Kevin Nunes murder: How the star witness was sent on a taxpayer-funded holiday to South Africa
The star witness in the Kevin Nunes murder investigation and family members were sent on a taxpayer-funded holiday to South Africa costing thousands of pounds.
Staffordshire Police sent Simeon Taylor – who was in the witness protection scheme – and two relatives on the trip in the run up to the original Nunes' murder trial, a whistleblower has revealed.
The Express & Star has learned Staffordshire Police spent £3,906 on flights and hotel rooms for Mr Taylor and a further £1,984 on flights for two relatives in 2007 as preparations took place for the court case.Additional costs for officers would bring the likely total bill to be in the region of £10,000.
Detectives also treated the witness to an excursion to Table Mountain, according to the whistleblower, just months before he gave evidence at trial against five Black Country gangsters for the 20-year-old footballer's murder.
Former Detective Inspector Joe Anderson – who first raised concerns about the 'irregular' way Taylor was being treated by his handlers more than a year before the trial – said the extravagant spending and nature of the trip was an example of the 'at all costs' approach taken.
He told the Express & Star: "The phrase 'at all costs' was quoted by staff as being the instruction that had come down from senior management, and it became clear that certain individuals were prepared to handle Taylor on that basis, even if by doing so they were bending or breaking the rules."
This week marks two years since the police watchdog completed its lengthy inquiry into the Nunes scandal after five men jailed for the gangland murder in leafy South Staffordshire later had their convictions quashed after a secret report into failings of the unit handling the case came to light.Despite ruling that no further action would be taken against officers investigated by its inquiry, codenamed Operation Kalmia, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has still not published its report outlining what happened in the case.
Staffordshire Police said it won't comment before the IPCC report is published.
The Crown Prosecution Service decided in 2014 that no criminal charges would be brought against any of the 14 officers investigated.
The Express & Star is this week revealing new details from the Nunes scandal after our own investigation spanning three years.
