I know from very good sources that Lady Brittan, Leon’s widow, tells that the only time Hogan Howe's composure slipped, when he visited her to make the mealy mouthed apology for the behaviour of his force, was when, having asked to see her copy of the search warrant, he turned white and began to shake. As he left the words resignation matter were muttered. She looked at the warrant and saw it was for property owned by Leon Brittan, who was dead. Dead people cannot own property.

You might think this a small detail, a minor mistake.

But obviously Hogan Howe realised it was far more serious than that.

In his cover letter Henriques calls it the most serious error in Operation Midland and others.

As a matter of interest I suspect the cover letter was not intended to be given to the media. Yet another example of police incompetence - as brilliantly described recently by Matthew Parris in The Times.

Five top cops have been suspended from the Met because of this. I think it is actually a far more institutionalised police epidemic. Routine discipline has been ignored.

I think, at this moment, hundreds of wrongly convicted men and women may be examining their copies of the Search Warrants and demanding copies of the applications for them. Because they may well contaminate the entire prosecutions.

I bet you something else. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Because a small detail is incredibly serious but how about, instead of a minor mistake which in itself warrants suspension, there has been deliberate misleading of a judge? Lying in the application? And even forgery of paperwork? Presenting a search warrant that has not actually been signed or granted by a judge?

I reckon that goes further than a disciplinary error. It becomes a criminal act. And one which, I suspect happens frequently all over Great Britain.

An anonymous tip off being the reason for granting a search warrant? These days all phone calls are recorded but I wonder how many anonymous tip offs accidentally were not recorded.

And I am equally certain that, after arrest before investigation, part of Henriques' condemnation of You Will Be Believed and Credible And True, when retired transport cops, family liaison officers and traffic wardens are hired back at huge expense to us tax payers to investigate historical allegations, the poor old farts dragged to the front line have forgotten how to behave.

How many elderly ex football players are currently being called up - phone calls recorded by both parties naturally - and, instead of being asked whether they once were coached by Bill Smith, are nudged into making claims by the indication of what is being alleged (grooming) and then, even, directly told to join a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice with a possible pot of compensation gold at the end of Bungles Rainbow.

Police behaviour long ago turned from bungling to criminal activity.

And now we see that far more police than Top of the Pops DJs or soccer coaches are sexually abusing people.

Is anybody surprised?