Police chief issues partial apology over Lawrence whistleblower documents

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/14/police-chief-apology-lawrence-whistleblower-documents

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A police chief has issued a partial apology over his attempt to force Channel 4 to hand over documents about a whistleblower who revealed how undercover officers infiltrated the campaign to bring the killers of Stephen Lawrence to justice.

Mick Creedon, Derbyshire's chief constable, denied an accusation from Doreen Lawrence, Stephen's mother, that he had used "strongarm, threatening tactics" against the broadcaster, insisting that his intentions were "genuinely well-meant".

But Creedon did not say whether he was continuing with his legal attempt to compel C4 to give him copies of all its correspondence with whistleblower Peter Francis, along with any notes and unedited video footage.

He said he had to seek the material from the broadcaster as Francis was unwilling to speak to the inquiry he is leading into alleged misconduct by an undercover unit that spied on political campaigners for 40 years.

"Clearly, Mr Francis's unwillingness to speak to the investigation team as a witness means that I have sought all possible ways to establish what he is alleging and clearly the fact that Mr Francis has been interviewed by media outlets means they may hold relevant information."

Francis has not spoken to Creedon's inquiry as he believes police have been threatening him with the Official Secrets Act. Creedon added: "If there is a perception of Operation Herne [the name of his inquiry] using 'strongarm' tactics, this was never the intention and I apologise to anyone who saw a genuinely well-meant approach to gain further information in a negative way."

He made his apology on Tuesday after the Guardian disclosed that he wanted Channel 4 to give him the material about a Dispatches programme last June as he was investigating whether a breach of the Official Secrets Act and other offences had occurred.

In that programme, Francis had revealed how he and other undercover officers had been asked to find information to discredit the campaign by Stephen Lawrence's family and their supporters for a proper investigation into his murder by a racist gang in 1993. The programme was made in collaboration with the Guardian.

It was one of a series of revelations in the last four years from the whistleblower about his former unit, which planted undercover officers in political groups between 1968 and 2008.

Imran Khan, Doreen Lawrence's lawyer, said: "Doreen Lawrence and I are astonished that the police are employing such strongarm, threatening tactics against someone who has exposed, on the face of it, serious misconduct in a public institution."

He added that the legal demand "further treats Francis as a potential criminal when he should be treated as a public-spirited individual exposing wrongdoing."

Khan added: "Peter Francis has already put on record what he believes took place and, therefore, the demand for notes from the programme makers suggests that Creedon's team are trying to unearth material to undermine him. What other motive could there be?"

"The threat of criminal action against Francis simply supports the suspicion that Doreen and I had when these allegations first surfaced that the police would not want such conduct in the public eye.

"That is why Doreen Lawrence called for a public inquiry into these allegations – so that Francis can give his evidence in public without the threat of criminal action hanging over him and the police can give their side of the story. Only then can we really get to the bottom of what happened." In response to Doreen Lawrence's accusations, Creedon said there "was never an intention to use any 'strongarm' tactics to seek information from the producers of the Channel 4 Dispatches programme, the Guardian or any other media outlet."

He added:"My overriding aim is to answer as many questions as possible on behalf of the Lawrence family and others who are naturally concerned by these allegations."

He said he is "seeking to establish the truth about a number of serious allegations including those made by Peter Francis".

His inquiry is examining a raft of alleged wrongdoing by the undercover unit, the Special Demonstration Squad, including sexual relationships formed by the spies and their use of fake identities in court. The allegations have been made by a variety of campaigners, MPs and lawyers.

Creedon added: "The inquiry has simply sought to get as much information as possible to properly investigate these matters."

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