kong
02-15-2012, 02:09 PM
Teen witness payout after details revealed to gang
A teenage court witness and his family were paid £600,000 by the Crown Prosecution Service and police after he was identified to gang members and forced to relocate, the BBC reported Wednesday. The 16-year-old boy was promised anonymity in return for giving evidence about a violent gang attack. But his family had to move under a witness protection scheme after his details were inadvertently passed to gangsters and they were threatened, the broadcaster said. The payout was made in 2008 after the family was left with "no option" but to leave their homes, careers, families and friends "without even being able to say goodbye", the family said in a statement to the BBC. The witness, his mother and her partner had to move, as well as other children in the family. "He will never recover from this experience, he has lost trust in the police and if he were to witness a similar crime tomorrow, he would simply look away," their statement said. The case came to light after a Freedom of Information request by the BBC, followed by appeals to the Information Commissioner and senior prosecution officials. The Crown Prosecution Service and Metropolitan Police confirmed the case, without giving details. The family's solicitor, Fiona Murphy, told BBC radio: "The boy witnessed a violent gang attack and he agreed to provide a statement to the police on the express promise that his identity would not be revealed to the suspects. "Through a series of individual and systemic failings, his name and address were revealed to the criminal gang and the family began to experience a campaign of harassment and intimidation, and when they brought their concerns to the attention of the Metropolitan Police it was denied that their identity had been revealed." They took legal action against the CPS and Metropolitan Police for psychiatric damage, lost earnings and disruption to their lives, and received damages of more than £550,000 -- of which £350,000 came from the CPS -- and £50,000 in legal costs. A statement from the CPS said: "The CPS recognised that its actions in this case fell below our accepted standard and, together with the Metropolitan Police Service, (we) reached an agreed settlement of damages and an apology with the parties concerned.
"We regret that on this occasion we did not provide the support which is normally available to witnesses."
A teenage court witness and his family were paid £600,000 by the Crown Prosecution Service and police after he was identified to gang members and forced to relocate, the BBC reported Wednesday. The 16-year-old boy was promised anonymity in return for giving evidence about a violent gang attack. But his family had to move under a witness protection scheme after his details were inadvertently passed to gangsters and they were threatened, the broadcaster said. The payout was made in 2008 after the family was left with "no option" but to leave their homes, careers, families and friends "without even being able to say goodbye", the family said in a statement to the BBC. The witness, his mother and her partner had to move, as well as other children in the family. "He will never recover from this experience, he has lost trust in the police and if he were to witness a similar crime tomorrow, he would simply look away," their statement said. The case came to light after a Freedom of Information request by the BBC, followed by appeals to the Information Commissioner and senior prosecution officials. The Crown Prosecution Service and Metropolitan Police confirmed the case, without giving details. The family's solicitor, Fiona Murphy, told BBC radio: "The boy witnessed a violent gang attack and he agreed to provide a statement to the police on the express promise that his identity would not be revealed to the suspects. "Through a series of individual and systemic failings, his name and address were revealed to the criminal gang and the family began to experience a campaign of harassment and intimidation, and when they brought their concerns to the attention of the Metropolitan Police it was denied that their identity had been revealed." They took legal action against the CPS and Metropolitan Police for psychiatric damage, lost earnings and disruption to their lives, and received damages of more than £550,000 -- of which £350,000 came from the CPS -- and £50,000 in legal costs. A statement from the CPS said: "The CPS recognised that its actions in this case fell below our accepted standard and, together with the Metropolitan Police Service, (we) reached an agreed settlement of damages and an apology with the parties concerned.
"We regret that on this occasion we did not provide the support which is normally available to witnesses."