Retired Met Police officers admit child sex abuse image plot

Jeremy Laxton, left, and Jack Addis, right, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Ch Insp Richard Watkinson to distribute or show indecent images of children

Two retired Met Police officers have admitted a plot to share child sexual abuse images with a serving Met chief inspector, who was later found dead.

Jeremy Laxton and Jack Addis, both 63, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Ch Insp Richard Watkinson to distribute or show indecent images of children.

They will be sentenced at a later date.

Ch Insp Watkinson, 49, was arrested in July 2021 and later found dead on the same day the Met says he was due to be charged with the conspiracy.

His body was found at his home in Buckinghamshire on 12 January.

Ch Insp Watkinson, who was suspended from duty at the time, was also due to be charged with three counts of making indecent photos of a child, voyeurism and two counts of misconduct in public office.

At Southwark Crown Court, Laxton, of Lincolnshire, also admitted three counts of making indecent photos of a child, possession of prohibited images of a child, possession of extreme pornographic images, intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence of misconduct in a public office, and possession of cannabis.

Addis formerly of Perthshire, appeared in court by video-link from HMP Dumfries where he is already serving an 18-month sentence for three counts of voyeurism and possessing indecent photographs of a child.

During the Met's investigation, thousands of images were found on a computer hard drive: 2,516 in the most serious Category A, 1,032 in Category B and 1,701 in Category C.

'Utterly betrayed'

According to the charge sheet, these included seven prohibited images of a child and 56 extreme pornographic images depicting a person having sex with an animal.

Judge Tony Baumgartner adjourned sentencing to a date to be fixed, and granted Laxton conditional bail, telling the court: "A lengthy custodial sentence is inevitable but I will extend bail again to allow him to put his life in order."

Commander Jon Savell, head of professionalism in the Met Police, said investigators described the content the men had viewed as "some of the most serious that they had ever seen".

"As a police service we strive to protect the most vulnerable members of society, especially children, and I know officers who served with them will feel utterly betrayed by their disgusting actions.

"We are sickened that they are former colleagues."

An inquest into Ch Insp Watkinson's death has been opened and adjourned. The Met said Thames Valley Police were dealing with the case and were so far treating the death as unexplained but not suspicious.

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