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Police misconduct case scrapped

15/ 6/2006

A DETECTIVE who was "out of his depth" investigating serial killer Harold Shipman will not face disciplinary action.

Detective Inspector David Smith, 49, will avoid misconduct proceedings following a probe by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

It said despite questions over his "honesty and integrity," the breaches may be difficult to prove.

The detective was criticised during the Shipman Inquiry for failing to properly investigate the GP after concerns were raised in March 1998 by fellow doctors in Hyde.

Shipman went on to kill two more women before he was put behind bars six months later.

The Shipman report, written by Dame Janet Smith in July 2003, concluded their lives could have been saved by a "properly directed" police investigation, but said DI Smith - who was in charge of the operation - was "out of his depth".

The officer played down the seriousness of the initial allegations about Shipman, then lied to deflect criticism, Dame Janet said.

The CPS later decided there was "insufficient evidence" to prosecute him.

The North West's IPCC commissioner, Naseem Malik, said: "I accept this decision may be upsetting to the families of Harold Shipman's victims and the wider public who have followed this case closely.

"The IPCC has the power to direct the force to undertake misconduct proceedings but, having carefully considered all the evidence available and the arguments put forward by Greater Manchester Police, it has agreed that a disciplinary hearing is highly unlikely to prove the breaches of conduct."

Shipman, who killed 250 patients, hanged himself in his cell at Wakefield prison in January 2004.