Criticism 'unwarranted'

The National Party is pouring cold water on calls for an independent inquiry into police handling of the Kahui murder case.

Pressure is mounting on police after criticism from lawyers and former senior officers over the investigation into the deaths of twin boys Chris and Cru Kahui - and the decision not to pursue charges against anyone else.

High-profile criminal lawyer Chris Comeskey yesterday joined in the criticism, saying the Crown case was so weak it shouldn't have got past depositions. "There were far too many holes in the police case, and that was the reason why the jury took less than 10 minutes to deliver a not guilty verdict."

But National police spokesman Chester Borrows said although Kahui was found not guilty, that didn't mean police had charged the wrong person. He was confident police would not have proceeded had they not believed there was sufficient evidence to convict. "This is the judicial process we have got in this country. Occasionally there's a stuff-up, but in 99 out of 100 cases police do a good job."

Borrows said police should not have anything to fear from scrutiny, but he felt the criticism was unwarranted in this case.