Police chief backs claim paper held secret interview with murder suspect

The chief constable of Suffolk Police has told the Leveson inquiry that there is evidence to back up claims that a newspaper picked up a suspect in the "Suffolk strangler" serial murder case to be interviewed away from police surveillance.

Giving evidence to the inquiry today, Simon Ash said he had made inquiries about the claim, made by retired criminal investigator Dave Harrison, who was working on the 2006 serial murder investigation.

Harrison said in his witness statement to the inquiry last week that colleagues had watched a suspect - who turned out not to be the murderer - be picked up and driven around by a team of people, before dropping him off at a hotel to be interviewed.

He told the inquiry that the Sunday Mirror had "some sort of capability that allowed them to pick up the suspect and get him to a place where they could debrief him without us being able to follow them".

Chief constable Ash said he was not working at the force in 2006, when the "Suffolk strangler" case had intense press coverage.

However, he told the Leveson inquiry today: "On the assertion that a newspaper picked up a suspect and took them to a hotel and interviewed them while under police surveillance, I have been able to find information to support that."

Last week's comments by Harrison were denied by Sunday Mirror crime reporter Justin Penrose, who told the inquiry last week: "Sorry if I appear flippant, but I almost laughed out loud when I heard that quote."

Desmond Browne QC, counsel for Trinity Mirror, also dismissed last week's claim by Harrison as "unsourced hearsay", adding: "My clients, it was suggested, had put a Sunday Mirror surveillance team on to the police, who were in turn surveying Mr Stevens. There clearly was no surveillance team."

On the claim, also made by Harrison at the Leveson inquiry last week, that the News of the World spied on police, Ash said there was no evidence to support or contradict the claim.

He said today: "Having made inquiries over the last week I've not been able to find any information to support the first assertion, that the News of the World were deploying surveillance teams."

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