Met Police finds ‘no criminal offences’ in Covid vaccine programme after anti-vaxxer complaint

Senior officer says crime reference number had been ‘widely misrepresented as evidence of a criminal investigation’

A post shared on an anti-vaxx channel on the Telegram messaging app on 4 February 2022 (Telegram)

The Metropolitan Police has found no evidence of criminal offences related to the UK’s Covid vaccination programme, following a complaint by anti-vaxxers.

Activists had made a formal complaint to the force in December, alleging crimes ranging from misconduct in public office to murder, manslaughter and “multiple breaches of The Nuremberg Code 1947”.

They then used the crime reference number generated to repeatedly claim that crimes were being committed, and encourage people to make reports across the country.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “On 20 December, a number of documents were submitted at a west London police station in support of claims that alleged people in the UK parliament and other organisations had suppressed information about the severity of health implications for those taking the Covid-19 vaccine.

“It was suggested, by the complainants, that offences including gross negligence manslaughter and misconduct in a public office may have taken place.

“Following an assessment of all the available evidence, it is clear that no criminal offences are apparent. The Metropolitan Police will not be launching a criminal investigation and no further action will be taken in relation to the allegations.”

Police said they had written to complainants informing them of the decision, following intense focus on the report by anti-vaxxers, who displayed the crime reference number on leaflets and banners at protests in London.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors added: “The vaccines in use against Covid-19 have been approved by all the relevant national and international regulatory bodies. They underwent multiple trials and were subject to stringent approval processes. They are in use in more than 100 countries.

“We have found no evidence to support any claims that information about adverse health implications is being suppressed or withheld from the public in the manner that was alleged.”

Activists had publicised their report to the Metropolitan Police, sharing a post on the Telegram encrypted messaging app claiming they had provided “significant and irrefutable evidence has been verbalised and presented”.

“Of paramount importance and as a matter of public safety we as a collective have demanded the vaccine rollout is stopped immediately and suggested an address to the nation is made by the Metropolitan Police to advise accordingly,” the post added.

The group claimed to have submitted more than 1,000 pages of “evidence” to the Metropolitan Police, and social media posts falsely reporting a criminal investigation were shared in multiple languages around the world.

The documents were said to allege crimes including: “Miisfeasance in public office, misconduct in public office, conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, conspiracy to administer a poisonous and noxious substance to cause serious harm and death, gross negligence manslaughter, corporate manslaughter, corruption, fraud, blackmail, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, terrorism, genoside, torture, crimes against humanity, false imprisonment, multiple breaches of our human rights, war crimes, multiple breaches of The Nuremberg Code 1947, multiple breaches of the Human Rights Act 1998 [all sic].”

Campaigners urged followers to contact the BBC, Sky News and other outlets in an effort to increase media coverage of the supposed investigation.

The group subsequently became increasingly frustrated, saying they were “reminding police daily” of the “demand to stop the V programme”.

On 31 December, they called for all “victims of the vaccine” to contact their local police forces individually to report crimes including grievous bodily harm.

A Telegram post urging people to report ‘crimes’ linked to Covid vaccinations using reference numbers (Telegram)

The push came amid wider efforts to disrupt the immunisation programme, seeing protests attend vaccine centres and Covid testing sites.

Ms Connors said: “In recent months, the existence of a crime reference number in relation to these allegations has been widely misrepresented as evidence of a criminal investigation or of findings of wrongdoing. That is not the case.

“There have been a number of incidents where individuals quoting this crime reference number have attended vaccination centres, hospitals and other locations in an effort to disrupt the UK’s vaccination programme. That is unacceptable.

“Staff and volunteers working in these places are doing a vitally important job and have the right to do so free from attempts to threaten, intimidate or otherwise disrupt them. Efforts to do so will not be tolerated by the Met or our partners across the country.”