Police chief quizzed on Soham files

Humberside's beleaguered chief constable was today being asked to explain how his force could have deleted vital intelligence records which might have prevented child killer Ian Huntley from getting a job as a school caretaker.

Shortly after Huntley's conviction for the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, David Westwood claimed his force had been unable to keep records about sex allegations made against him because of the Data Protection Act.

Mr Westwood will be questioned by the Bichard Inquiry about the policy of weeding criminal intelligence records after 12 months. He will be watched by Kevin Wells, the father of Holly, who travelled to London to observe the proceedings for the first time today.

The Bichard Inquiry into the Soham murders has already heard that a catalogue of faults with Humberside's computer system meant potentially valuable reports about Huntley's past had been lost.