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| NCA internal inquiry 'will not undermine earlier cases' | NCA internal inquiry 'will not undermine earlier cases' |
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| The National Crime Agency claims there is little prospect of completed cases being quashed despite having to launch a review into its use of warrants and production orders following the collapse of major trials. | The National Crime Agency claims there is little prospect of completed cases being quashed despite having to launch a review into its use of warrants and production orders following the collapse of major trials. |
| Related: National Crime Agency appoints Lynne Owens as director general | Related: National Crime Agency appoints Lynne Owens as director general |
| The NCA, Britain’s equivalent of the FBI, was created by Theresa May in 2013 to succeed the troubled Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca). Since then it has had its own share of problems investigating high-profile cases. | The NCA, Britain’s equivalent of the FBI, was created by Theresa May in 2013 to succeed the troubled Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca). Since then it has had its own share of problems investigating high-profile cases. |
| Last month, the agency apologised to five businessmen, including three brothers, whose offices and homes it had raided and bugged during Operation Heterodon in January. Police had suspected that the Chatwani brothers and two associates knew money launderers but had no evidence against them. | Last month, the agency apologised to five businessmen, including three brothers, whose offices and homes it had raided and bugged during Operation Heterodon in January. Police had suspected that the Chatwani brothers and two associates knew money launderers but had no evidence against them. |
| Officers arrested the men and planted bugs in their office in the hope they would return and discuss their alleged crimes. Officers also raided the men’s homes, seizing personal property. In May the divisional court ruled that the entries, searches and seizures were unlawful. The NCA has apologised to the brothers, who are suing for compensation. | Officers arrested the men and planted bugs in their office in the hope they would return and discuss their alleged crimes. Officers also raided the men’s homes, seizing personal property. In May the divisional court ruled that the entries, searches and seizures were unlawful. The NCA has apologised to the brothers, who are suing for compensation. |
| In December, an Old Bailey judge called the NCA “incompetent” after a series of blunders led to the collapse of a £5m trial following a money-laundering investigation codenamed Operation Enderby. | In December, an Old Bailey judge called the NCA “incompetent” after a series of blunders led to the collapse of a £5m trial following a money-laundering investigation codenamed Operation Enderby. |
| The judge, Wendy Joseph QC, discharged the jury in the case involving seven defendants, saying the prosecution case contained mistakes that were “beyond negligence”. Evidence had gone missing, was misleading or had not been investigated properly in the complex fraud inquiry, she said. | The judge, Wendy Joseph QC, discharged the jury in the case involving seven defendants, saying the prosecution case contained mistakes that were “beyond negligence”. Evidence had gone missing, was misleading or had not been investigated properly in the complex fraud inquiry, she said. |
| The court heard how Enderby detectives did not have the software to grab pictures from CCTV and had to take photos on their phones. | The court heard how Enderby detectives did not have the software to grab pictures from CCTV and had to take photos on their phones. |
| Announcing the review, the NCA said: “As a result of issues identified with warrants in two cases that went before the courts, Operations Heterodon and Enderby, the NCA has instigated a comprehensive review of inherited processes and standards around warrant applications, and of live cases where issues with warrants may not have been previously identified. | Announcing the review, the NCA said: “As a result of issues identified with warrants in two cases that went before the courts, Operations Heterodon and Enderby, the NCA has instigated a comprehensive review of inherited processes and standards around warrant applications, and of live cases where issues with warrants may not have been previously identified. |
| “The review is of all warrants, production orders, account monitoring orders and authorisations for searches under S18 of [the Police and Criminal Evidence Act] in all live cases. It is chaired by a member of the NCA legal team, independent from the part of the NCA which obtained the warrant and is assisted by the CPS.” | “The review is of all warrants, production orders, account monitoring orders and authorisations for searches under S18 of [the Police and Criminal Evidence Act] in all live cases. It is chaired by a member of the NCA legal team, independent from the part of the NCA which obtained the warrant and is assisted by the CPS.” |
| The review came as Buzzfeed News reported that the NCA and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are investigating every type of authorisation it ever received to raid homes, seize property, and collect telephone and banking records. | The review came as Buzzfeed News reported that the NCA and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are investigating every type of authorisation it ever received to raid homes, seize property, and collect telephone and banking records. |
| The NCA’s deputy director, Chris McKeogh, said the collapsed trials had been due to incompetence. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday: “It is a matter of record, and in those particular cases a harsh assessment but I think justified, to say that it was incompetence that sat within those two cases.” | |
| McKeogh refused to be drawn on the number of live cases that may be affected by the review. “By the time the review finishes, which I’m expecting to complete in the early part of January next year, we will have looked at in excess of 2,000 different parts of documents that may be relevant to warrants and orders,” he said. | McKeogh refused to be drawn on the number of live cases that may be affected by the review. “By the time the review finishes, which I’m expecting to complete in the early part of January next year, we will have looked at in excess of 2,000 different parts of documents that may be relevant to warrants and orders,” he said. |
| He also played down the prospect of completed cases being quashed. “The review started at the beginning of September and there has been nothing found to date that leads me, or indeed the senior panel that is doing this work with me – from the Crown Prosecution Service – to believe that we need to go back to settled cases. What we have got is, as we go through the various orders and documentation that we are finding, we are talking about small, technical, procedural flaws.” | He also played down the prospect of completed cases being quashed. “The review started at the beginning of September and there has been nothing found to date that leads me, or indeed the senior panel that is doing this work with me – from the Crown Prosecution Service – to believe that we need to go back to settled cases. What we have got is, as we go through the various orders and documentation that we are finding, we are talking about small, technical, procedural flaws.” |
| One legal expert also thought that completed cases are unlikely to be quashed. | One legal expert also thought that completed cases are unlikely to be quashed. |
| “Convictions can be upheld even when something has gone badly wrong with the process,” said Prof Michael Zander QC. “Whether completed cases are quashed usually turns on whether the court of appeal finds that there was sufficient untainted evidence to justify the conviction.” | “Convictions can be upheld even when something has gone badly wrong with the process,” said Prof Michael Zander QC. “Whether completed cases are quashed usually turns on whether the court of appeal finds that there was sufficient untainted evidence to justify the conviction.” |
| Keir Monteith, of Garden Court Chambers, who was lead counsel in the Enderby cases, disagreed and said the issue raised fundamental questions about the agency’s competence. “I’m genuinely worried about the NCA,” he said. “Following Soca, we were promised a new broom; there would be proper training and education, but nothing [could be] further from the truth. There is a sheer level of incompetence. | Keir Monteith, of Garden Court Chambers, who was lead counsel in the Enderby cases, disagreed and said the issue raised fundamental questions about the agency’s competence. “I’m genuinely worried about the NCA,” he said. “Following Soca, we were promised a new broom; there would be proper training and education, but nothing [could be] further from the truth. There is a sheer level of incompetence. |
| “We must question the safety of any convictions and this sad state of affairs will inevitably be hindering important investigations in the short to medium term. The fallout is hard to predict but the number of convictions that could be quashed might reach double figures.” | “We must question the safety of any convictions and this sad state of affairs will inevitably be hindering important investigations in the short to medium term. The fallout is hard to predict but the number of convictions that could be quashed might reach double figures.” |
| The review was announced just after Lynne Owens, the chief constable of Surrey police, was named as the new director of the agency on Thursday, making her the most senior woman in British law enforcement. | The review was announced just after Lynne Owens, the chief constable of Surrey police, was named as the new director of the agency on Thursday, making her the most senior woman in British law enforcement. |