STORY: "M16 and Met condemned over Gareth Williams death: Coroner criticises intelligence agency for failing to report missing MI6 officer and rules he was probably killed unlawfully," by reporters Caroline Davies and Sandra Laville, published on May 2, 2012, by The Guardian.
GIST: "The coroner in the Gareth Williams case delivered a damning verdict that was highly critical of the Metropolitan police's counter-terrorism branch and MI6 as she ruled that the officer had probably been killed unlawfully. The cause of death of Williams, 31, who was found padlocked in a holdall in the bath at his flat in Pimlico, central London, was "unnatural and likely to have been criminally mediated", said Dr Fiona Wilcox. Passing a narrative verdict, she said she was satisfied that "a third party placed the bag in the bath and on the balance of probabilities locked the bag". She was, therefore, "satisfied that on the balance of probabilities that Gareth was killed unlawfully". Wilcox levelled devastating criticism at Williams's employers at MI6 who failed to report him missing for seven days when he did not turn up for work. The explanation from his line manager lacked credibility, she said, and she could "only speculate as to what effect this [delay] had on the investigation". The lawyer for the Secret Intelligence Service, Andrew O'Connor, delivered deep regrets and an unprecedented apology to the family from Sir John Sawers, chief of the SIS, who recognised that "failure to act more swiftly" when Williams was absent had contributed to their "anguish and suffering". Officers in the Met's counter-terrorism branch, SO15, whose role was to interview SIS witnesses, were also strongly criticised. SO15 failed to inform DCI Jackie Sebire, senior investigating officer, of the existence of nine memory sticks and a black holdall found at Williams's MI6 office until two days before the inquest ended, the coroner said. On discovering this, Wilcox said she had seriously questioned whether she should adjourn the inquest at that point. No formal statements were taken by S015 officers who interviewed Williams's colleagues, "and I find this did affect the quality of evidence heard in this court," she said."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/may/02/gareth-williams-death-mi6
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
