The Metropolitan Police cannot dismiss officers by removing their vetting clearance, the High Court has ruled.
The court ruled against the force in what has been described as a “test case” that could have implications for the sacking of police officers accused of misconduct.
Sergeant Lino Di Maria, who had his vetting removed because of sexual assault and rape allegations, brought a legal challenge to the court claiming the process was unlawful.
Mr Di Maria had denied the allegations against him.
The challenge has been described as a “test case” in whether officers can be removed from duty if they cannot hold the minimum level of vetting.
On Tuesday, the High Court ruled the vetting clearance decision regarding Sgt Di Maria be “quashed and reconsidered”.
This means the UK’s largest police force cannot dismiss officers by removing their vetting after the High Court ruling.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned the ruling left policing in a “hopeless” position and said he would seek leave to appeal it.
He added: “We have no mechanism to rid the Met of officers who are not fit to hold vetting.
“Those who cannot be trusted to work with women, or those who cannot be trusted to enter the homes of vulnerable people.
“It is absolutely absurd we cannot sack them.”
Sky News correspondent Matthew Thompson described it as a “potentially seismic” case.
In the ruling, Mrs Justice Lang explained the decision, saying she did not believe the Met Police’s powers extended to dismissing officers “by reason of withdrawal of vetting clearance”.
‘Significant implications’
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said in a statement: “This decision has significant implications for the work the Met is now doing to clean up the force, raise standards and rid the police of all those unfit to serve.”
He added: “No one who has failed vetting should continue to serve in the force and we will work closely with the Commissioner, the Home Office and partners to assess the implications of this ruling.”
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Operation Assure
The Met Police began reviewing the status of officers who were alleged to have committed sexually violent crimes under a system it called Operation Assure.
Assure was put in place after the Met suffered a series of scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard, to try and clean up the police.
Some were removed after the emergence of serious accusations, including one officer who is thought to have tried to form a relationship with a 13-year-old girl in the United States, though authorities were unable to prove this.
Some officers had their vetting clearance removed, and were dismissed from the force, without proving whether the allegations against them were true.
But the latest court ruling is a serious blow to these efforts.
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Sgt Di Maria will remain on vetting special leave Sir Mark said, describing it as a “ridiculous waste of money” but the “least bad option”.
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