British police are alleged to have covered up cases of child sex abuse perpetrated by VIPs over a 40-year period. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has launched 14 new inquiries into Metropolitan Police conduct.

The IPCC now has 45 investigations into alleged police cover-ups underway, all of which involve “prominent individuals” in British society.

They also share in common “allegations of corruption in the Metropolitan Police Service relating to child sex offences dating from the 1970s to the 2000s,” the IPCC said in a statement.

“They all concern allegations of suppressing evidence, hindering or halting investigations, or covering up alleged offences because of the involvement of prominent individuals or police officers.”

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The probes will be carried out by the Met’s professional standards department with the oversight of the IPCC. The watchdog said investigations were launched after allegations of corruption were leveled by former officers.

The IPCC is also running probes involving Essex and Sussex police forces.

In February, the Met dropped a controversial investigation, dubbed Operation Midland, into claims of sexual abuse by high-profile establishment figures due to a lack of evidence.

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However, detectives said Operation Midland’s central witness, known only as ‘Nick’, is still credible and that evidence to back up his claims does exist.

Nick’s testimony relates to the years between 1975 and 1984, and has implicated well-known members of the political world, including Lords Bramall and Brittan, who were not charged, but whose reputations suffered.

Critics of the investigation said the police had been taken in by fantasist whose claims are baseless.