Kevin Nunes investigation: Express & Star victory in secret files battle

Both Staffordshire Police and the force watchdog said they will now publish a dossier that documented serious failings and questionable conduct by detectives that was never seen by the jury, judge or barristers at the original gangland murder trial.

It comes after a 12-month Freedom of Information battle and marks a significant U-turn after both bodies had repeatedly declined to release the files, known as the Costello Report.

In a second victory, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has also confirmed it will publish its investigator's report, codenamed Operation Kalmia, following a four-year inquiry after five men jailed over the 2002 murder were later freed after details of a police scandal emerged.

A total of 14 Staffordshire officers, including Chief Constable Jane Sawyers, were investigated after the murder convictions were quashed. But none faced criminal charges even though a senior judge described it as 'a serious perversion of the course of justice'.

Former Detective Joe Anderson, who turned whistleblower and reported concerns over the way the murder probe was handled, today welcomed the bodies' change of heart but warned Staffordshire Police and the IPCC against a 'whitewash'.

Staffordshire Police and the IPCC confirmed sensitive material will be removed or 'redacted' from the two reports.

Mr Anderson said: "I welcome the news that Staffordshire Police and the IPCC have signalled that they are now prepared to release a redacted copy of the Costello Report and Operation Kalmia final report, however I fear that the 'redaction' process may be abused to conceal embarrassing facts.

"Time will tell whether the move is a genuine movement towards openness and transparency or a deliberate and cynical continuation of the whitewash."

Staffordshire Police has twice rejected requests by the Express & Star for a copy of the Costello Report but after the case was referred to the Information Commissioner the force and the IPCC have said they will release a redacted version. The Information Commissioner's caseworker said: "Staffordshire Police has agreed to disclose to you a redacted version of the Costello Report. It is now working on making those redactions."

The document will be published in the second week of January.

The Express & Star has also been campaigning for the Operation Kalmia report to be made public by the IPCC which is yet to be published despite being completed two years ago.

Mr Nunes, 20, was pistol-whipped and shot five times in a country lane in Pattingham in 2002 as part of a drugs turf war.

In 2008 five Black Country gangsters Adam Joof of Willenhall, Levi Walker of Birmingham, Antonio Christie of Great Bridge, and Owen Crooks and Michael Osbourne both of Wolverhampton were given life sentences after being found guilty of the amateur footballer's murder at Leicester Crown Court.

But their convictions were quashed after it was revealed details of police failings had never been disclosed at the original murder trial.

Last month this newspaper published a series of shocking new details about the way the murder probe was compromised following our own three-year investigation.

We revealed that a detective responsible for handling the key witness conducted an affair with a female colleague at a safe house which could have led to evidence contamination.

The witness was also 'chaotic' while in force protection and caused thousands of pounds of damage to a taxpayer-funded safe house and stole hundreds of pounds of police funds – but none of this was ever revealed to the jury.

The same witness and his family were sent on a trip to South Africa in the months before the original murder trial.

And senior officers stopped an internal investigation that may have later undermined the original court case.

Deputy Chief Constable Nick Baker said: "In 2006/7 a management review of the (then) sensitive policing unit was undertaken.

"The results of the review were used by the IPCC as part of its wider Operation Kalmia investigation, which examined the investigation into the murder of Kevin Nunes.

"As the IPCC's investigation takes primacy, it was agreed that the management review could not be published while the Kalmia investigation was ongoing.

"This was confirmed in a legal agreement with the IPCC under which the Force was prevented from releasing the review without the IPCC's written consent.

"However, given on-going delays in the publication of Kalmia, and following advice from the Information Commissioner's Office, our intention is to publish the management review report in the New Year, which we welcome." The IPCC was contacted for comment.