I am working from an almost one line comment in a Radio 5 news report. Although they did name the lawyer, I did not catch his name. However, we will face the problem where the truth is either known or understood but the evidence may not be there to prove it 'beyond reasonable doubt' in a court of law. Hence we may be able to prove that the CC of SYP and his deputy were at this meeting that originated the cover up but as no written minutes were kept the evidence does not exist.
This is true swarbs. It would have been extraordinary if the press HADN'T reported it. The original author of it in the Sheffield Star (?) was on a documentary over here in Yorkshire a couple of weeks ago and insisted, probably rightly, that they had a duty to report it BUT THEY WERE CAREFUL TO STATE THAT IT WAS ALL UNSUBSTANTITED ALLEGATIONS. If, after the sinking of the Titanic, the White Star Line had unnoficially briefed the press that the reason thousands perished was not that there wasn't enough lifeboats, but that there was drunken stowaways taking up spaces and the passengers themselves were not helpful enough when they evacuated the ship it would have to be reported. Only the SUn (and perhaps the Star) if they were around at the time would have been sick enough to print it as the unvarnished 'Truth'. All the more reason, for all the bleatings about a 'free press', that Leveson holds extremely powerful news editors and proprieters to account. He won't though - knowing NI they've probably hacked him and burgled his house (with the conivance of MI5 and the Met) , and they'll have all the goods on him if he doesn't tow the line.
So often the case unfortunately. There are probably loads of strategies for them to use. Most will say they were following orders from further up the chain and as the police is a very regimented organisation a bit like the army, you can't disobey a direct order, and then when you finally get up to the decision maker, too ill to face trial, or issued order in good faith, or his order was misinterpreted. You see it in many areas, to the best of my knowledge no one was ever prosecuted for some of the biggest disasters I have seen in my lifetime: King's Cross fire 31 died Clapham rail crash 35 died Herald of Free Enterprise 188 died Bradford Fire Marchioness Sinking I am sure the law has been tightened up since these but still wouldn't hold my breath on anyone being successfully convicted, very sad.
You can add Potters' Bar, Paddington and Hatfield to that list. As someone who works in the rail industry (one of the safest in the world, it has to be said) the attitude of those at the top and the Department for Transport when it goes wrong is -" The Buck Stops Elsewhere".
