Review into West Yorkshire Police murder case corruption

An urgent review has been launched into the conduct of West Yorkshire Police officers in relation to a murder trial in which a ‘supergrass’ is alleged to have been given special treatment because he was the main prosecution witness in a murder trial.

A review, to be overseen by West Yorkshire Police Authority, will look into whether officers took Karl Chapman, a supergrass criminal and murder trial witness, to a brothel and allowed him to take drugs given the fact that he was the main prosecution witness in relation to the case of Paul Maxwell, who along with his brother Daniel Mansell, was found guilty of the murder of 85-year-old Joe Smales in Wakefield in 1996. The verdict was reached following evidence largely given by Mr Chapman.

However, the convictions were subsequently quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2009 on the grounds they had been “procured by gross prosecutorial misconduct”. But at retrial in Leeds Crown Court in June this year, Mr Maxwell pleaded guilty to the murder of Mr Smales and was jailed for seventeen-and-a-half years.

The following month, the Supreme Court judgment was published and revealed that some officers took part in a “prolonged, persistent and pervasive conspiracy to pervert the course of justice”. This included a “variety of wholly inappropriate benefits” bestowed on Mr Chapman by officers, and also included having sex with a policewoman and socialising at officers’ homes. A number of violent crimes alleged to have been committed by Mr Chapman were also ignored by the force.

The authority said it was “extremely concerned” at the allegations that have been made.

Mark Burns-Williamson, chair of the authority, said: “Members of the authority want to know exactly who did what – and that means separating fact from unproven allegation and rumour. We have agreed as a matter of urgency to look at the conduct of any and all officers involved in this case. We have established a scrutiny sub-group of our Audit and Risk Committee to ensure we monitor progress very closely.”

As part of the inquiry, the force’s deputy chief constable, David Crompton, will conduct a review of these issues and will be giving authority members updates and providing more information about the “shocking” allegations.

“Although this case occurred many years ago (1996), I will also be seeking assurances from the force that nothing like this could ever happen today and that harsh lessons have been learnt,” added Mr Burn-Williamson.

North Yorkshire Police officers investigated the conduct of police officers and were highly critical of the force’s chief officers at the time.

Mr Crompton said in light of the criticisms that have been made, it is appropriate to re-examine the previous decisions.

The matter has also been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).