Terror cases 'put at risk' by Met's medical overhaul

THE prosecution of terror suspects and hundreds of other alleged criminals could be undermined because of Met changes to the medical care provided for detainees, the Government's terrorism watchdog warned today.

Lord Carlile of Berriew, the independent monitor of counter-terrorism legislation, said he feared the reforms could lead to vital evidence being ruled inadmissible in court and damage the police's ability to question suspects properly.

He also warned that the overhaul - which is being opposed by the majority of the Met's existing doctors - could harm the treatment of detainees and also result in worse care for crime victims and injured police officers.

Medical experts also hit out, accusing the Met of "losing its marbles", and claimed the changes, which are due to come into effect next week, would bring "chaos" and leave police stations without adequate healthcare provision.

The row centres on a decision by the Met to introduce a new contract for about 150 "forensic medical examiners", who currently carry out health checks on detainees brought into custody to ensure that they are fit to be questioned.

The Met, which insists that it will continue to have fully trained medical examiners available wherever necessary, is aiming to ensure that the doctors are deployed more effectively.

The doctors, who are currently independent rather than direct employees of the Met, warn, however, that the new contract will undermine their autonomy and give police unacceptable control over their activities, as well as potential widespread access to patients' medical details.

They also fear that the reforms could jeopardise the ability of the doctors to give independent evidence in court and to certify that a detainee had not been subject to physical or mental duress during arrest or interview.

Up to three-quarters of the existing examiners, who are specially trained to assess detainees, have refused to sign and will stop working from next week.

Lord Carlile warned today of potentially serious repercussions for the cases of terror suspects held at Paddington Green, one of the police stations that will lose its existing specialist medical examiners.

These include the risk of vital evidence being ruled inadmissible because there would be no independent medical testimony to confirm that a suspect had been fit to be detained and questioned, which was particularly high at Paddington Green because of its cramped cells.

"The independent testimony and assessments that they provide are vital and if this is not available it could undermine prosecutions and, in some circumstances, lead to entire cases being thrown out," he said.

Dr Michael Wilks, chairman of the Society of Forensic Physicians, who has led the protests over the new contract, said the Met was seeking to impose an unlawful contract that would give it "direct control" over the doctors.

He said that as a result, police stations in 14 boroughs, including Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Hackney, Islington and Hammersmith and Fulham, would be left without specialist medical care and claimed that police officers might be forced to send suspects to local hospitals' accident and emergency departments for assessment instead.

He added: "The Metropolitan Police has, through a combination of incompetence, arrogance and frequent misinformation, created a new contract which is legally and ethically flawed and unfit for purpose."

The Met said that alternative forensic medical examiners would be provided from next week to replace those refusing to sign the contract and insisted that there would be no impact upon the welfare of detainees.

"We will continue to have fully trained cover in all boroughs and are confident that there will be no increased risk of evidence being ruled inadmissible," a spokesman added.