MALCOLM JOHN BONNETT – Communications Officer
THE STATEMENT
3 versions of the same statement have now been given to the defence. In March 2004 Essex Police sent two statements to the defence written by Mr Bonnett, one was dated 13/09/85 and a second edited version of that statement was dated 08/11/85.
On the 4 th July 2005 as part of the disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act Essex Police sent two statements by Mr Bonnett. They state that these have previously been provided to the defence. They believed they were not giving anything new. One statement was a copy of 08/11/85 statement given to the defence in March 2004 but the other one was a new version of the 13/09/85 one dated 13/08/01 and printed on 29 th June 2005 at 13.02.
It seems odd that there should be three differing versions of what should be the same statement written by Mr Bonnett.
THE ANALYSIS
These statements prove that page one of the Radio Log which is written on the back of the Telephone Log is not the original first page of Mr Bonnetts Radio Log. The original contemporaneous Radio Logs first page has been edited to remove key information and re written on the back of a Telephone Log.
THE PROOF
Page 2 of Mr Bonnetts statement dated 13/08/01 states:
‘I recorded the call from PC1990 on the appropriate Essex Police Communications Form and commenced an Incident Log detailing the time and details of police attendance and actions in the locality’
This paragraph is edited out of Mr Bonnetts statement sent to the defence by Essex Police on the 4 th July 2005. They knew that the defence were alleging that the Radio Log on the back of the Telephone Log was an edited re write of the original and so it is believed that the paragraph which proves that was removed from his statement.
Mr Bonnett states that he received the call from PC1990 at 3.26am and so his Radio Log was begun shortly after. He also states that he called a mobile police car CA7, and says he ‘recorded’ that he sent CA7 at 3.35am. He used the force radio to contact CA7 so the first entry in Mr Bonnetts Radio Log should be at 3.35am to say he had sent a car to the scene.
Again it is odd that the edited Radio Log which appears on the back of the Telephone Log makes no mention of this – the first entry on this edited version is at 4.02am. Mr Bonnett also states that CA7 notified him by radio that they had arrived at the farm at 3.48am yet this is also missing from the edited version of the Radio Log.
It is also known that PC Bews used the radio in CA7 to send a situation report to the incident room prior to 4.00am.
Statement of PC Saxby dated 23 rd September 1985:
‘PC Bews contacted information room and requested armed assistance and gave situation report’
There is no mention of this radio message asking for armed assistance or detailing PC Bews situation report on the edited version of the Radio Log given to the defence. It is strange and quite frankly, suspicious that Mr Bonnett starts a Radio Log at approximately 3.26am and yet the three documented entries that appear in Witness Statements do not appear on the version of the Radio Logs first page given to the defence as legitimate.
The very fact that this key paragraph is missing from Mr Bonnetts statement of 13/08/01 which states he begun two separate logs proves that Exhibit 29, The Telephone Log, which has the Radio Log on its reverse side, is edited and not in it’s original form.
With regard to the editing of Mr Bonnetts statement dated 13/08/01 – this statement was sent to the defence in March 2004 by Essex Police as part of the disclosure of the Radio and Telephone Logs. This time the conversation Mr Bonnett had with PC1990 prior to calling for police vehicle CA7 to attend the scene is edited out. By editing out this paragraph it denied the defence an opportunity to verify exactly what was said between Mr Bonnett and PC1990.
Mr Bonnett states that he cannot remember the direct speech used and goes on to state that ‘as a matter of course all radio and telephone messages are recorded on audio tape as an accurate means of recording’. Why then did the police at the time Mr Bonnett wrote his original Witness Statement not obtain the audio tapes and transcribe them once he told them he could not recall exactly what was said?
Mr Bonnett did not need to remember because he knew if at any time anyone wanted to know what was said they could just refer to the audio tape recordings of his radio and telephone conversations.
The key issue is that Mr Bonnett made a single statement detailing everything about his role in the enquiry – how then has it been chopped and changed into at least three differing versions?
We can prove that there are three edited versions of the same statement, what we still don’t have is a complete un-edited version. The original may contain further helpful evidence to assist the defence.
Mr Bonnetts Witness Statement dated 08/11/85 and given to the defence in March 2004 states:
‘I produce the Incident Log ref MJB/1’
This document has never been provided to the defence either in its original form or in an edited version. There is now no excuse or reason for Essex Police to deny the defence access to the audio recordings of all of the radio and telephone messages as well as the original hand written, unedited version of Mr Bonnetts statement.
This will be very actively pursued through the complaints procedure to the Office of the Information Commissioner.
