Senior police officers failed to tell 'the whole truth' over allegations made by a former senior detective turned whistleblower, it has been claimed in an employment tribunal.
Retired officer Pete Jackson, 59, the former head of GMP's major incident team, alleges that there was a 'rotten culture of cronyism' while he was still working at the force.
He alleges he was sidelined and passed over for promotion after he blew the whistle about the destruction of human remains of Harold Shipman's victims carried out without the families' knowledge; aspects of the investigation into a suspected paedophile, and police tactics in the hunt for killer Dale Cregan.
After he retired in February 2017 after 31 years in the police, he launched an employment tribunal case against his former employer.
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Now the tribunal, which started more than two years ago, has heard allegations about the honesty of senior officers who gave evidence for GMP. GMP and the officers he has accused deny the claims made by Mr Jackson and his lawyer.
Declan O'Dempsey, making final submissions for Mr Jackson, alleged in the employment tribunal that some police bosses who had given evidence had not told 'the whole truth', citing former deputy chief constable Ian Pilling, the current head of the force review unit Martin Bottomley and former assistant chief constable Debbie Ford.
Mr O'Dempsey told the panel: "You have never got, I suggest, the whole truth from the respondent's witnesses. That's obviously a sweeping statement. You will analyse each one as a tribunal should do.
"You will look at whether Mr Pilling, Mr Bottomley or Miss Ford, whether they gave you the whole truth in their statements. Clearly some of them have not."
GMP is contesting Mr Jackson's case, and a string of senior police officers have appeared at the tribunal, often painting the whistleblower as an officer who struggled to work 'collaboratively'.
Among Mr Jackson's allegations is that the force promoted Dominic Scally, who went on to become the head of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, into a key role even though he 'did not have major crime experience' and there were 'more suitable candidates with a better investigative background'.
Mr O'Dempsey said his client 'did not have an opportunity to apply for' the post of detective superintendent in the force's major incident team.
In its defence, GMP had tried to 'deflect' the allegation about his experience by claiming Mr Scally was 'suitably qualified', Mr O'Dempsey claimed, accusing the force of a 'wholescale attack on the claimant's motives and credibility'.
Mr Jackson has alleged that Mr Scally was promoted because of his 'friendship' with Terry Sweeney, who at the time was an assistant chief constable at the force.
Mr Jackson has also alleged police watched a boy walk into the clutches of a suspected paedophile who was under surveillance.
After one of the officers on the ground expressed concern, Mr Scally, who was in charge of the op, is alleged to have said: "What we can't see, we don't know about."
The suspect was a 'top of the range offender with a proclivity to the abuse of children', said Mr O'Dempsey, who said the fact the force had not 'conceded' that it had been an allegation made in the public interest 'ought to be of considerable embarrassment' to GMP.
The force had 'failed to investigate this properly', said Mr O'Dempsey. He went on to say his client's allegation was 'deliberately ignored and in other words there was a cover up'.
The tribunal was asked to accept that Mr Bottomley, who had told the court in his evidence he thought the force's Professional Standards Branch had investigated the allegation, was 'not being a witness of truth'.
Mr O'Dempsey told the panel that there was 'never a shred of evidence... that this was the case'.
Mr Jackson has also alleged he made whistleblowing allegations about the manhunt for Dale Cregan, who went to murder two police officers after he had slaughtered two gangland rivals.
One concerned the arrest and release on police bail of Cregan after he had committed the two gangland killings without seeking a further period of detention after he had landed at Manchester Airport following a trip to Thailand.
Mr Scally, who had been in charge of the investigation, had been 'pessimistic and defeatist' in not seeking a period of further detention, said Mr O'Dempsey.
Mr Jackson has previously told the tribunal he warned senior officers about the dangers of a 'provocative' tactic of repeatedly visiting the family of Dale Cregan when he was a fugitive from the law in 2012.
Mr O'Dempsey told the tribunal his client was not in a position to investigate the number of warrants being executed but he said GMP had 'not conducted a proper investigation' into his client's claims.
He said the force was claiming Mr Jackson was motivated by 'professional jealousy' and had been 'dishonestly sniping', and that such arguments were incorrect and irrelevant.
Mr Jackson alleged his concern in the Cregan case was shared by fellow officers and also a forensic psychologist who was assisting the investigation, Adrian West, who had warned Cregan might 'react like a psychopath'.
Mr O'Dempsey said that the force's argument was that 'everyone knew Cregan was a psychopath' and that it didn't require Dr West to confirm it, with the lawyer adding that any 'reasonable person' could see that an 'aggressive approach' was 'likely to lead to risk'.
The information received by his client 'wasn't mere gossip without foundation' but there were 'points of real concern being brought to the attention of senior officers', said Mr O'Dempsey.
The tribunal has heard glowing testimonials for Mr Jackson from lower ranking officers, although some senior officers have said he was difficult to work with. A previous boss of the north west counter terror unit, Russ Jackson, said the whistleblower was 'dogmatic, uncompromising and abusive'.
Mr Jackson says one of the 'detriments' he suffered as a result of his disclosure was an internal force email sent out by the then chief constable Peter Fahy in March 2014 after the police watchdog published a press release saying it was investigating allegations by a whistleblower it didn't name.
Mr O'Dempsey alleged that Sir Peter, in his evidence to the tribunal, had given 'interesting and evasive' evidence when he was asked what endorsements he had made in support of the whistleblower coming forward.
The top cop had only given a 'general endorsement' of scrutiny and a transparent process, said Mr O'Dempsey.
Although his email had asked staff not to speculate about the identity of the whistleblower, it had 'created a very uncomfortable situation' for his client.
Mr O'Dempsey also alleged that there was no evidence to support Sir Peter's assertion in his evidence that he had wanted to bring in an outside force to investigate the allegations, claiming this was 'really odd'.
Another alleged 'detriment' came when Sir Pete urged members of his senior leadership team to sign a card for ACC Sweeney as he had been 'going through a hard time', the tribunal was told.
Mr O'Dempsey said the card represented Sir Peter 'showing support' for Sweeney, who had been forced to step aside from his secondment to the Hillsborough inquiry after he had been named in the press release issued by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Mr O'Dempsey alleged the watchdog had believed the card 'might have shown bias' by Sir Peter.
The lawyer went on: "The idea that the complainant was not walking on eggshells during this time is one that should not enter the heads of the tribunal because plainly he had done something very stressful, the first serving officer to make to make this type of disclosure and there was a lot of concern about it within the force."
Greater Manchester Police and the officers Mr Jackson has made allegations against deny any wrongdoing.
Proceeding
Read more
- GMP bosses were warned about 'dangerous, provocative' tactic in hunt for Dale Cregan weeks before he murdered PCs, retired officer claims
- Did 'gang bosses' escape because cops were squabbling?
- Retired officer 'vindicated' after top GMP boss served with gross misconduct when human remains of Harold Shipman's secretly destroyed, tribunal hears
- 'Rotten culture of cronyism' to blame for GMP failings, retired officer claims
- Whistleblower slams 'whitewash' report clearing GMP of corruption
- GMP kept aborted foetus in freezer for three years without the mother’s knowledge
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