London - A senior detective was at the centre of a police inquiry yesterday after a judge described his handling of a rape investigation as "a gross dereliction of duty".
Three men facing charges of rape and abduction, after a 17-year-old girl was allegedly forced to swallow a drug at an Essex nightclub last year, walked free from Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday after Judge Benjamin Pearson threw out the case after four days.
The judge condemned the inquiry, led by Det Insp Paul Woodward, as "grossly incompetent", and "entirely bizarre".
Last night a Scotland Yard spokeswoman confirmed that it was "aware of concerns surrounding the involvement of a senior officer in this case". She said an investigation had been launched into "allegations of breach of conduct in relation to the involvement of this officer".