Retired police escape punishment

punished, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said.
They were investigated after evidence was tampered with to back up the theory that Michael Menson killed himself.

Two men were later jailed for setting him on fire in north London in 1997.

Two serving junior officers will be admonished but seven others, including two of the most senior involved, face no action as they have left the force.

Under current rules police officers cannot be disciplined after they have retired.

The IPCC said it would have pressed for four officers to have faced disciplinary hearings if they were still serving officers and a retired officer to be admonished.

The IPCC also said the two retired senior officers were also found to be at fault.

In a statement, Mr Menson's brother Kwesi said: "This appears to be a way for them to evade culpability leaving their juniors as scapegoats.

"It is a disgrace that no one has been disciplined for the failings in this case and we call on this loophole to be closed urgently."

The report comes after an investigation in the Metropolitan Police probe by Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

The IPCC said it had decided there was insufficient evidence to back up the report's claims that officers had been swayed in their judgements by racial prejudice.

In May last year the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the Met's failings in the case were not "wilful or grave" enough to bring criminal proceedings.

Student Mario Pereira was jailed for life for Mr Menson's murder and Unemployed Barry Charalambous Constantinou was given a 12-year sentence for manslaughter in 1999.

Two others were jailed for perverting the course of justice.