View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
September 29, 2005updated 22 Nov 2022 4:57pm

Freelance spots sex victim name gaffe in chief’s report

By Press Gazette

By Jean Morgan

A North Wales journalist, who drew the attention of North Wales
Police to the fact that Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom’s report to
his police authority named a child sex victim, has been interviewed by
the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Elwyn Roberts, who runs Mold-based freelance agency Dee News Service, was asked to provide a statement to investigators.

The
police force has since apologised to the girl, aged 13, and her family
and said it was reinforcing its vetting procedures for checking
reports. Copies of the report, the Chief Constable’s update to a
meeting of the North Wales Police Authority, were later destroyed.

Brunstrom
immediately called in the IPCC. Three investigators spent a week in
North Wales interviewing police officers, civilian staff, police
authority staff and also visited Roberts as the originator of the
complaint of contempt of court.

“I simply gave them the
chronology of how the matter came about,” said Roberts, a journalist
for more than 30 years. He covered the girl’s case in July at Mold
Crown Court when she was not publicly identified.

“I was scanning
reports to the police authority, which are public documents, and was
shocked to see the girl’s name, age, the village where she lived, and
the fact that sexual offences had been perpetrated against her,” said
Roberts.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

He claimed that if he or any other journalist had done
the same thing then they would have been interviewed by police and
possibly prosecuted.

He was also concerned at the initial
reaction of the Crown Prosecution Service in Wrexham, which issued a
press statement saying that while it would take action against the
press in such circumstances, it would not take action against the
police.

But CPS headquarters in London stepped in and said no
such decision would be made until any file from the IPCC had been
received.

Roberts denied his complaint was revenge for an
incident last year when his office was searched by North Wales
detectives investigating Peter Bolton, when it was falsely alleged that
the assistant authority clerk had sent Roberts a confidential report.

Bolton, a former police superintendent, was later cleared when his trial at Chester Crown Court collapsed.

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network