An urgent review will be conducted into the Metropolitan Police amid allegations 33 cases were "affected" by forensics mishandling.

The Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) is to investigate allegations relating to the suspected mishandling of examinations within the Met's forensic laboratory.

It is claimed a scientist working within forensic services did not complete the requisite examinations - and in some cases, wrongly informed investigators about the progress of the examinations.

The scientist was suspended on 26 March as part of the investigation.

A statement from the Met said: "An internal review has found that 33 separate criminal investigations have been affected - 21 of these cases relate to investigations into rapes and other sexual assaults; the remaining 12 are investigations into violence, burglary and drugs offences. The cases relate to crimes whereby items were submitted for forensic examination between 2012 and 2017.

"We are urgently conducting a review to understand whether there is any risk to the criminal justice process and to take remedial action where necessary.

"All victims in the affected cases have been contacted, where it has been deemed appropriate to do so.

"In the case of the investigations into rape and sexual assaults, victims have been contacted by a Sexual Offences Investigative Techniques officer."

A full audit was carried out into the scientist's workloads within the department, the Met said, to make sure there were no other instances of undeclared work.

The case was also referred to the Forensic Science Regulator.

It comes after it emerged that evidence in 10,000 cases may have been tampered with by rogue staff at a laboratory in Manchester. </s> Image copyright chieferu Image caption The review will help to determine whether there is any risk to the criminal justice process

More than 30 criminal investigations including 21 sex attacks are being reviewed after a forensic scientist apparently botched examinations.

Scotland Yard said a member of staff from its Forensic Services allegedly failed to carry out tests and lied to investigators about progress.

A total of 33 inquiries between 2012 and 2017 are affected - 21 rapes and sexual assaults and 12 violent and drug-related crimes and burglaries.

An internal review is under way.

All the work of the scientist, who was suspended on 26 March, has been audited and the Met said it is "satisfied that there are no other instances of undeclared casework".

All victims in the affected cases have been contacted, where it has been deemed appropriate to do so, police said.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "In the case of the investigations into rape and sexual assaults, victims have been contacted by a sexual offences investigative techniques officer."

The review comes amid a national crisis in forensic services following the closure of the publicly owned Forensic Science Service in 2012.

Techniques including analysis of DNA, fingerprints and digital evidence play a major role in a range of criminal investigations and the move forced police forces to either bring the services in-house or use private providers.

One firm, Key Forensic Services, collapsed in January, potentially affecting thousands of cases.

Another, Randox Testing Services, was hit by claims of manipulation of results.

Around 10,000 cases - three-quarters of which were drug-driving and the rest violent crime, sexual offences and unexplained deaths - were affected across 42 police forces. </s> An “urgent” review into the Metropolitan Police is taking place after it was revealed that 33 criminal investigations may have been affected by suspected forensics mishandling, Scotland Yard has confirmed.

The Directorate of Professional Standards is investigating after a forensic scientist working within the Met’s Forensic Services allegedly mishandled material in its laboratory.

More than half of the cases – 21 out of 33 – relate to investigations into rapes and other sexual assaults, while 12 are investigations into violence, burglary and drugs offences, the Met said.

It said the scientist allegedly “did not complete the requisite forensic examinations and in some case wrongly informed investigators about the progress of forensic examinations.”

The scientist was suspended on 26 March as part of the investigation.

The Met said in a press release: “An internal review has found that 33 separate criminal investigations have been affected. The cases relate to crimes whereby items were submitted for forensic examination between 2012 and 2017.

“We are urgently conducting a review to understand whether there is any risk to the criminal justice process and to take remedial action where necessary.

“All victims in the affected cases have been contacted, where it has been deemed appropriate to do so.”

It added that in the rape and sexual assault investigations, victims have been contacted by a Sexual Offences Investigative Techniques officer.

The force said it has completed a “full audit” of all its forensic scientists’ workloads “in order to be reassured that this issue is not more far-reaching”.

It said it was “satisfied that there are no other instances of undeclared casework.”

The case has also been referred to the Forensic Science Regulator. </s> More than 30 criminal investigations including 21 sex attacks are being urgently reviewed after a forensic scientist apparently botched examinations.

Scotland Yard said a member of staff from its Forensic Services allegedly failed to carry out tests and lied to investigators about how the work was progressing.

A total of 33 inquiries between 2012 and 2017 are affected – 21 rapes and sexual assaults and 12 violent and drug-related crimes and burglaries.

The force said in a statement: “We are urgently conducting a review to understand whether there is any risk to the criminal justice process and to take remedial action where necessary.

“All victims in the affected cases have been contacted, where it has been deemed appropriate to do so.”

All the work of the scientist, who was suspended on March 26, has been audited and the Met said it is “satisfied that there are no other instances of undeclared casework”.

The case comes amid a national crisis in forensic services, following the closure of the publicly owned Forensic Science Service in 2012.

Techniques including analysis of DNA, fingerprints and digital evidence play a major role in a range of criminal investigations and the move forced police forces to either bring the services in-house or use private providers.

One, Key Forensic Services, collapsed in January, potentially affecting thousands of cases.

Another, Randox Testing Services, was hit by claims of manipulation of results.

Around 10,000 cases – three-quarters of which were drug-driving and the rest violent crime, sexual offences and unexplained deaths – were affected across 42 police forces. </s> Police have launched an 'urgent' review into the work of a forensic scientist as 33 criminal investigations were hit by suspected 'mishandling' of evidence.

The Directorate of Professional Standards said it is investigating allegations relating to the suspected mishandling of a number of examinations.

It is alleged that a scientist working within the Metropolitan Police’s Forensic Services did not complete thorough examinations.

A statement added that the scientist was alleged to have, in some cases, wrongly informed investigators about the progress of forensic examinations.

The scientist was suspended on 26 March as part of the investigation.

An internal review has found that 33 separate criminal investigations have been affected.

As many as 21 of these cases relate to investigations into rapes and other sexual assaults, Met Police confirmed.

The remaining 12 are investigations into violence, burglary and drugs offences, with all the investigations taking place between 2012 and 2017.

A statement read: 'All victims in the affected cases have been contacted, where it has been deemed appropriate to do so.

'In the case of the investigations into rape and sexual assaults, victims have been contacted by a Sexual Offences Investigative Techniques officer.

'In order to be reassured that this issue is not more far-reaching, we have completed a full audit of scientists’ workloads within the department, and are satisfied that there are no other instances of undeclared casework.

'This case has also been referred to the Forensic Science Regulator.' </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Daniel Sandford reports on the crimes of Stephen Port, "a serial rapist who became a serial killer"

A serial killer has been found guilty of murdering four young men by poisoning them with lethal doses of a date rape drug.

Stephen Port, 41, lured his victims to his London flat and secretly gave them GHB, the Old Bailey heard.

Scotland Yard believes there could be more victims and is reviewing 58 deaths in London spanning four years involving the drug.

Port, who denied 29 charges, will be sentenced on Friday.

The chef was also found guilty of 10 offences of administering a substance with intent, four rapes and four sexual assaults.

Image copyright Stephen Port/Met Police Image caption Port presented a very different version of himself online (left) where he claimed he'd been in the navy and graduated from Oxford University

Between August 2014 and September 2015, Port murdered Gabriel Kovari, 22, from Lewisham, Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, and Jack Taylor, 25, from Dagenham, east London.

The jury also found him guilty of murdering Anthony Walgate, 23, from Dagenham, in June 2014 by a majority verdict.

Port met his victims on dating websites, including Grindr, and coaxed them to his home in Barking for sex before giving them fatal doses of drugs.

Their bodies were all found dumped in or near a graveyard within 500m of his house.

How did police miss killer Stephen Port?

The Metropolitan Police admitted it missed "potential opportunities" in investigating the deaths and has urged any other victims to come forward.

The force's own LGBT independent advisory group and journalists from the website Pink News had raised concerns about a serial killer being at large but were told the deaths were unconnected.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is currently investigating how the force handled the initial investigation into the deaths.

Seven officers have been served with gross misconduct notices advising them their conduct is under investigation. Another 10 have been served with misconduct notices.

Cdr Stuart Cundy, from the Met, said he was personally writing to the victims' families "to express our sincere condolences".

Image copyright PA Image caption Port murdered the men at his flat in Barking, east London, before dumping their bodies in and around a nearby graveyard

Port was found not guilty of three rapes relating to two living complainants.

The trial had heard he had an insatiable appetite for boyish-looking, smaller men, who he referred to as "Twinks".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption In a police interview in 2015, Port tried to implicate Daniel Whitworth in the death of Gabriel Kovari

The Old Bailey was also told he trawled the internet for pornography involving impassive young men being "raped" by older men.

Home videos were played to the jury of 10 women and two men which appeared to show Port allegedly enacting his drug-rape obsession.

At court: Danny Shaw - BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

As the 12 jurors took their seats, there was an almost palpable sense of tension.

Every day since Monday of last week, when the jury's deliberations began, relatives of Port's victims have gathered waiting for the outcome of this harrowing case.

At 10:35, the jury forewoman was asked whether they'd reached unanimous verdicts on each of the counts and, if so, what that verdict was.

When the first reply of "guilty" came back Port just sighed.

But to his right, there were sobs, tears and hugs among the parents and siblings of those who were murdered.

The murders

Image copyright Met Police Image caption Anthony Walgate (left) and Gabriel Kovari were Port's first victims

Anthony Walgate occasionally worked as a male escort and met Port when he offered the 23-year-old student £800 for an overnight date.

Mr Walgate had told a friend about the date "in case I get killed" but was found dead outside Port's flat on 19 June 2014.

Port later admitted he had "panicked" over the death and was jailed for perverting the course of justice, but he continued to claim Mr Walgate died from taking his own drugs.

Image copyright Met Police Image caption Daniel Whitworth (L) was murdered a year before Jack Taylor (R) died

Gabriel Kovari was staying with Port as a temporary flatmate when he was killed in August 2014.

Port called his sister to confess he had his body in his bed then dragged the 22-year-old to a nearby graveyard.

He then constructed a web of deceit to divert suspicion, telling his neighbour that Mr Kovari had died of an infection in Spain.

Port also invented a Facebook identity via which he told the Slovakian's boyfriend Mr Kovari had gone to a sex party with a man named "Dan".

Image copyright Met Police Image caption The suicide note, written by Port, sought to absolve him of any part in Mr Whitworth's death

The same dog walker who found Mr Kovari's body also found Daniel Whitworth dead in the same spot in the churchyard and "lying in the exact same position" three weeks later.

A fake suicide note was found in his hand which purported to be a confession by Mr Whitworth for Mr Kovari's death.

It was later found to have been written by Port but at the time of Mr Whitworth's death police had treated his demise "at face value".

Image copyright PA Image caption Mr Kovari and Mr Whitworth's bodies were found in the graveyard of St Margaret's Church

Jack Taylor died on 13 September 2015, hours after meeting with Port. The pair had earlier shared a conversation on Grindr.

Following his murder, Port disposed of Mr Taylor's mobile phone and deleted their communication on the dating app.

His body was found by a refuse collector with a needle and syringe in his pocket.

Image copyright AFP/NIKLAS HALLE'N Image caption Jack Taylor's family gave their reaction to Port's conviction at the Old Bailey

Speaking outside court following the verdicts, Daniel Whitworth's family said they were still "bereft at the loss of a such a clever, talented and much-loved boy".

His step-mother, Mandy Pearson, said the guilty verdict "has marked the end of a large part of our battle" but the family "have yet to concentrate on other areas of accountability".

"The fight goes on until all our questions are answered," she said.

Jack Taylor's family said they felt he would still be alive if the police "had done their job".

"The police should be held accountable for Jack's death. We do understand it's not them who took Jack's life but Stephen Port would have been stopped," they said.

Image copyright AFP/ NIKLAS HALLE'N Image caption Mr Whitworth's family made only passing reference to the initial police probe of his death

Police believe there are many other victims and have urged people to come forward.

As Port used a variety of social networks and dating apps to meet men, the Met has released a list of his account details in a bid to aid any other possible victims. </s> Police have arrested an elderly homeowner on suspicion of murder after a suspected armed burglar was stabbed to death during a break-in at a house in London.

According to the Evening Standard, the 78-year-old and his wife were asleep in bed at their south London home when the husband was awoken by noises and went to find two men in the middle of a suspected break-in.

Confronted by one of the suspected robbers, who was wielding a screwdriver, the pensioner was forced into his kitchen where police say a struggle took place in which the homeowner suffered bruising to his arms amongst injuries which are not life-threatening.

Scotland Yard said the 37-year-old intruder was rushed to hospital after sustaining a single stab wound to his chest, and that he died shortly after 3am.

Officers were summoned to reports of a burglary in process at what the Mirror reported is described as a “very quiet” road in Hither Green at around 12.45am.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “The 78-year-old resident had found two males inside his address.

“One suspect went upstairs while the homeowner was forced into the kitchen by the second suspect, armed with a screwdriver.”

The pensioner was held in custody in south London on Wednesday, having initially been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm while officers investigated the incident before he was later re-arrested on suspicion of murder.

Scotland Yard confirmed that officers have informed the dead man’s next of kin, but he has not yet been officially identified. The second suspect — said to also have been armed — is still on the run, according to police, who said they are trying to track him down after he fled the crime scene before officers arrived.

London has seen a large rise in the number of burglaries over the past year alongside massive increases in other crimes such as knife and gun violence, rape and homicide as the capital under mayor Sadiq Khan recently overtook New York City as one of the most dangerous cities in the developed world.

While the number of arrests has been in sharp decline across England and Wales since 2008, even as crime has soared, focus on so-called hate crime has contributed towards a policing “crisis” in which just one burglary in ten results in a suspect being identified. </s> A BRADFORD grooming gang has been jailed for more than 130 years for the sexual abuse of two young girls.

Nine men have received a combined sentence of 132 years after being found guilty of raping and sexually abusing the girls. The sentences were handed down today at Bradford Crown Court, West Yorkshire, following a seven-week trial. The charges related to sexual abuse in Bradford and Kirklees between 2008 and 2009 and followed an investigation launched in 2014, after both victims made reports to the police.

Judge Durham Hall spoke to the nine men in the court: "The damage and hurt you have caused for your sexual pleasure has been revealed to all, and the lengths some of you went to, to corrupt and groom a girl are truly appalling, and then threaten and to rape her beyond description." Senior Investigating Officer DS Jonathan Morgan said the sentences was a 'very satisfactory conclusion' to what has been a challenging and lengthy investigation. "We hope they will serve as a warning to others that this kind of abuse will mot be tolerated in West Yorkshire," he said. "We are pleased with the sentences given by the court today and hope they will serve as a warning to others that this kind of abuse will not be tolerated in West Yorkshire.

“I would like to highlight the courage and tenacity of the victims to go through the court process and whom have maintained trust in the police and the criminal justice system throughout. “I hope that today’s result provides the impetus for other victims to come forward and report matters to the police or safeguarding partners.” Basharat Khaliq, 38, of Glaisdale Court, Allerton, Bradford, was found guilty of five counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration. He was jailed for 20 years. Saeed Akhtar, 55, was also sentenced to 20 years for a charge of rape and two charges of causing or inciting child prostitution.

Naveed Akhtar, 43, of Newport Place, Bradford, was found guilty of two counts of rape. He was jailed for 17 years. Parvaze Ahmed, 36, of Farcliffe Road, Bradford, has also been given 17 years in prison as he was found guilty of three charges of rape. Izar Hussain, 32, of St Leonards Road, Bradford, was found guilty of rape. He was jailed for 16 years. Zeeshan Ali, 32, of Durham Terrace, Bradford, was found guilty of sexual assault and was sentenced to 18 months. </s> Stephen Port has been found guilty of poisoning three young gay men.

The 41-year-old chef stalked his victims on dating websites such as Grindr and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of the date-rape drug GHB to rape them while they were unconscious, the Old Bailey heard.

Port dumped their bodies in or near a graveyard within 500 metres of his flat in Barking, east London, and embarked on an elaborate cover-up.

He disposed of their mobile phones, repeatedly lied to police and planting a fake suicide note in the hand of one of his victims, taking the blame for the death of another.

He denied all the charges against him but was found guilty of the murders of Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor as well as a range of sexual offences against more men.

Jurors have yet to reach verdicts relating to other charges, including those around the death of Port's first alleged murder victim, Anthony Walgate.

His first alleged victim, Anthony Walgate, 23, was found dead on Cooke Street on 19 June last year. He was a fashion and design student at Middlesex University who was originally from Hull but living in Barnet.

The second victim, Gabriel Kovari, 22, was found by a dog walker near St Margaret's churchyard on 28 August last year. He was originally from Slovakia but lived in Lewisham, south London.

Just under a month later, on 20 September last year, the same dog walker discovered the body of Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, near the same churchyard.

Then on 14 September this year, Jack Taylor, 25, a forklift truck driver from Dagenham, was found dead near the abbey ruins close to North Street.

The deaths were not initially linked but after further investigation they were referred to the Metropolitan Police homicide and major crime command on 14 October.

Port was convicted of a total of 16 offences against nine out of 12 alleged victims, including the three murders.

Other charges he was found guilty of included seven counts of administering a substance, three rapes and three sex assaults.

Mr Justice Openshaw gave the jurors a majority direction on the remaining counts and said he would accept a majority of at least 10 to two.

He sent the jury of 10 women and two men back out to continue deliberating. The case continues.
The Metropolitan Police of London announces a review of 21 rapes and sexual assaults as well as 12 other offences including violence and burglaries over inadequately performed "undeclared casework" by a forensic scientist.