Met officer 'failed to pass on acid attack CCTV'

A police officer who allegedly failed to pass on images of a suspected acid attacker is under investigation.

The Met Police detective was investigating an acid attack in March 2017 in north London in which a woman suffered hand and leg injuries.

The officer obtained CCTV footage of the incident but allegedly did not circulate it until 20 months later.

The suspect was identified as Xeneral Webster, who went on to commit a second attack, killing a 47-year-old woman.

Xeneral Webster was jailed for the manslaughter of Joanne Rand who died after being splashed with acid

In June 2017, during an argument with a man in High Wycombe, Webster took out a bottle of acid which splashed 47-year-old bystander Joanne Rand head-to-toe.

She died of her injuries 11 days later.

Webster was jailed for 17 years for Ms Rand's manslaughter in July.

Ms Rand's family believe she would not have been attacked if Webster had been dealt with at the time.

In a statement, the family said: "Had this acid attack in March 2017 been investigated properly at the time, Webster... would have been dealt with and may not have been free to carry out the horrific attack in June 2017 on Jo and she may still be with us."

They added: "We feel very concerned for the lady who was the victim of this (original) attack. We feel let down by the Metropolitan Police."

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it was investigating the police officer in a gross misconduct case, for alleged breaches of professional standards relating to his duties and responsibilities.