Bungled shotgun case ‘cost £1m’ (From The Northern Echo)

Bungled Consett shotgun case ‘cost £1m’

8:00am Monday 20th February 2012 in Consett News By Gavin Havery, Reporter (Derwentside & Tyneside)

MORE than £1m has been spent investigating a doorstep shooting and the police failings that led to the collapse of an attempted murder trial, it was claimed last night.

Solicitor Paul Donoghue made the claim as it emerged that a two-and-a-half year investigation into Durham Police by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) had concluded that four officers have a case to answer for misconduct.

Mr Donoghue last night described the cost of the investigation as “money down the drain”.

The IPCC was called in following a complaint by Mr Donoghue, 39, after prosecutions against him and five people accused over the shooting of Joe Clarke, in Consett, County Durham, in December 2007 collapsed.

The shooting left Mr Clarke with 150 shotgun pellets in his back, but he survived the attack on the doorstep of his Fairways home.

Mr Donoghue was representing some of the suspects before he was arrested and charged with perverting the course of justice for allegedly telling his clients to “get rid of their mobile phones” – comments he denies making.

In July 2009, Deputy High Court Judge Sir Geoffrey Grigson stayed the prosecution, at Newcastle Crown Court, on the grounds of abuse of process.

The court heard a recording system officers used to monitor interviews at Consett Police Station breached Home Office guidelines and when detectives raided the home of Mr Donoghue, they read legal case files deemed confidential under lawyer-client privilege.

In the 61-page IPCC report, which has not yet been published, but has been seen by The Northern Echo, lead investigator Mark Bergmanski said: “Effectively, both criminal trials collapsed due to a failure on the part of Durham Constabulary to comply with guidance and procedures in respect of the remote monitoring of interviews and the search with regard to legally privileged material.”

In a statement, the IPCC said: “We recently shared the final investigation report with the force and with the solicitor whose home was searched.

“The IPCC has found four police officers have a case to answer for misconduct and we await a response from the force as to next steps.

“We expect to issue our findings publicly in due course.”

Mr Donoghue said the defence costs for the court case amounted to about £400,000 and said the internal police inquiry and IPCC investigation would take the cost of the failed investigation to more than £1m.

He said: “I don’t welcome the report at all. It has been a waste of two-and-half years. It is superficial. It is a rehash of the judge’s comments at the trial. There is no analysis. It is a bland statement of fact and there is no thought gone into how this could have happened.”

A spokesman for Durham Police said: “We have received the IPCC’s final report and we have to assess it and respond to the IPCC in line with the Police Reform Act. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”