The police watchdog admits it risks being ‘overwhelmed’ by the soaring number of allegations that corrupt cops covered up child sex-abuse rings.

Shocking figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday reveal that more than 150 investigations are under way into claims that officers protected VIP paedophiles, ignored grooming gangs and even took advantage of young people themselves.

They include the repeated missed opportunities to prosecute Labour politician Greville Janner for preying on boys in care, and accusations against former Prime Minister Ted Heath that were never properly probed.

More than 150 investigations are under way into claims that officers protected VIP paedophiles, including missed opportunities to prosecute Labour politician Greville Janner, (right) and accusations against former Prime Minister Ted Heath (left) that were never properly probed

In a previously unseen report, the Independent Police Complaints Commission reveals that many more allegations could be made as forces go back over their old files, even though many of those accused have long since retired or died.

The massive rise in cases could leave the IPCC unable to deal with other types of misconduct allegations against serving police without extra money on top of the £30 million funding boost it received last year, which would anger chief constables and crime tsars whose budgets are being squeezed.

Its new strategy on handling ‘police conduct matters relating to child abuse’, quietly published this month and seen by this newspaper, states: ‘The IPCC could face criticism if it is perceived as focusing on events which happened in the past at the expense of investigating current issues.

‘Despite the IPCC’s expansion, it is possible that as more forces complete their own reviews of practice the IPCC will become overwhelmed with referrals which cannot all be independently investigated or managed owing to capacity.’

Figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday show that the IPCC is currently handling 155 investigations into child-abuse allegations, across 12 police forces.

Most are being investigated by the IPCC itself but in others cases it is managing local forces’ probes.

The largest number – 54 – are in Essex, which include claims that officers failed to look into reports of historic abuse.

There are another 51 cases concerning South Yorkshire Police, where officers in Rotherham are accused of standing by while gangs of mainly Asian men groomed and abused vulnerable teenage girls.

Figures obtained by The Mail on Sunday show that the IPCC is currently handling 155 investigations into child-abuse allegations, across 12 police forces

South Yorkshire crime tsar Shaun Wright was forced out of his job because he had been the town council’s head of children’s services when an estimated 1,400 girls were abused.

A further 31 IPCC cases concern the Metropolitan Police, many of which revolve around damaging allegations that senior figures in Scotland Yard blocked investigations into paedophile rings in order to protect high-profile politicians.

The late Sir Peter Morrison, an aide to Margaret Thatcher when she was in Downing Street, is said to have got away with abusing teenage boys in public lavatories on at least two occasions because of a high-level cover-up.

Wiltshire Police is at the centre of allegations that it failed to investigate former Prime Minister Ted Heath for sex offences in the 1990s, and former Leicestershire Police officers face scrutiny for the failure to prosecute Labour politician Lord Janner before he was finally charged with child sex offences last year.

He died before they could be heard in court.

Four forces have already faced investigation over their alleged failures to properly investigate Jimmy Savile when he was still alive

Other cases concern forces in Avon and Somerset, Cleveland, Greater Manchester, Northamptonshire, the West Midlands, Cambridgeshire and Sussex.

Four forces have already faced investigation over their alleged failures to properly investigate Jimmy Savile when he was still alive.

Rachel Cerfontyne, deputy chair of the IPCC, said: ‘We are conducting investigations into a range of allegations affecting 12 police forces to date and some of these are high-profile matters, involving a large number of investigations into a single force.’

But Adam Simmonds, Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire, said: ‘I will not give any more money to the current incarnation of the IPCC because I do not think they are competent to carry out the current level of demand to the required standard.’

Detective: I was told to ignore ‘meat rack’ VIPs during paedophile probe

Former Chief Inspector Howard Groves was investigating a West End paedophile ring with alleged links to MPs and TV stars in the 1980s

A Scotland Yard detective claims he was told to ignore VIPs during a paedophile probe now being investigated by the police watchdog.

Former Chief Inspector Howard Groves, who served in the murder squad during a distinguished 34-year career, was investigating a West End paedophile ring with alleged links to MPs and TV stars in the 1980s.

Detectives found that boys as young as 14 were being supplied to men in Piccadilly Circus in an area known by the boys as ‘the meat rack’.

Mr Groves, now 58, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I remember we were called to a meeting [and] told by a senior officer that if we found any establishment figures involved, the investigation would be stopped.’ Names of MPs, celebrities and businessmen did surface during the inquiry – though Mr Groves, who retired in 2014, wasn’t privy to them – and 25 men were convicted.

The operation was led by Met Commander Trevor Lloyd-Hughes, who died in 1986 amid claims of soliciting male prostitutes.

Mr Groves said: ‘The command not to investigate establishment figures was relayed by a senior officer and I believe must have come from Lloyd-Hughes.’

Mr Groves’s claim is one of 31 allegations of Met corruption relating to child sex offences that the Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating.