'Bugging' inquiry handed to lawyers

Eileen Corley was devastated by the trial's outcome

Details of an investigation into three detectives alleged to have illegally bugged five defendants before a murder trial have been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) said it was expected to be "some months" before a review of the files was completed and the Lincolnshire officers learn if they will face criminal charges.

Five men accused of a gangland-style murder plot walked free from Nottingham Crown Court last February after Mr Justice Newman said the police actions had "compromised the whole trial process".

The gang had been charged with conspiring to kill Mark Corley, a convicted robber from Grantham, Lincolnshire, who was shot in the back of the head and dumped on farmland near Darlington, County Durham.

Criminal actions

Detective Chief Inspector Tony White, Detective Inspector Roger Bannister and Detective Sergeant Steve Thom were all suspended as an inquiry was conducted into alleged bugging of the suspects and their solicitors.

West Yorkshire Police carried out a 15-month probe supervised by the PCA into the case, which will now be reviewed by the CPS.

A PCA spokesman said: "An investigation into possible criminal actions of Lincolnshire Police officers who investigated the murder of Mr Mark Corley has been completed.

"As is normal procedure in such inquiries, a file has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Fair trial

"We would expect it take some months before a review of the investigation is completed."

The defendants at the trial - Robert Sutherland, 35, John Smith, 26, Gary Self, 36, Danny Gray 21, and John Toseland, 58 - had all denied a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

Sutherland, from Bathgate, West Lothian, had also denied murder.

All five were freed after the judge said they would not receive a fair trial.