Fifty police officers across Britain have been arrested as part of a crackdown on suspected paedophiles who pay to access child pornography websites.
The officers are among 1,300 people arrested on suspicion of accessing or downloading indecent images of children - some as young as five - from US-based internet sites.
Thirty-four men were arrested in London as part of the investigation - codenamed Operation Ore - following raids on 45 addresses across the capital.
Of the 50 policemen identified, eight have been charged to date and the remainder bailed pending further inquiries. Scotland Yard says none of those arrested today was a policeman.
Jim Gamble, assistant chief constable of the National Crime Squad, says he is not surprised at the number of police officers among the suspects.
"Fifty police officers have been identified and we are not hiding that fact. We want you to know about that to reassure you.
"Police officers are member of the communities that they serve and there will be good people and bad people in the police."
Mr Gamble says the 50 officers are among 1,200 Britons identified as "category one or two" suspects - those who posed the greatest potential risk to children.
In addition, 40 children nationwide - 28 of them in London - have been identified as being at risk of being abused and appropriate steps have been taken to ensure all the youngsters are safe.
PA