John Yates ( born 17 February 1959 ) is a former Assistant Commissioner in the London Metropolitan Police Service ( 2006 – 2011 ) . As leader of the Metropolitan Police Service ( MPS ) 's Special Inquiry Squad ( often called the " Celebrity Squad " ) , Yates was dubbed " Yates of the Yard " by the British press following his involvement in a number of cases with high media profiles . Yates came to particular prominence for heading the Cash for Honours investigation . Yates also coordinated the UK police response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami , heading " Operation Bracknell " , for which he was awarded the Queen 's Police Medal in January 2006 . He resigned in July 2011 over criticism of a July 2009 review he carried out of the 2006 police investigation of the News of the World royal phone hacking scandal . He now works for the government of Bahrain advising it on reform of its security forces
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
John Yates (police officer)