EXCLUSIVE: Essex Police silent over allegations it is hiding important files on Jeremy Bamber murder case, as campaigners demand their publication
POLICE have refused to answer allegations that they are withholding important documents about their investigation into convicted murderer Jeremy Bamber.
The force twice failed to answer questions by the YA about claims made in a new online petition.
Campaigners have launched the petition claiming Essex Police has refused to release ’thousands of pages’ of information. Signatories are asked to call on justice minister Michael Gove to intervene. Mr Bamber, 54, was convicted in 1986 of murdering his adoptive parents, adoptive sister and her six-year-old twin sons at White House Farm in Maldon.
He was convicted on the strength of a 10-2 majority verdict and is serving a whole-life sentence.
He continues to protest his innocence and campaigners say releasing unseen documents could provide grounds for a new appeal.
In 2001 the Criminal Cases Review Commission decided there were possible grounds for appeal and referred his case to the Appeal Court, but judges upheld the conviction.
Heidi Hawkins, 53, from Jersey, a member of the Jeremy Bamber Official Campaign, said the group believes the files exist because they are referenced in documents which have been made public.
She claimed many of the unseen papers detailed the early stages of the investigation, when police believed the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide killing by Bamber’s adoptive sister Sheila.
Ms Hawkins claimed the documents were never released because the subsequent investigation into Mr Bamber was dealt with as a separate case.
The petition, launched two weeks ago, has attracted more than 400 signatures. Campaigners have also released a 99p e-book on Amazon detailing their case that Mr Bamber was wrongly convicted.
The petition states that Essex Police is refusing to release documents by citing ’public interest immunity’, meaning it claims there is no public interest in publishing them.
However, campaigners strongly disagree, saying even people who believe Mr Bamber is guilty have signed the petition, posting messages saying the information should still be made public.
Ms Hawkins said: “If they have nothing to hide then let’s see all of the information. We just want justice for Jeremy Bamber. Nobody gets a fair trial if you don’t hear half of the information.”
When the YA asked Essex Police to confirm or deny whether it was refusing to release documents, a spokesman said: “Essex Police has no comment to make on this matter, given that Jeremy Bamber’s conviction has been the subject of several appeals and reviews by the Criminal Cases Review Commission and there has never been anything to suggest that he was wrongly convicted.”
The YA again asked the force to confirm or deny the claims but the spokesman replied: “No further comment beyond our statement.”
The YA asked the Police Commissioner’s office, which has a duty to scrutinise Essex Police’s decisions, whether it would investigate the campaigners’ claims.
Deputy Commissioner Lindsay Whitehouse said: “I am aware that a petition is being circulated asking for the disclosure of documents relating to the Bamber case. We are considering the implications of the matter and are unable to comment further at this time.”
For more information, visit: http://tinyurl.com/Bamber-Petition-Page
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