Lynette White case: ex-policemen accused of making up evidence

Eight former officers accused of conspiring to pervert course of justice after wrongful convictions The case against eight former police officers accused of conspiring to “mould, manipulate, influence and fabricate evidence” after the murder of a woman who was working as a prostitute has been opened. One of the former officers is also charged with lying under oath during the trials of five men who were accused of murdering Lynette White in Cardiff in 1988. Two civilians are also in the dock at Swansea crown court accused of lying during those trials. The case, which is believed to be the biggest trial of police officers in British legal history, could last six months. White, 20, was stabbed to death at a flat in the docks area of Cardiff in February 1988. Stephen Miller, Yusef Abdullahi and Tony Paris were convicted of her murder in 1990 but freed on appeal in 1992. Two other men, cousins Ronnie and John Actie, were acquitted. The former police officers, Graham Mouncher, Richard Powell, Thomas Page, Michael Daniels, Paul Jennings, Paul Stephen, Peter Greenwood and John Seaford, deny conspiring to pervert the course of justice. Mouncher, a former detective inspector, also denies two charges of perjury. The two civilians, Violet Perriam and Ian Massey, each deny two charges of perjury. According to the charge sheet read out to the jury, the eight former officers made up evidence “relevant to the investigation of the murder of Lynette White” and the “alleged culpability” of the five men arrested over the killing. Perriam is accused of falsely claiming that she saw John Actie and others at or near the scene of the murder. Massey is alleged to have falsely claimed that Tony Paris had confessed to involvement in White’s murder. Mouncher allegedly lied in court about offering to assist Massey with parole as an inducement. After the jury was sworn in, the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, warned it not to take notice of media reporting of the current trial or historic ones. He also told them not to talk about the case with their family or with anyone else via Facebook or Twitter. Nick Dean QC, prosecuting, said aspects of the case were unusual and complex. He told the jury that a trial of four others accused of conspiring to pervert the course of justice was likely to follow this one. It had not been possible to try them at the same time for practical reasons. The trial continues. Crime Police Wales Cardiff Steven Morris guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 6, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.