GMP comment following television report on custody

The following statement is attributable to Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods:
I want to make it absolutely clear that we understand and share the concerns of the public regarding allegations against Greater Manchester Police which were aired in a television report today.

Miss Iman’s allegations regarding her treatment in custody, in February 2021, are subject to an ongoing investigation. The force made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) which instructed a GMP-led investigation. Having reviewed the content of the television report which highlights additional concerns, I have taken the decision to make another referral to the IOPC in order to assure Miss Iman and the public that all of her allegations will be rigorously and independently reviewed.

UPDATE 

Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods: “As per last Wednesday’s update, the Independent Office for Police Conduct is continuing to assess the second referral made by GMP in relation to Ms Iman’s complaint, and GMP Professional Standards Branch has made contact with Ms Iman. The force will positively engage with Dame Vera Baird’s independent review. We are obviously aware of and understand the concerns regarding the allegations that the force is withholding footage so I would like to provide reassurance. The following explanation details why, at this time, we have been unable to recover two one hour segments of the CCTV footage from the custody cell. It is not the case that we are withholding this deliberately.

“The footage was burnt onto four discs in hour long segments. One disc corrupted but files were recovered by the Digital Investigation Unit. Upon review, it was identified that two hours (From 10:00 to 10:59 hours on 05/02/21, and from 13:00 to 13:59 hours on 06/02/21) were missing but, by that date, the parent footage on the servers had been overwritten (due to the standard retention time having passed). However, we have recovered and secured the servers and have an active line of enquiry - being if the outstanding hours can be recovered by Digital Forensics professionals.”