Six Staffordshire Police officers wait to hear if they face misconduct charges over botched murder investigation

Fourteen serving and former Staffordshire police officers - including eight who have since retired - were told they would not face criminal charges over the handling of the Kevin Nunes 'execution-style' murder in a country lane in Pattingham in 2002.

All served at Staffordshire Police when the murder took place.

Files from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have been passed to the Police and Crime Commissioners of Staffordshire, Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire who will decide whether to take any disciplinary action over their respective chief constables.

In the case of Mr Beale, a file has been passed to West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Sims for consideration.

Staffordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis told the Express & Star he hoped to make a decision by the end of January.

He plans to reveal his decision in a behind-closed-doors meeting with members of the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Police and Crime Panel - a body made up of councillors who hold his office to account - followed by a rigorous three-hour scrutiny session before making his decision public.

He said: "I want to do this in the most transparent and open way possible. I will reveal my decision to the panel, outline how I have come to that decision and then have three hours set aside for questions."

Staffordshire Police is currently without a permanent Chief Constable following Mike Cunningham joining Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in the summer.

Mrs Sawyers is believed to be interested in applying for the job.

Nine officers were last month told they would not face criminal prosecution, on top of five who were given the same decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in January this year.

It means none of the 14 former and service Staffordshire Police officers investigated will face prosecution.

The retired police officers will face no action at all even if misconduct is found because there are no powers to punish them retrospectively or strip them of their pensions.

Amateur footballer Mr Nunes was found dead in a country lane in Pattingham after being shot five times in a gangland killing in 2002.

But the alleged gangsters jailed for a total of 135 years for the shooting were cleared by three senior judges at London's Court of Appeal following the revelation of a damning report into the murder probe.

A series of failings led to questions being asked about the reliability of the cases's star witness, Simeon Taylor, who claimed to have seen the killing, having driven the car which carried Mr Nunes to his death.

The Express & Star has previously revealed how a detective handling Taylor was involved in an 'intimate' affair with a disclosure officer, that complaints made by Taylor concerning his treatment while in witness protection were 'put on ice', and a senior detective believed there was an 'at any cost' culture within the force to ensure Taylor gave evidence in the case.

Michael Osbourne and Owen Crooks, both from Wolverhampton, Adam Joof, from Willenhall, Antonio Christie, from Great Bridge and Levi Walker, from Birmingham, were found guilty of murdering the 20-year-old following a trial at Leicester Crown Court in 2008.

But the men launched a collective appeal, and questions about the safety of the convictions were raised when police from Derbyshire and Leicestershire carried out an investigation into the murder inquiry.

The convictions were quashed in 2012 and the men released.

An IPCC spokesman, said: "The IPCC has provided the appropriate police and crime commissioners and relevant forces with a report detailing our findings as to whether or not a number of serving officers have a case to answer for either misconduct or gross misconduct and should face disciplinary proceedings."