Met Police chief apologises to Lord Brittan's widow for handling of investigation of allegations against him

Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has met with Lord Brittan's widow to apologise for the force's handling of rape allegations against her late husband.

ITV News correspondent Lucy Watson reports:

Speaking to the BBC, he said they had had a "private but constructive" conversation, confirming that he had offered an apology for not telling her at an early stage that her husband would not have been prosecuted for the claims against him.

He was accused of raping a 19-year-old woman known as "Jane" in 1967 - but the investigation was dropped when officers decided there was not enough evidence to secure a successful prosecution.

However, Lord Brittan had died before knowing his name had been cleared.

Lord Brittan's family have now confirmed his wife had accepted the apology. In a statement, they said:

He also addressed arguments that the police had been over-zealous in its investigations of historical allegations of sexual offences, with a number of leading public figures now cleared.

The force, and Sir Hogan-Howe, have faced criticism in particular over raiding the home of 92-year-old Lord Bramall while he was having breakfast with his terminally-ill wife.

The investigation against Lord Bramall was later dropped.

Sir Hogan-Howe said it was important to find a balance between supporting and reassuring victims, and assuring those accused that investigators would be fair.

He said the system had possibly gone too far towards automatic belief in victims as it had upset the legal principle which means prosecutors have to prove guilt, rather than expecting suspects to disprove it, and gave the illusion that investigators were not objective.

"I don't think you can just believe someone," he said.

"You tell me something, how can I believe it immediately? You have to go and test it."

He said the debate about belief had "missed the point".