New delay to report on botched Kevin Nunes murder case
The publication of a report detailing police mistakes in the botched murder probe of a man shot dead on the Shropshire border faces further delays.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission completed its final report into the investigation of the murder of Kevin Nunes a year ago but is yet to publish it.
And there doesn't appear to be a publication date in sight after a letter to South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson revealed that it was being delayed again because of "a number of civil actions".
Mr Nunes was pistol whipped and shot five times in Clive Road, Pattingham, in 2002.
The 20-year-old, from Wolverhampton, was a promising amateur footballer who was on the books of Tottenham Hotspur and later Stafford Rangers.
Five men were jailed for life with a combined minimum jail term of 135 years for the murder in January 2008 but their convictions were quashed in 2012 at the Court of Appeal.
The court raised concerns after a witness and the conduct of detectives was never disclosed to the original murder trial legal teams.
The IPCC has revealed it is still examining the responses to its findings, which remain private but were handed to police forces and police and crime commissioners connected with the case more than a year ago.
In a letter to Mr Williamson, IPCC Commissioner Cindy Butts said: "Although the investigation is complete, the Police Reform Act 2002 requires the respective appropriate authority for each of the subject officers to respond to the findings of the investigation.
"There responses have been received and are being carefully considered with a view to deciding what the next steps should be. As I am still in correspondence with authorities it would not be appropriate for the report to be published until this part of the statutory process has been concluded.
"However, you should be aware that there are a number of civil actions arising from this case, and it may be that representation will be made to delay publication until they are concluded."
Fourteen former and current Staffordshire Police officers have been under investigation by the IPCC over the case known as Operation Kalmia.
It is not clear who is behind the possible civil actions or why they started legal proceedings.
