Notice the wording of the second answer. It evades the question of whether or not the Thames Valley Police searched the bridleway before or after PC Franklin drove a Police Land Rover up the track.
My reading of the evidence given to the Hutton Inquiry by PC Franklin is that the Thames Valley Police had driven at least one vehicle up the bridleway / track before any SOCO arrived at the scene.
Thus, potentially, destroying important evidence of the presence of a second party near the scene where David Kelly's body was found.
Presumably the Detective Inspector referred to in the second answer is DI Ashley Smith.
My questions are in italics within the quoted text.
Dear Dr Watt
Reference No: RFI2010000731
Thank you for your request for information dated 26/10/2010 which for clarity I have repeated below with our response to each point.
What steps the Police took to identify and secure forensic evidence of footprints on the Common Access Path prior to the Pathologist seeing Dr. David Kelly's body on 18th July 2003?
The common approach path was searched as were other routes to the scene. Footprints on the bridleway were photographed and casts were made of their impressions.
What steps the Police took to look for and secure forensic evidence of vehicle tracks on the bridleway close to the scene where Dr. David Kelly's body was found, prior to any Police vehicles accessing the track?
The bridleway was checked by the Senior Scenes of Crime Officer and a Detective Inspector.
Please contact me quoting the above reference number if you would like to discuss this matter further.
Andrew
ReplyDeleteYour questions were clear and concise enough, I think there is a degree of embarrassment on the part of TVP regarding your second question. PC Franklin evidently didn't consider he was destroying possible forensic evidence when he drove the Land Rover up the track.
It seems to me that there was a certain lack of urgency on the part of the police on the morning of the 18th. I don't know how long it would have taken to mobilise the SOCOs or indeed where they were based but I would like to know when they and an Inspector turned up at Harrowdown Hill. PC Franklin couldn't have got back to his vehicle before 10.20 in my estimation and I would have thought someone in a senior capacity might have turned up by then.