A senior Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer has strongly denied accusations that the force deliberately withheld CCTV footage connected to serious allegations of unjustified strip-searches.
Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods emphasised that GMP will fully cooperate with any review ordered by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
The controversy began after three women came forward with disturbing complaints. One woman alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while in police detention in 2021. The seriousness of these claims prompted Mayor Burnham to initiate a formal independent review.
The situation escalated when it was discovered that two hours of crucial police CCTV footage from the detention period were missing. In response, Mayor Burnham appointed former victims’ commissioner Dame Vera Baird, who is also a seasoned lawyer, to lead the independent investigation.
GMP has previously referred these allegations twice to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Deputy Chief Constable Woods confirmed that the force continues to cooperate with the IOPC’s second referral.
Efforts were made to recover the missing footage, but one disc was found to be corrupted. By the time this issue was identified, the original footage had been overwritten in line with standard police data retention protocols.
Woods stated, “There was no deliberate attempt to withhold the footage.” The force has since secured the relevant servers, and digital forensic experts are working to recover the lost videos.
Originally published by UKNIP.
