A motion was passed this morning (25th June 2009) by the Metropolitan Police Authority to publish the Cass Report, into the death of Blair Peach, by the end of 2009. (1)
The original motion, proposed by Green Party home affairs spokesperson, Jenny Jones, read:
"This Authority calls on the Metropolitan Police Service to publish immediately the full report by former Commander Cass into the death of Blair Peach."
The final motion passed was amended, by consensus, to have a final date of the end of 2009 for publication.
Jenny Jones said: "This is a victory for openness, transparency, and accountability. The refusal to publish the Cass Report is partly based upon the Metropolitan Police claim that publication would cause the Peach family distress, when it is the suppression of it which is causing distress. It is more embarrassing for the Met to hide this report, than to publish it. Under current rules, all of this information would be out in the open. The decision not to publish was made years ago, and somehow, this mistake became embedded."
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Notes to Editors:
1) Blair Peach was knocked unconscious in an April 1979 demonstration in Southall by the Anti-Nazi League against a National Front election meeting. Eleven witnesses claimed to have seen members of the Metropolitan Police Special Patrol Group (SPG) hitting Mr Peach in a side-street at the height of the violence. He died the next day in hospital. An internal investigation was held into the death by a team of 30 detectives led by Commander John Cass of Scotland Yard’s Complaints Investigation Bureau.