Pc 'surprised' Huntley file wiped

Huntley was hired despite prior accusations against him

A policeman who warned Ian Huntley was a serial sex attacker has told of his surprise that his report was wiped from the Humberside Police database.

Pc Michael Harding saw a pattern in the Soham killer's files while looking into an allegation of rape in June 1999.

He told the Bichard Inquiry in central London on Monday: "You would not put it in if it was going to be deleted."

Pc Harding spent six hours researching the report, which was deleted as part of a "weeding" process in July 2000.

Kate Gallafent, junior counsel to the inquiry, asked how long he would have liked his report on Huntley to have stayed on the Humberside computer system.

There was no previous conviction, there was a girl who was approaching her 16th birthday... there was no force... these things go on Retired officer Peter Billam

Pc Harding replied: "Personally I would find it helpful to have it there forever. However, I do not think anyone would let us do that.

"From a data protection interpretation point of view, I cannot really answer that question."

Sir Michael Bichard, chairing the inquiry, asked if he was surprised his report had been weeded.

Pc Harding said: "Yes. I think it's fair to say yes."

Earlier on Monday a former detective defended his decision to take no action against Huntley over allegations of underage sex.

Retired Humberside Det Insp Peter Billam said there had not been enough evidence, or the girls had not co-operated with investigations.

While standing by his decisions "at the time," he said with hindsight they would have been "totally different".

The allegations did not emerge when Huntley became a school caretaker in Soham, where he went on to murder Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

'Slept with schoolfriend'

Mr Billam dealt with three allegations of underage sex against Huntley in his role as head of the Grimsby office of the child protection unit for Humberside police in the 1990s.

He admitted he would have dealt with matters differently if he had linked the accusations.

Under cross-examination by counsel to the inquiry James Eadie, Mr Billam accepted he dealt with the third incident just days after the decision on the second.

He said he must have made some kind of link but could not remember, saying he would have had to rely on remembering Huntley's name.

The Bichard Inquiry is investigating flaws in vetting procedures and police intelligence handling which allowed Huntley to get his caretaker's job.

He murdered the two 10-year-olds in Soham, in Cambridgeshire, in August 2002.

Huntley murdered Jessica and Holly and burned their bodies in 2002

The inquiry has already heard how Humberside police were made aware of 11 separate criminal allegations against Huntley.

In August 1995 Huntley admitted having sex with a 15-year-old, but Mr Billam took no action because of the girl's reluctance to give a statement or make a complaint.

"There was no previous conviction, there was a girl who was approaching her 16th birthday, it was a boyfriend/girlfriend situation... there was no coercion, no force... these things go on," Mr Billam said.

In May 1996 a second girl refused to co-operate after an allegation of underage sex was made.

Mr Billam said he was not aware Huntley had been accused of sleeping with one of her schoolfriends.

Lack of evidence

A third case was delayed for several days because "the child was in no danger and...staff were involved in duties of higher priority", he said in his statement.

Under cross-examination, Mr Billam said the child protection database used by the force was "unreliable" as an intelligence tool.

"The fact that no sensible system seems to have been set up for recording the core allegation in some searchable form seriously handicapped the proper performance of your police force," Mr Eadie said.

"With hindsight, possibly I would have looked at it differently," Mr Billam said.