EXCLUSIVE: Former cop named in Met Police corruption report 'Operation Tiberius' admits invo

ADMISSIONS: Former cop Simon Pinchbeck admits previous involvement with crime gangs during sermons

A FORMER cop suspected of being linked to top-level gangsters in a secret Met Police corruption report says he now preaches about his criminal past to steer others onto the straight and narrow.

Simon Pinchbeck, 60, openly admits at churches and community centres once being involved in organised crime and illegal debt collecting.

We can reveal he was one of 42 Met Police officers named in the secret Operation Tiberius report as being suspected of aiding crime syndicates while serving on the force.

He now describes himself online as a "copper turned Criminal turned christian" and gives sermons about his fall into crime after 23 years as a PC.

Mr Pinchbeck said on email: "I tell people about my past so they can understand the difference that Jesus Christ has made in my life and that maybe Jesus can be their Lord and saviour as he is mine."

TOP SECRET: Simon Pinchbeck is named in the Tiberius report seen by this website

The Tiberius report was produced in 2002 after concerns were raised within the force that investigations into top criminals were being compromised from within by corrupt officers.

Tiberius concluded top-level criminals involved in drug trafficking and money laundering could "infiltrate the Met at will" thanks to suspected corrupt police and former officers.

It identified a string of suspected serving and former officers who were believed to be in the pockets of organised criminals.

Intelligence in Operation Tiberius was based on information form police informants, surveillance, undercover operations and secret recordings.

Most of it has not been tested in court, so it is not known if the allegations are true.

Tiberius also gave a series of recommendations on how to clean up the force and target the suspected bent coppers and crime lords.

However, last year former Met Police detectives claimed the report was instead "buried" by the force and recommendations to clamp down on organised crime-linked corruption were not delivered.

It led to calls for an inquiry, into links between police corruption and criminals across the country.

Despite recommendations to target crime groups and their helpers, retired detectives claimed officers suspected of corruption were allowed to retire or move departments.

Although Tiberius recommended further investigations into Mr Pinchbeck and the syndicate, there is no record of him ever being charged over any corruption.

GANGSTER? David Hunt had links to the syndicate Simon Pinchbeck was 'involved with' said Tiberius

Tiberius said the syndicate Mr Pinchbeck was allegedly involved with had links to David Hunt, 57, from Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, who in 2013 a High Court judge said was the head of on organised criminal network, and the late celebrity gangster Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw whose life was told in the true crime book Pretty Boy.

One former Met detective said: "A former policeman suspected of serious corruption by police openly admits he went on to have a lucrative career as a criminal when he was already on the Met's radar and nothing seemed to happen.

"There needs to be an inquiry into how this could happen."

Operation Tiberius said Mr Pinchbeck, from Takeley, Essex, was suspected alongside former PC Julian Connor, 63, of aiding a "high-echelon" east London crime gang believed to importing drugs and run protection rackets through a security firm that provided door staff and bodyguards for boxers and A-list musicians.

CHRISTIAN: Simon Pinchbeck giving a sermon that is available to view on YouTube

Mr Pinchbeck's own sermons say he moved into crime after retiring from the force.

At no point does he say that he helped organised criminals while still on the force, and he denies this.

The married father-of-two says he left the force after being found not guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of assaulting an off duty policeman in a nightclub.

He said he became a "scumbag" after getting in with criminals in the David Lloyd sports club in Chigwell, Essex.

Quoted in a piece about him on Newlifepublishing.co.uk, he said: "I was enjoying the company of villains and started off with debt collecting.

“We smashed into places and took more cash in a night than I could earn in three years.

"I moved into a tougher firm of guys. The money was good."

He was ultimately scammed by the crooks, who got him to invest in a dodgy scheme, and lost the lot.

With "murderous revenge" on his mind, he realised he would end up in a "shallow grave or prison," before "finding God" and leaving crime behind.

Jailed: David Buisson was jailed last year over a luxury homes burglary spree

According to Tiberius, one of they key criminals Mr Pinchbeck was allegedly linked to was David Buisson, 49, from Ongar, Essex.

Last year Buisson was sentenced at Basildon Crown Court to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to stealing nearly £1 million during 11 burglaries and two attempted ones at luxury homes.

Tiberius said in 1998 it became clear members of the gang knew they were under surveillance.

The report said Mr Connor, then a PC at Enfield, and Mr Pinchbeck had five and ten professional complaints against them respectively but they were dealt with informally or withdrawn.

The Tiberius report suggested the pair tried to frustrate a criminal investigation into the syndicate for fear of it affecting a business deal.

According to Tiberius, by August 1998 Mr Connor began doing internal checks on the investigation into the syndicate linked to Buisson and told a colleague "they could do without police interest as they were expecting a big security contract."

Mr Pinchbeck, while suspended from the force, later called the investigation team to ask about the probe, and reiterated it could "jeopardise the contract," the report said.

In October 1998 police searched the home of a gang member, seizing a list of the security company's employees that included Mr Pinchbeck and a third serving officer not suspected of corruption.

The Met anti-corruption group then launched Operation Gerah into Mr Connor and Mr Pinchbeck's alleged criminal links.

Tiberius said in June 2000 intelligence was received that Mr Pinchbeck "had coffee most mornings" with Buisson in Cafe H'Art in Loughton, Essex.

It also emerged Mr Connor was believed to work the door at Epping Forest Country Club near Chigwell and other doors for the firm, while a police officer, the report said.

Due to some former Met Police stations moving over to Essex Police under boundary changes, Tiberius said Mr Connor then began to contact the neighbouring force allegedly to gather intelligence for the syndicate.

Neither Mr Pinchbeck or Mr Connor have faced any charges in connection with their suspected links to the gang, which have not been proven in court.

However, in May 2003, Mr Connor faced prosecution over unrelated alleged corruption offences.

He appeared at Southwark Crown Court where he denied 11 charges of unlawfully obtaining personal details of individuals through a criminal intelligence system and passing information to two north London landlords who successfully obtained pub licences.

He was acquitted after his barrister argued the prosecution had not proved all the individuals were still alive, and therefore not covered by data protection.

STAGGERED: Labour MP Paul Flynn could not believe what he saw in Tiberius

Labour MP Paul Flynn is one of just two MPs, former members of the Home Affairs Select Committee, to view Tiberius.

He said: "What is contained in there is staggering. I would welcome an inquiry by the committee to find out if corruption like this is still in our police forces."

Mr Connor was unavailable for comment.

Mr Pinchbeck added on email: "At no time was I ever investigated about any alleged crime connected with any organised crime ring - either before or after I had left the police."

We contacted the other officer named as an employee of the crime group.

He said: "I didn't work for them. Near to retirement I went to a meeting about a possible US security business opportunity. Simon Pinchbeck was there all tanned with gold jewellery. I didn't really like the people around the table and decided against it.

"I had no idea they were suspected of organised crime."

NO COMMENT: The Met Police will not discuss specific allegations made in Tiberius

The Met refused to answer specific questions about Tiberius.

Asked about Mr Pinchbeck's criminal admissions in his sermons, a spokesman said: "When an allegation of crime is reported, it is investigated where appropriate. We do not identify people who may or may not be under investigation."

He added: "We are not prepared to discuss in public the details of Operation Tiberius.

"By its very nature it is a secret document that details the threat of corruption to police employees posed by serious and organised criminals.

"The passage of time does nothing to reduce the very real risks to anti-corruption tactics, intelligence sources or current operations.

"The dedicated Anti-Corruption Command, part of the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards, proactively investigates any allegations or intelligence relating to either corrupt police officers and staff and those that may seek to corrupt our officers staff.

"All such allegations and intelligence are taken extremely seriously and any lessons learnt from resulting investigations are used to further our efforts to reduce the likelihood of such offences occurring in the future."

Syndicate 'linked to David Hunt and gangster Roy 'Pretty Boy' Shaw,' said Tiberius

PRETTY BOY: The late gangster Roy Shaw 'interfered' in a police investigation said Tiberius

WHEN DC Williams of Essex Police was approached by a Met Police PC at Loughton police station and told an old friend he could not remember was asking after him, he thought little of it.

But the penny of the "veiled threat" dropped when colleague DC Graham Moore explained who the "old friend Simon Pinchbeck" was.

The powerful crime group Mr Pinchbeck was allegedly aiding had links to alleged crime boss David Hunt, the late celebrity gangster Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw, and even a source at a national newspaper who carried out "ex-directory checks," according to Tiberius.

At the time, in October 2001, DC Williams was investigating the stabbing of a known criminal at Epping Forest Country Club, owned by Mr Hunt.

In 2013 a High Court judge concluded Mr Hunt was the head of an organised crime network as he lost a libel case against another national newspaper which had exposed him.

The Tiberius report said earlier in February 2001 PC Julian Connor had contacted Mr Moore at Essex Police intelligence unit in Loughton.

It was just days after the nightclub stabbing in question.

LUXURY: Epping Forest Country Club was owned by David Hunt at the time of the Tiberius report

Tiberius said Mr Connor said he had "source information" that could help the investigation.

But, he ended up "asking more than he gave up" and was "privy to information that only the investigation team would know", Mr Moore said, according to the report.

"He failed to answer any question I put to him and was only interested in what I might tell him," Mr Moore told corruption investigators.

Tiberius said Mr Connor knew that the now late celebrity gangster Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw had gone to the club after the stabbing to "interfere with the investigation," something "only the investigation team knew."

Referring to the October incident, the report said: "As Pinchbeck is an associate of PC Connor and a possible go between for the suspects the officer deemed the approach as a form of veiled threat."

Another shocking claim in Tiberius is that one police officer was suspected of passing information to a female gang member he was sleeping with and was due to be arrested.

However, it is not clear if he ever was.