill our obligations to Mr. Bridger as a former employee. We also support [the office’s] conditions regarding a swift conclusion.”
Criminal allegations brought against Mr. Bridger in Cayman are the result of a counter claim following an allegation of crime the retired U.K. lawman brought against the territory’s former governor, attorney general and a Florida-based adviser to the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
A recent statement from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service evaluated claims made by Mr. Bridger that former Cayman Islands Governor Stuart Jack, Attorney General Samuel Bulgin and U.K. foreign office adviser Larry Covington deceived Mr. Bridger and his Operation Tempura investigators about the extent of their involvement in the probe. In addition to stating that no criminal offenses had occurred, the RCIPS noted that the counter allegations of criminal conduct had been made in relation to Mr. Bridger’s “account and publishing of data within the media.”
A report published in a Caribbean news media outlet last week alleged that the decision regarding Mr. Bridger’s criminal complaint to the RCIPS was made for political reasons and that a “cover up” was under way.
Contacted for comment Thursday, RCIPS Commissioner David Baines indicated that the Caribbean news outlet’s allegation appeared to be based on supposed Cayman media reports that he could not identify. Mr. Baines said he was also unsure whether he could respond to Compass questions about the issue without violating a court order.
Mr. Bridger said last week that his life had been ruined by the constant allegations and that his family was “so tired” of matters surrounding the fall-out from Operation Tempura.
Mr. Bridger said he was also surprised by what he termed a lack of political support being given to him by local elected members of the Cayman Islands government, including for his recent calls supporting a reinvestigation of Tempura issues.
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This morning I was sent a copy of this statement by the Met press office. It makes both interesting and rather disturbing reading.
Interesting because the first sentence confirms that the Met were involved in what became Operation Tempura before the 3 September 2007 search took place. I was supplied with documents indicating this was the case back in February 2010 but I think this is the first time it has been officially confirmed.
Disappointing because the five most significant paragraphs in the release are all riddled with errors. In fact three of them directly contradict material supplied to me over the years from official Met or CIG sources.
In fairness to the author he simply followed an established Met police version of events and as a press officer (a job which I have done) he was not in much of a position to query the material. However, I have now contacted the Met’s Head of Media requesting a review of the document.
And for legal reasons that is all I am going to say on this.