Derek Bentley (Hansard, 25 May 1972)

§ Mr. Maudling

Derek Bentley was sentenced to death in consequence of the verdict of a jury convicting him of the murder of Police Constable Miles. An appeal against that conviction was considered by the Court of Criminal Appeal but dismissed. It is not for me to review the evidence and arguments which have already been considered by the courts or to comment on the application of the legal doctrine of constructive murder. These were matters for the courts, and I cannot presume to re-try the case. I am concerned only to consider whether any material fresh evidence has come to light which was not before the courts and which might have affected the verdict, and it is on this basis that I have approached the matter.

436W

I have been fully reviewed the facts of this case in the light of Mr. Yallop's book and television production, and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has at my request made some further inquiries into those matters on which it is suggested that new or different evidence is now available. In the light of these inquiries and of my study of all the facts I have found nothing to justify any action on my part in regard to the conviction, or to warrant more extensive inquiries.

Mr. Yallop's book and play propound the theory that Police Constable Miles was accidentally killed by a bullet from a police weapon. My inquiries show this to be quite contrary to the available evidence. Statements taken in the course of the original investigation make it clear that at the time that PC Miles was shot no police officer at the scene was armed and that police weapons were sent for only after he had been shot. Five .32 calibre automatic pistols, each with eight rounds of ammunition, were then issued to police officers, and with the exception of that used by Detective Constable Fairfax all were returned unfired. The only ammunition not returned intact was the two rounds fired from that pistol after PC Miles had been wounded.

Nor can I find any basis for the doubts that have been raised as to the calibre of the fatal bullet. These appear to have been derived from an opinion attributed to Dr. Haler, the pathologist who performed the post mortem on PC Miles. He is said to have told the author that the wound could have been caused by a bullet of calibre between .32 and .38—whereas the weapon that Craig was firing was known to be a .445 revolver. Dr. Haler has been seen, and has made a statement in which he denies having expressed any such opinion. He adheres to the evidence which he gave at the trial that the wound was caused by a bullet of large calibre, and says that by this he meant a calibre of more than .38. Former Detective Constable Fairfax has also been seen and made a statement in which he adheres entirely to the evidence which he gave at the trial and to which there is nothing that he is able to add.

Apart from considering the material in Mr. Yallop's book, I have also had inquiries made into statements made independently by a Mr. Philip Lee, who 437W claims to have been an eye witness of an alleged gun battle on the roof of the warehouse in Croydon on the night in question. Mr. Lee has now made a long statement to the police describing fully what he claims to have seen, and other consequential inquiries have been made to verify the details given in this statement. My inquiries show that this account of events is so inconsistent with other available evidence that I should not be justified in taking any action upon it.

Although there are some understandable discrepancies of detail in the accounts of witnesses of the confused events on the warehouse roof, the essential facts of the shooting are clear. There is no information before me to cause me to think that the verdict of the jury was wrong.