Former Met Police deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick has accused the Met Police of promoting a media culture where ‘corruption can flourish”.

In a witness statement to the Leveson Inquiry, Paddick claimed the Met knew the extent of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal six years ago but did nothing about contacting the hundreds of victims. And he painted a picture of a Met Police culture where negative stories had been covered up, the public misled and senior officers sought to ‘befriend’the press with negative consequences.

He has also revealed for the first time that Met officers may have leaked some of the most sensitive information the force has to News of the World private investigator Glenn Mulcaire – details of those in witness protection.