Honour by Caroline Goode

Author:Caroline Goode [Goode, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786075468
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Published: 2020-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

Months went by before, in October, Rick and I heard that the commander of covert policing, Sean Sawyer, wanted to read the full transcripts of the recordings. This was a sea change. No longer were we getting a flat “no”, he was at least going to assess the value of the recordings. I hoped against hope that once he read those boasts about the killing, he would come around to my way of thinking.

On 1 November, Rick and I were summoned to another gold group meeting to discuss the matter. This was a mere four days before the proposed trial date. We trekked up to the Yard full of trepidation. This was it. No sooner had we sat down than we were informed that the commander had granted us permission to use the covert material. We were ecstatic and hugely relieved. We also understood the magnitude of what we had just achieved. This type of material had only ever been used a handful of times in the whole of the country, and never before by the Metropolitan Police. People were going out on a massive limb to allow us to use it and we were profoundly grateful.

We were also aware that there were a few people who were absolutely beside themselves with anger that we were being allowed to use it. Within days I began to hear that some deeply unpleasant things were being said about me at the Yard. I understood why, but that didn’t mean I liked it. Detective Superintendent Simon Morgan said to me, “Smudger, your job is just to bring that job home. Get those fuckers convicted. Ignore everything else.” He was right. He usually is.

Shortly afterwards we were at the Central Criminal Court explaining to the judge that we wanted to introduce new material and asking for the trial to be put back. A new trial date was set for March 2007 and we were reprieved.

Having the trial pushed back was a positive in as much as trying the three defendants together gave us a far greater chance of success than trying them separately. While the evidence against any one of them might have been only moderate, once aggregated it made a compelling story. It was a massive blow, however, to receive an e-mail from Crispin Aylett, the barrister for the prosecution, advising me that he would not be able to take our case in March, due to a prior commitment. I had worked with him on several successful cases. He was, without doubt, my favourite barrister. I was bereft. Not only did I not know who I would be getting next, but whoever it was would have to get their head round an incredibly complex case.

It is so, so important for a senior investigating officer to be able to work effectively with their barrister. The SIO and team will have been working on a case for months, maybe even years, by the time it comes to court, but it is up to counsel to sell that story to the jury.

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