LONDON – Britain’s police watchdog says it is expanding its probe into claims that police officers covered up allegations of child abuse.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission says it is looking into three new claims of police corruption related to child sex offenses from the 1970s to the 2000s.
One complaint alleged that police gathered evidence in an investigation into alleged abuses committed by lawmakers, judges, clergy and actors, but dropped it two months later.
The watchdog said Thursday it was also looking at two complaints relating to police actions during a child abuse allegation in the 1980s. All the allegations relate to “suppressing evidence” and “covering up” offenses because of involvement of politicians and police.
The new allegations bring the total number of police cover-up complaints to 17.