Drugs trial at risk of collapse over £14 memory stick: Police say they cannot hand over evidence because they could not afford device to put it on

  • A drugs trial is danger of collapse after police refused to hand over key evidence
  • The major case is near collapse as police say they cannot afford a £14 USB stick 
  • Judge Shorrock blasted the authorities for failing to stump up ‘the pootling sum'
  • The USB could have the images and videos needed for prosecution stored on it 

By JOSH WHITE, SENIOR REPORTER

Published: | Updated:

A major drugs trial is danger of collapse after police refused to hand over key evidence – saying they could not afford a £14 memory stick on which to put it.

In the latest in a string of disclosure blunders by police and prosecutors, Woolwich Crown Court heard how the trial of two men, implicated in a multi-million pound drug plot, could be at risk of collapse over the penny-pinching.

Yesterday, Judge Philip Shorrock blasted the authorities for failing to stump up ‘the pootling sum’ for a USB memory stick, on which could be stored the images and video clips urgently needed by the defence.

A major drugs trial at Woolwich Crown Court is danger of collapse after police refused to hand over key evidence – saying they could not afford a £14 memory stick on which to put it (stock)

A major drugs trial at Woolwich Crown Court is danger of collapse after police refused to hand over key evidence – saying they could not afford a £14 memory stick on which to put it (stock)

Defence barrister Cathy McCulloch told the court she had last week received ‘one of the more extraordinary letters I have ever seen in my career, regarding disclosure’.

‘It said that the officer in the case had informed the CPS that he could no longer obtain these extensive memory sticks due to budgetary restrictions.’

Miss McCulloch said even offered to hand over £15 to the prosecution, so that they could afford to buy the memory stick.

Judge Shorrock told the CPS to comply with his order – by purchasing a memory stick, which can be had for £13.69 on Amazon – warning if they did not, he might be ‘sympathetic’ to a defence application would could see the case collapse.

The CPS and police are currently leading a wholesale review over disclosure, after a sequence of collapsed cases raised questions as to whether they were regularly failing to pass on relevant information to defendants.

Student Liam Allan, 22, spent two years with rape charges hanging over him, despite police having obtained 57,000 messages from the alleged victim’s phone, many of which fatally undermined the case.

 

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