BRITAIN: The British Home Secretary, Mr David Blunkett, has ordered the suspension of Humberside Chief Constable David Westwood after a devastating report on the handling of police intelligence about Soham child killer Ian Huntley. Frank Millar reports from London.
Mr Blunkett used new powers to take the unprecedented step after Sir Michael Bichard reported "deeply shocking . . . errors, omissions, failures and shortcomings" in vetting procedures that allowed Huntley to get his job as a school caretaker.
Describing the "massive failures" and "fundamentally flawed" procedures that allowed Huntley to kill Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, Sir Michael stopped short of demanding Mr Westwood's resignation.
But in a statement to MPs, Mr Blunkett endorsed his view that the chief constable "must take personal responsibility" for failures in the Humberside force which Sir Michael said had been "systemic and corporate".
Mr Blunkett said: "It is Sir Michael's view that the final responsibility for these serious failures rests with the chief constable David Westwood. It is difficult to disagree with this.
"The strength of the report's criticism of him has led me to conclude that, using the powers available to me . . . I should require Humberside Police Authority to suspend Mr Westwood."
However, despite Sir Michael's acknowledgement that he could not be "confident it was Huntley alone who slipped the net", Mr Westwood insisted he remained in charge of the force.
"I am aware the Home Secretary has announced that he is asking the police authority to suspend me. They have not done so. Until they decide what their position is, I will remain chief constable," he said.
"I made clear to the inquiry, and I readily repeat now, my deep sense of regret at the very serious failures which have now been spelt out by Sir Michael.
I do not seek to detract at all from the strong terms used to describe those failings . . .
"But what matters above all is that the lessons are learned, the actions are taken to ensure nothing of this nature can happen again and that the people of Humberside have an effective and committed police force to protect their freedoms." However, his position appeared untenable as the Conservative shadow home secretary, Mr David Davis, lined up behind Mr Blunkett.
Mr Davis said: "Every police force and social service should read and learn the lessons of this report. If we fail, it will be a catastrophe measured in human terms."
Sir Michael concluded there was "not one single occasion" during all the authorities' contacts with Ian Huntley when record systems worked properly. He also criticised Cambridgeshire police for errors that meant background checks were not carried out on Huntley.
It emerged after Huntley's conviction that he had got the job of caretaker at Soham Village College despite a string of past sex allegations. Sir Michael said these failings in Cambridge were "not systemic" and had "only limited consequences".
However, Humberside's local intelligence system was "haemorrhaging" potentially vital information on offenders and its child-protection database was "largely worthless."
While Huntley alone was responsible for the murders, and he ruled that none of the errors uncovered led directly to the deaths of the two 10-year-olds, Sir Michael said: "The inquiry did find errors, omissions, failures and shortcomings which are deeply shocking. Taken together, these were so extensive that one cannot be confident it was Huntley alone who 'slipped through the net'."