Partner of Stephen Port’s youngest victim welcomes Cressida Dick’s resignation
‘It’s about time’: Partner of Stephen Port’s youngest victim welcomes Cressida Dick’s resignation and calls it a ‘small justice for victims’ of the serial killer
Ricky Waumsley’s partner Daniel Whitworth, 21, was murdered by Stephen PortCressida Dick quit as Met Commissioner after losing the support of Sadiq KhanMr Waumsley said his first thought when he heard the news was ‘about time’Inquest jury had found police failures likely contributed to Mr Whitworth’s death
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The partner of Stephen Port’s youngest victim has welcomed Dame Cressida Dick’s resignation and called it a ‘small justice for the victims’ of the serial killer.
Dame Cressida quit as Metropolitan Police Commissioner last night after losing the support of London Mayor Sadiq Khan over her plan to reform the force following a string of scandals and accusations of a toxic working culture.
Ricky Waumsley, whose 21-year-old partner Daniel Whitworth was murdered by Port in Barking, east London, said his first thought when he heard the news was ‘about time’ and that he hoped more resignations would follow.
He added: ‘She had clung on to that position so tight when, all around her, the officers she was in charge of have been racist, homophobic and sexist.’
Mr Waumsley had called for her to quit in December after an inquest jury found police failures had likely contributed to the deaths of Mr Whitworth and those of two more of Port’s victims.
Ricky Waumsley (pictured left), whose 21-year-old partner Daniel Whitworth (right) was murdered by Stephen Port in Barking, east London, said his first thought when he heard the news was ‘about time’ and that he hoped more resignations would follow
Dame Cressida (pictured last night) quit as Metropolitan Police Commissioner after losing the support of London Mayor Sadiq Khan over her plan to reform the force following a string of scandals and accusations of a toxic working culture
Port, known as the Grindr killer, drugged, raped and killed four men between June 2014 and September 2015, and sexually assaulted more than a dozen others.
The inquests into the four deaths revealed that officers failed to carry out basic evidence gathering such as examining Port’s laptop, testing DNA on bedsheets on which two of the bodies were found, and checking the veracity of a fake suicide note found with Mr Whitworth’s body.
Seventeen officers were investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), and nine were found to have performance failings.
None of the nine were disciplined or lost their jobs, and five had been promoted.
After the inquests, Sarah Munro QC published a prevention of future deaths report, saying she was ‘concerned’ to hear evidence of errors made by detectives.
She criticised the Met for failing to treat the victims’ deaths as suspicious and said she was ‘shocked’ to hear that 22-year-old Gabriel Kovari’s family was not even informed by the police of his death.
Setting out overarching issues in the case, she said: ‘Perhaps the most striking of these is the large number of very serious and very basic investigative failings.
‘I have been extremely concerned and disappointed by the evidence that I have heard about these series of errors.’
Port (above), known as the Grindr killer, drugged, raped and killed four men between June 2014 and September 2015, and sexually assaulted more than a dozen others
The inquests into the four deaths revealed that officers failed to carry out basic evidence gathering. Pictured: Two of Port’s victims Gabriel Kovari (left) and Mr Whitworth (right)
Families of the four men believed homophobia played a part in the failings, but the coroner did not make her own finding on this issue.
However, she agreed with an IOPC report that suggested ‘the possibility of assumptions being made about the lifestyle of young gay men and the potential vulnerability of men cannot be ignored, and may reveal that intersectionality was present in policing in 2014/2015, and may still be’.
Ms Munro also found police leadership linked to the cases had been inadequate at inspector and sergeant level.
Last year, Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball issued an apology on behalf of the Met but rejected the families’ claim that homophobia played a part.
Families of the four men believed homophobia played a part in the failings, but the coroner did not make her own finding on this issue. Pictured: Two of Port’s victims were Anthony Walgate (left) and Jack Taylor (right)
She said: ‘We don’t see institutional homophobia. We don’t see homophobia on the part of our officers.
‘We do see all sorts of errors in the investigation, which came together in a truly dreadful way.’
Mr Waumsley said: ‘When I was let down by the Met Police because of their blatant homophobia towards the four victims that Stephen Port killed, and the inquest concluded that the Met failures ‘probably’ contributed to their deaths, I held Cressida accountable for these failures and made a statement that she should resign with immediate effect.
‘So I am glad. This will be a small justice for the four victims and I hope more resignations within the Met Police will come.’