KEY POINTS:
Police have apologised to the father of convicted double-murderer Scott
Watson for his four-year wait over a complaint that Deputy Commissioner Rob Pope swore a misleading affidavit in the Sounds murder case.
Pope, New Zealand's second-highest ranking officer, has been cleared of
any criminal behaviour after an internal inquiry by Detective Inspector Ross Pinkham.
But his actions are under investigation by the Independent Police
Complaints Authority (IPCA). Assistant Police Commissioner Gavin Jones
and Pinkham last week visited Chris Watson at his Picton home to discuss the internal inquiry.
In a 2004 complaint to Blenheim police, Watson alleged that Pope, who
headed the inquiry into the deaths of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, gave
misleading information in 1998 to get warrants to bug his son's yacht, home and phones. Despite the allegations, Pope was later promoted.
Police did not investigate the complaint until Act leader Rodney Hide and the Herald on Sunday questioned Police Minister Annette King in March.
On Tuesday, Jones and Pinkham apologised to Chris Watson for the four-
year delay. They promised him a copy of the report after it had been referred to the IPCA. Watson always doubted his complaint would be upheld but hopes the outcome of the IPCA inquiry will be different.
Watson said: "The thrust of the dismissal was that while the affidavit was signed and sworn by Pope, he was not the author, and would not be expected to know the finer 'ins and outs' of the case. So any discrepancy, in fact, was not a lie by Pope, but a mistake by an underling."
Last month, Scott Watson broke an 11-year silence from jail to explain
his claim that he is innocent of murdering Ben Smart and Olivia Hope in 1998. The pair were last seen on New Year's Day leaving a party at Furneaux Lodge.
Serving life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years, Watson wrote a 22-page letter to the Governor-General, Anand Satyanand, who can recommend he be pardoned or refer the case back to the Court of Appeal.
Watson wrote: "A miscarriage of justice occurred in R v Watson and
this is now undeniable. I am innocent of the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope and had no part in their disappearance."
As part of his petition to Governor-General Anand Satyanand, Watson enclosed a copy of Auckland journalist Keith Hunter's book Trial by Trickery and award-winning documentary Murder on the Blade? Hunter makes serious allegations against the police investigation,
which are under investigation by the IPCA.
The police did not respond to a request for comment before deadline.
