18 Jul R v Mouncher: Prosecution of 13 police officers “embarrassment on a national scale” says independent Horwell Report
The independent investigation by Richard Horwell QC into the collapse of the R v Mouncher trial of 13 police officers has found a catalogue of disclosure errors amounting to an “embarrassment on a national scale” and “a disclosure catastrophe”. The investigation importantly found that one document had almost certainly been shredded by the prosecution.
Severe criticisms were made of the CPS for inadequately managing the prosecution and the very serious repercussions this had with the failure of the prosecution.
The R v Moucher trial followed the wrongful conviction of three men for the murder of Lynette White in 1990. Evidence was uncovered that police officers had fabricated evidence against the three original defendants. The officers were charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in what was the largest police corruption trial in British history. The prosecution collapsed following CPS failings highlighted in today’s report.
Matthew Gold, solicitor for Stephen Miller, one of the original defendants whose conviction for murder was quashed, commented “Mr Miller thanks Mr Horwell QC for his detailed and frank report. The investigation has revealed that the prosecution team was responsible for numerous serious failures including the shredding of an important document. This resulted in the police officer defendants walking free and not even having to defend their actions in court. This is a terrible and inexcusable failure by the criminal justice system and the State.”
Matthew Gold continues to represent Mr Miller and has given interviews about the report to several media outlets (click links below for available content):
BBC Radio Wales (1 hr 5 mins in)
For comment or quotes please contact Matthew Gold & Company Solicitors:
- 0208 445 9268
- london@matthewgold.co.uk