50 police officers arrested as part of inquiry into internet paedophiles

FIFTY police officers have been arrested as part of an investigation into internet paedophiles.

They were among 7,000 British suspects identified by a US inquiry into users of child pornography sites.

Assistant Chief Constable Jim Gamble of the National Crime Squad said the officers were targeted as part of a group of suspects whose jobs gave them special privileges or access to children. Yesterday, more than 250 police working on the UK investigation called Operation Ore executed 45 search warrants and arrested 34 men in the London area.

Yesterday's raids began at 5.30am and were the biggest carried out by the Metropolitan Police as part of its child protection work.

It said in a statement: "A large amount of computer equipment and other evidence was seized which will be examined in due course."

Mr Gamble said further raids could be expected across the country as other paedophiles were targeted.

Of the police officers arrested, eight have been charged and the remainder have been released on bail.

Since Operation Ore began in May more than 1,300 homes have been searched, computers seized and arrests made, Mr Gamble said. The Met's statement said: "Our priority is to identify those persons on the list that pose the greatest threat to children and deal with them appropriately.

"This process is ongoing and has already resulted in a significant number of arrests."

Referring to the number of police officers identified as suspects themselves, Mr Gamble said he was not surprised. "As police officers, we should expect to be held accountable and I think we should be transparent and robust (about it)," he said.

"Fifty police officers have been identified and we are not hiding that fact. We want you to know about that to reassure you.

"Police officers are member of the communities that they serve and there will be good people and bad people in the police force."

Commenting on yesterday's operation, children's charity NSPCC said it had been assisting the Met by responding to any emerging child protection matters.