Shooting report: ‘MP is talking nonsense’
POLICE WATCHDOG HITS BACK AS PUBLICATION DELAY SLAMMED
HUDDERSFIELD MP Barry Sheerman says he is fed up with the delay in the publishing of a police watchdog’s report into the fatal shooting by armed officers of a 28-year-old man at Ainley Top more than three years ago.
In December, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it had completed its investigation into the shooting of Yassar Yaqub by armed officers belonging to West Yorkshire Police.
The father-of-two was killed in a car near the M62 on 2 January 2017. He was shot through its windscreen.
Last year, Moshin Amin, who was driving the Audi , was jailed for 18 years for firearms offences after a loaded pistol was found in the vehicle.
The IOPC said at the time it had finalised its report which was shared with West Yorkshire Police and the coroner.
However, several months on, there is still no sign of the report being made public.
Mr Sheerman has hit out at the delay – but the IOPC dismissed his claims as “nonsense”.
The MP said: “I want them (the IOPC) to get on with it, there has been an inordinate delay in releasing it.
“I will write to the Secretary of State, Priti Patel, next week to ask what is happening about it being published.”
Mr Yaqub’s father, Mohammed Yaqub, of Crosland Moor, claimed the delay was “a tactic”.
He said: “I know they are going to have to release it eventually and then we can challenge it.
“My lawyers are on with it now. The police have killed my son unlawfully and that’s that.”
An IOPC spokeswoman said: “It would be unlawful for the IOPC to publish its report before an inquest takes place – it’s a nonsense to suggest otherwise.
“Our investigation is complete, our report will be shared with HM Coroner and we, and everyone involved, are waiting for HM Coroner to set a date for any inquest.”
In December, the IOPC Director for Major Investigations, Steve Noonan, said: “We have endeavoured to keep all interested parties, especially the family, regularly updated on our progress and as always, our thoughts remain all those affected by Mr Yaqub’s death.”