‘Critical issues overlooked’ in CTV collapse case
Family members of some of the victims of the Canterbury Television (CTV) building collapse say critical issues were overlooked in the decision not to lay criminal charges in the case.
CTV Families Group spokesman Maan Alkaisi will front a press conference on Wednesday to outline concerns.
The group has long criticised
The group is exploring the possibility of a judicial review of the police decision.
the police call not to prosecute the engineers responsible for the building’s substandard design, particularly the influence a Crown Law review of the case had on the decision. The review recommended against prosecution and swayed the final decision of police, who had favoured laying charges against engineer David Harding and his boss Alan Reay.
Alkaisi, whose wife died in the collapse, vowed to keep fighting ‘‘until we get justice’’.
‘‘[Alkaisi] will present a number of very important and critical issues that were discovered during the meeting with the police on 14 December 2017 that the families have now confirmed weren’t considered in the final process that ruled out a prosecution being pursued,’’ the group’s media representative, David Lynch, said.
‘‘Legal advice has also been taken with respect to a number of options for challenging, what the CTV Families consider to be, unsatisfactory and concerning issues regarding the explanations given for the decision not to prosecute.’’
The group is exploring the possibility of a judicial review of the police decision.
Newly released documents reveal police took serious issue with parts of the Crown Law review. Investigation head Detective Superintendent Peter Read wrote to deputy solicitor-general Brendan Horsley in August expressing concerns at the Government lawyers’ reading of the expert engineering evidence.
‘‘The conclusion is that there is a misinterpretation or lack of understanding of the [police engineering expert] Beca report and the peer reviewers’ findings.
‘‘The police maintain the view that there is evidential sufficiency to proceed and that the public interest test is met.’’
In an interview with The Press this week, Read said other elements of the Crown Law review weighed heavily on police, and ultimately led to the decision not to prosecute.