Thousands of cases ‘may be affected by unreliable blood tests’
CHILDREN in Wales may have been taken away from parents after unreliable drugs and alcohol tests were used, it has emerged.
The fears have arisen as scores of prosecutions have been dropped and several convictions hang in the balance after thousands of potential cases of data manipulation were identified at a forensics lab. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said forensic tests across 42 police forces, including in cases involving rape and murder, were being considered possibly unreliable and needed re-examining.
Three-quarters of the cases were traffic offences such as drug-driving – with the rest including violent crime, sexual offences and unexplained deaths, spanning back to 2013.
The probe into alleged data manipulation at a Randox Testing Services site in Manchester has identified more than 10,000 cases which “may have been affected”, according to the NPCC.
Allegations of potential data manipulation at a previous facility, Trimega Laboratories, which went bust in 2014, may affect child protection and family court cases and is also being investigated by Greater Manchester Police.
In light of the findings, the Welsh Government yesterday issued a statement. It said: “The UK Government has been advised that there are concerns regarding the reliability of toxicology tests for drugs and alcohol.
“These results may have been relied on in court proceedings. It is also possible that such results were relied on by local authorities when making child protection decisions outside the court process or by private employers.
“Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is leading a criminal investigation into the practices at Trimega Laboratories Limited (Trimega), which was based in the Manchester area, between 2010-14.
“Trimega went into liquidation in April 2014. Results from all tests carried out by Trimega between these dates are currently being treated as potentially unreliable.”
Randox Testing Services (RTS), Trimega’s successor organisation, is still operating and is also subject to the criminal investigation. RTS is cooperating with the police investigation.
The statement continued: “The Welsh Government recognises the seriousness of this issue and the potential impact on public confidence in the use of forensic science in the justice system.”
It said civil servants were working closely with a number of agencies to “understand and manage the impact on the family justice system”.
At present the number of people affected by the news is unknown.
The statement continued: “The number of Trimega’s customers (such as local authorities, individuals, legal representatives and employers) affected is unknown and it may never be possible to identify them all, due to the company’s poor record-keeping practices.
“Samples from Trimega cannot be retested, because of the extremely limited chain of custody records and natural degradation over time of any remaining original samples. Not all samples tested by Trimega will have been subjected to manipulation by these individuals.”
Local authorities in Wales have been tasked with helping identify any cases.
The statement confirmed: “The Social Services and Integration Directorate at Welsh Government has asked all local authorities in Wales to review their case files to identify any cases where a test result by Trimega may have impacted on child protection decisions made outside the court process. Using this information, local authorities will be asked to review the case file to ensure children in their area are safe from harm.”
Tests done at the other site, Randox Testing Services, were used by 42 police forces in England and Wales for cases involving drug-driving, violent crime, sexual offences and unexplained deaths.
Retests have so far found no impact on sexual offence, violence or homicide cases, the NPCC said.
But a number of retests had resulted in drug-driving cases being discontinued and two road deaths had been referred to the Court of Appeal.
Two men have been arrested and five interviewed under caution by Greater Manchester Police over the alleged manipulation by individuals working at a Randox Testing Services site in Manchester.
The alleged manipulation emerged earlier this year when a data anomaly in a drug-driving case was reported to Randox.
The NPCC said retesting was either complete or under way for around 70% of the highest-priority cases, with the rest expected to be completed by mid-2018.