Overseas police unit may be set up

Scotland Yard is drawing up proposals for a team of officers to specialise in foreign assignments. The department would include detectives, forensic experts, counter-terrorism officers and linguists.

The plans come as British police forces are increasingly drawn into testing inquiries across the globe.

Scotland Yard is held in high regard by many foreign governments despite blows to its reputation at home in the wake of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. But foreign investigations are often politically-sensitive and expensive with no agreed guidelines on who foots the bill.

Last month officers from Scotland Yard travelled to Pakistan to investigate the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Detectives also flew to Jamaica after the mysterious death of cricket coach Bob Woolmer and assisted the Portuguese authorities in their hunt for Madeleine McCann.

Commander Dave Johnston, head of Scotland Yard's murder and serious crime unit, has held talks with Home Office officials on the plans.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We can confirm Commander Dave Johnston has been in initial discussions with the Home Office regarding a proposal for a national investigative team who would be deployed, when requested by the source country, to overseas criminal investigations.

"This discussion and proposal is at a very early stage and no decisions have yet been made."

In 2004, Scotland Yard shelved plans to re-establish a dedicated war crimes unit because of financial concerns.

At that time members of the Metropolitan Police Authority, the force watchdog, said any specialist unit should receive extra national funding.