BAILII is celebrating 24 years of free online access to the law! Would you consider making a contribution?
No donation is too small. If every visitor before 31 December gives just Β£1, it will have a significant impact on BAILII's ability to continue providing free access to the law.
Thank you very much for your support!
[Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback] | ||
England and Wales High Court (Queen's Bench Division) Decisions |
||
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Queen's Bench Division) Decisions >> Rashid v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2020] EWHC 2522 (QB) (25 September 2020) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2020/2522.html Cite as: [2020] EWHC 2522 (QB) |
[New search] [Printable PDF version] [Help]
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
LEEDS DISTRICT REGISTRY
ON APPEAL FROM
THE COUNTY COURT AT BRADFORD
1 Oxford Row Leeds LS1 3BG (Remote hearing on Skype for Business) |
||
B e f o r e :
____________________
DR ABDUL AZEEM WAQAR RASHID |
Claimant/ Appellant |
|
- and - |
||
CHIEF CONSTABLE OF WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE |
Defendant/Respondent |
____________________
Olivia Checa-Dover and Daniel Penman (instructed by Alison Walker, West Yorkshire Police Legal Services) for the Respondent
Hearing date: 14 May 2020
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
Mr Justice Lavender:
(1) Introduction
(1) The Claimant first came to the police's attention when a hand-written appointments diary was found in the car of one of the conspirators, Frank El Habbal, showing appointments for the Claimant to examine potential claimants. Similar diaries were found in Advance Claims' offices.(2) The Claimant would examine up to 50 potential claimants in a day, booked 10 minutes apart over a continuous 8 hour period.
(3) He charged his instructing solicitors £470 for each claimant he examined and reported on.
(4) A Dr McAvoy advised the police that medical examination of claimants in such cases should take between 20 and 30 minutes and that a reasonable fee for the examination would be between £250 and £300.
(5) A Dr Tedd commented adversely on the quality of the Claimant's reports, saying, for instance, in a note dated 29 November 2011, "I still don't believe that the person doing these reports is qualified, unless he/she is just taking the mickey."
(6) The Claimant made regular payments to Advance Claims, including payments totalling £24,865 in the period from 28 June 2010 to 20 September 2011.
(7) Nadeem Khaled and others were arrested on 10 October 2011. A restraining order was imposed on the account into which the Claimant had been paying this money. On 3 November 2011 the Claimant was told in an email about the frozen bank account. On 21 November and 11 December 2011 the Claimant made payments of £825 and £2,550 respectively into the account of NK Business Consultants, which was controlled by the organised crime group.
(2) The Trial
(1) that there were reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence had been committed by the Claimant; and(2) that it was necessary to arrest the Claimant to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence.
(1) Whether the search warrants had been obtained lawfully and by due process.(2) Whether the Claimant would have been lawfully arrested by another officer, if he had not been arrested by DC Lunn. This was referred to as the "Lumba/Parker issue", by reference to Parker v Chief Constable of Essex Police [2019] 1 WLR 2238.
(3) Whether the ex turpi causa doctrine applied.
(1) The Policy Log for Operation Thatcham, in particular the entry for 19 January 2012, where DC Lunn wrote:"Meeting with Julian Briggs, DI White etc to discuss progress and the way forward. We discussed the arrest of Dr Rashid and it was decided to continue as planned rather than delay his arrest so as to preserve evidence etc.It was agreed that we have enough evidence to go with on all of the claims arrested for so far and to call it a draw with any further other than the coach."(2) An Operational Order dated 28 February 2012.
(3) Undated Interview Notes.
(1) "Advance Claims/Concept Accident Management are submitting fraudulent accident claims."(2) "Claimant is connected to Advance/Concept. [Claimant's] Appointment diaries in el Habbal's car + Advance Claim offices."
(3) "Claimant is making payments to Concept Accident Management Ltd."
(4) "Paying funds into account of NK Business Consultants while Advance Claims is subject to restraint order."
(5) "Sole director of Concise Medical Legal is a 19-year old relative."
(6) "Running medicolegal practice from the same address as a CMC run by a man suspected to be his brother."
(7) "Reports are of a poor standard and give similar prognoses."
(8) "Charging £552 per appointment, which is in excess of what experts advise is reasonable, and appointments last only 10 minutes, which is less than experts advise."
(9) "Claimant's finances contain suspicious features."
(3) The Recorder's Judgment
"I utterly reject the fanciful suggestion that he has somehow taken over the investigation and pursued Dr Rashid to arrest for his own ends."
"Mr Pennock's suggestions that DC Lunn was allowed to hi-jack this investigation for his own ends and to manipulate Dr Rashid's arrest is utterly preposterous and I soundly reject it.
DI Taylor didn't know his whereabouts but he candidly agreed with Mr Pennock that he could find him if he needed to. Mr Pennock submitted that I should draw an adverse inference from his absence from the witness box. I draw no such inference. Although he is in name the arresting officer his importance to the case has been greatly over-blown."
"39. Taken together the matters relied upon by the Defendant provided ample grounds for reasonable suspicion of the Claimant's willing and active complicity in the illegal activities of the OCG in the operation of Advance Claims for the purpose of frauds against motor insurance companies.
40. I further find that all the active members of the team who were present at the meeting on the 19th January 2012 had an honest and reasonable belief in that complicity and that they held that belief up to and indeed beyond the date of Dr Rashid's arrest.
41. This includes DC Mark Lunn, the arresting officer and I therefore hold that he held the same honest and reasonable belief when he arrested the Claimant.
42. I find that all those present (including D.C. Lunn) at the meeting on the 19th January 2012 held an honest and reasonable belief that it was necessary to arrest the claimant to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence for which the claimant was arrested and that they (including D.C. Lunn) held that belief up to and beyond the date of the claimant's arrest.
43. I further find that on the date of the arrest and the searches of the claimants various properties there were valid warrants authorising the search of each of those properties and that those warrants had been obtained lawfully and by due process."
"44. These findings require me to dismiss the claim and it is unnecessary for me to give detailed rulings on the remaining issues. However I will add the following. On what has been called that "Lumba/Parker issue", I find that, had the Claimant not been lawfully arrested by DC Lunn, his lawful arrest by other officers would have followed.
45. On what has become known as the "ex turpi causa issue" I heard evidence from the claimant in cross-examination on the various allegations which underpin that issue. I found his answers were evasive and equivocal and I accept the Defendants submission that the Claimant had neither a proper understanding nor respect for the duty he owed to the court and the solemnity of the declarations he was making in his reports."
(4) The Grounds of Appeal and the Law
(4)(a) The Requirement for Reasonable Grounds for Suspicion
"If a constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence has been committed, he may arrest without a warrant anyone whom he has reasonable grounds to suspect of being guilty of it."
"If an offence has been committed, a constable may arrest without a warrant
;
(b) anyone whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be guilty of it."
"My Lords, the test which section 12(1) of the Act of 1984 has laid down is a simple but practical one. It relates entirely to what is in the mind of the arresting officer when the power is exercised. In part it is a subjective test, because he must have formed a genuine suspicion in his own mind that the person has been concerned in acts of terrorism. In part also it is an objective one, because there must also be reasonable grounds for the suspicion which he has formed. But the application of the objective test does not require the court to look beyond what was in the mind of the arresting officer. It is the grounds which were in his mind at the time which must be found to be reasonable grounds for the suspicion which he has formed. All that the objective test requires is that these grounds be examined objectively and that they be judged at the time when the power was exercised.
This means that the point does not depend on whether the arresting officer himself thought at that time that they were reasonable. The question is whether a reasonable man would be of that opinion, having regard to the information which was in the mind of the arresting officer. It is the arresting officer's own account of the information which he had which matters, not what was observed by or known to anyone else. The information acted on by the arresting officer need not be based on his own observations, as he is entitled to form a suspicion based on what he has been told. His reasonable suspicion may be based on information which has been given to him anonymously or it may be based on information, perhaps in the course of an emergency, which turns out later to be wrong. As it is the information which is in his mind alone which is relevant however, it is not necessary to go on to prove what was known to his informant or that any facts on which he based his suspicion were in fact true. The question whether it provided reasonable grounds for the suspicion depends on the source of his information and its context, seen in the light of the whole surrounding circumstances."
(1) whether DC Lunn had formed a genuine suspicion in his own mind that the Claimant was party to the frauds being committed through Advance Claims; and
(2) if so, whether he had reasonable grounds for that suspicion.
(4)(b) The Requirement for Reasonable Grounds to Believe Arrest is Necessary
"(4) But the power of summary arrest conferred by subsection (1), (2) or (3) is exercisable only if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that for any of the reasons mentioned in subsection (5) it is necessary to arrest the person in question.
(5) The reasons are
(e) to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence or of the conduct of the person in question;
"The effect of this is, in one sense, to tighten up the accountability of police officers, at least in the case of arrest for serious offences, because those arrests now become subject to the criterion of necessity, whereas previously only non-arrestable offences were. As Toulson LJ pointed out in this court in Shields v Chief Constable of Merseyside Police [2010] EWCA Civ 1281, the new formulation also: (a) creates a single code for all offences; (b) ensures conformity with article 5 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; and (c) incorporates the Wednesbury principle of review via the concept of reasonable grounds, brought forward from the previous law and extended to the new general requirement of necessity."
(1) whether DC Lunn had a genuine belief that the Claimant's arrest was necessary to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence or of the Claimant's conduct; and(2) if so, whether he had reasonable grounds for that belief.
(4)(c) Code G and the Question Whether to Arrest or Invite for Voluntary Interview
"1.3 The use of the power [of arrest] must be fully justified and officers exercising the power should consider if the necessary objectives can be met by other, less obtrusive means. "
"2.6 Extending the power of arrest to all offences provides a constable with the ability to use that power to deal with any situation. However applying the necessity criteria requires the constable to examine and justify the reason or reasons why a person needs to be arrested " [The 2012 version has "taken to a police station " instead of "arrested ".]
"2.8 In considering the individual circumstances, the constable must take into account the situation of the victim, the nature of the offence, the circumstances of the suspect and the needs of the investigative process."
"2.9 The criteria are that the arrest is necessary:
(e) to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence or of the conduct of the person in question.
This may include cases such as:
(i) Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person:
- may steal or destroy evidence;
(ii) when considering arrest in connection with an indictable offence, there is a need to:
- search the person
"
"2.9 When it is practicable to tell a person why their arrest is required , the constable should outline the facts, information or other circumstances which provide the grounds for believing that their arrest is necessary and which the officer considers satisfy one or more of the statutory criteria in sub-paragraphs (a) to (f), namely:
(e) to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence or of the conduct of the person in question. See Note 2E.
This may arise when it is thought likely that unless the person is arrested and then either taken in custody or granted "street bail" to attend the station later, see Note 2J, further action considered necessary to properly investigate their involvement in the offence would be frustrated, unreasonably delayed or otherwise hindered and therefore be impracticable. Examples of such actions include:
(i) interviewing the suspect on occasions when the person's voluntary attendance is not considered to be a practicable alternative to arrest, because, for example:
- it is thought unlikely that the person would attend the police station voluntarily to be interviewed;
- it is necessary to interview the suspect about the outcome of other investigative action for which their arrest is necessary, see (ii) to (iv) below.
- it is thought likely that the person:
- may steal or destroy evidence
See Notes 2F and 2G.
(ii) when considering arrest in connection with an indictable offence (see Note 6) there is a need:
- to enter and search without a search warrant any premises occupied and controlled by the arrested person or where the person was when arrested or immediately before arrest;
- to prevent the arrested person having contact with others;
- to detain the arrested person for more than 24 hours before charge.
(iv) when considering arrest in connection with any offence and it is necessary to search, examine or photograph the person to obtain evidence. See Note 2H.
"An officer who believes that it is necessary to interview the person suspected of committing the offence must then consider whether their arrest is necessary in order to carry out the interview. The officer is not required to interrogate the suspect to determine whether they will attend a police station voluntarily to be interviewed but they must consider whether the suspect's voluntary attendance is a practicable alternative for carrying out the interview. If it is, then arrest would not be necessary. Conversely, an officer who considers this option but is not satisfied that it is a practicable alternative, may have reasonable grounds for deciding that the arrest is necessary at the outset 'on the street'. Without such considerations, the officer would not be able to establish that arrest was necessary in order to interview.
Circumstances which suggest that a person's arrest 'on the street' would not be necessary to interview them might be where the officer:
is satisfied as to their identity and address and that they will attend the police station voluntarily to be interviewed, either immediately or by arrangement at a future date and time; and
is not aware of any other circumstances which indicate that voluntary attendance would not be a practicable alternative. See paragraph 2.9(e)(i) to (v).
When making arrangements for the person's voluntary attendance, the officer should tell the person:
that to properly investigate their suspected involvement in the offence they must be interviewed under caution at the police station, but in the circumstances their arrest for this purpose will not be necessary if they attend the police station voluntarily to be interviewed;
that if they attend voluntarily, they will be entitled to free legal advice before, and to have a solicitor present at, the interview;
that the date and time of the interview will take account of their circumstances and the needs of the investigation; and
that if they do not agree to attend voluntarily at a time which meets the needs of the investigation, or having so agreed, fail to attend, or having attended, fail to remain for the interview to be completed, their arrest will be necessary to enable them to be interviewed."
" Whilst of course it may be that it is quite unnecessary to arrest a suspect who will voluntarily attend an interview, as it was with the schoolteacher in the Richardson case [2011] 2 Cr App R 1, it is not the case that a voluntary attendance is always as effective a form of investigation as interview after arrest. Section 29 of the 1984 Act reminds officers of their duty, if inviting voluntary attendance, to tell the suspect that he may leave at any time he chooses. It would not be honest for an officer to invite a person to attend a voluntary interview if he intended to arrest him the moment he elected to leave. Nor would it be effective. It would mean that the suspect could interrupt the questioning the moment it reached a topic he found difficult. Even if it were possible simply then to arrest him, the interview could not continue until all the important formalities of reception into custody, checks on health, notification of friends or relatives, and so on, had been complied with. If the complaint made by Mr Mooney was true and the suspect was a drug dealer manipulating his customer, this was a case where that might happen. Moreover, the officer did need to inspect any mobile telephone which the suspect might have, and without warning him of the intention; the suggestion that he ought to have been asked politely to bring his telephone with him would, assuming a truthful complaint, have accomplished nothing other than the deletion of all relevant information or the leaving of the phone behind. "
"When the person attends the police station voluntarily for interview by arrangement as in Note 2F above, their arrest on arrival at the station prior to interview would only be justified if:
new information coming to light after the arrangements were made indicates that from that time, voluntary attendance ceased to be a practicable alternative and the person's arrest became necessary; and
it was not reasonably practicable for the person to be arrested before they attended the station.
If a person who attends the police station voluntarily to be interviewed decides to leave before the interview is complete, the police would at that point be entitled to consider whether their arrest was necessary to carry out the interview. The possibility that the person might decide to leave during the interview is therefore not a valid reason for arresting them before the interview has commenced. See Code C paragraph 3.21."
"Anybody attending a police station voluntarily to assist with an investigation may leave at will unless arrested. See Note 1K. If it is decided they shall not be allowed to leave, they must be informed at once that they are under arrest and brought before the custody officer, who is responsible for making sure they are notified of their rights in the same way as other detainees. "
"Whether a person attending at a police station voluntarily for the purpose of assisting with an investigation needs to be arrested is fact specific. The officer who has given no thought to alternatives to arrest is exposed to the risk of being found by a Court to have had objectively no reasonable grounds for his belief that arrest was necessary (Hayes at [34] & [40]). The obvious alternative to arrest was to interview MR, establish his identity and require that he hand over his phone. Any difficulties in this regard could have necessitated his arrest at that juncture, but not before. Whilst acknowledging the operational experience and professionalism of the officer, I cannot see a rational basis for the arrest."
(4)(d) Powers to Search the Person for Mobile Phones
"(1) A constable may search an arrested person, in any case where the person to be searched has been arrested at a place other than a police station, if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that the arrested person may present a danger to himself or others.
(2) Subject to subsections (3) to (5) below, a constable shall also have power in any such case
(a) to search the arrested person for anything
; or
(ii) which might be evidence relating to an offence; and
"
"(3) The power to search conferred by subsection (2) above is only a power to search to the extent that is reasonably required for the purpose of discovering any such thing or any such evidence."
. "(5) A constable may not search a person in the exercise of the power conferred by subsection (2)(a) above unless he has reasonable grounds for believing that the person to be searched may have concealed on him anything for which a search is permitted under that paragraph."
(4)(e) Recording the Reasons for an Arrest
"4.1 The arresting officer is required to record in his pocket book or by other methods used for recording information:
the nature and circumstances of the offence leading to the arrest
the reason or reasons why arrest was necessary
the giving of the caution
anything said by the person at the time of arrest
4.2 Such a record should be made at the time of the arrest unless impracticable to do. If not made at that time, the record should then be completed as soon as possible thereafter.
4.3 On arrival at the police station, the custody officer shall open the custody record (see paragraph 1.1A and section 2 of Code C). The information given by the arresting officer on the circumstances and reason or reasons for arrest shall be recorded as part of the custody record. Alternatively, a copy of the record made by the officer in accordance with paragraph 4.1 above shall be attached as part of the custody record. See paragraph 2.2 and Code C paragraphs 3.4 and 10.3.
4.4 The custody record will serve as a record of the arrest. Copies of the custody record will be provided in accordance with paragraphs 2.4 and 2.4A of Code C and access for inspection of the original record in accordance with paragraph 2.5 of Code C."
(4)(f) The Lumba/Parker Issue
(4)(g) Ex Turpi Causa
(1) reporting in cases in which he had an involvement with the claimant, or who were related to someone with whom he had an involvement, or in which he had a personal interest and failing to disclose the same to the court;(2) conducting his reporting in a manner which was reckless as to whether the content was true and accurate and/or whether the contents would mislead the court; and
(3) continuing to assist and work with individuals whom he believed, or ought reasonably to have believed, were engaged in fraudulent activity.
(1) In paragraph 22 of his judgment in Les Laboratoires Servier v Apotex Inc, Lord Sumption said that:"The application of the ex turpi causa principle commonly raises three questions: (i) what acts constitute turpitude for the purpose of the defence? (ii) what relationship must the turpitude have to the claim? (iii) on what principles should the turpitude of an agent be attributed to his principal, especially when the principal is a corporation?"(2) As to the second of these questions, Lord Hoffmann said as follows in paragraph 54 of his judgment in Grey v Thames Trains Ltd [2009] 1 AC 1339:
"This distinction, between causing something and merely providing the occasion for someone else to cause something, is one with which we are very familiar in the law of torts. It is the same principle by which the law normally holds that even though damage would not have occurred but for a tortious act, the defendant is not liable if the immediate cause was the deliberate act of another individual. Examples of cases falling on one side of the line or the other are given in the judgment of Judge LJ in Cross v Kirkby [2000] CA Transcript No 321. It was Judge LJ, at para 103, who formulated the test of "inextricably linked" which was afterwards adopted by Sir Murray Stuart-Smith LJ in Vellino v Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police [2002] 1 WLR 218. Other expressions which he approved, at paras 100 and 104, were "an integral part or a necessarily direct consequence" of the unlawful act (Rougier J: see Revill v Newbery [1996] QB 567 , 571) and "arises directly ex turpi causa " (Bingham LJ in Saunders v Edwards [1987] 1 WLR 1116 , 1134.) It might be better to avoid metaphors like "inextricably linked" or "integral part" and to treat the question as simply one of causation. Can one say that, although the damage would not have happened but for the tortious conduct of the defendant, it was caused by the criminal act of the claimant? (Vellino v Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police [2002] 1 WLR 218). Or is the position that although the damage would not have happened without the criminal act of the claimant, it was caused by the tortious act of the defendant? (Revill v Newbery [1996] QB 567)."
(5) Genuine Suspicion and Reasonable Grounds
"2. The learned Recorder below erred in law and fact when he held that DC Mark Lunn, the arresting officer, or anyone else, held an honest and reasonable belief in the grounds for Dr Rashid's suspected complicity in the fraudulent crash for cash claims.
3. The learned Recorder below erred in law and fact when he held that DC Mark Lunn, the arresting officer, or anyone else, had objectively assessed reasonable grounds for that belief in suspecting Dr Rashid of complicity in the fraudulent crash for cash claims."
(1) Mr Pennock submitted that the Recorder was wrong in his decision not to draw an adverse inference from the Defendant's failure to call DC Lunn. However, there was no ground of appeal to this effect. In any event, I am satisfied that the Recorder was not obliged to draw an adverse inference, given the documentary evidence and the fact that he heard from DI Taylor, who was party to the decision to arrest the Claimant and whom the Recorder found to be a reliable witness.(2) As at trial, Mr Pennock contended that it was suspicious that the Defendant did not disclose a number of documents which ought to have recorded the grounds for arrest and contended that the documents which were disclosed could have been tampered with after the event. However, these matters were investigated at trial and they did not dissuade the Recorder from finding that DI Taylor was a reliable witness. The Recorder noted in paragraph 14 of his judgment the challenge to the integrity of the disclosure process and the attack on the authenticity of the documents relied on by the Defendant, but it is plain that he did not accept either of them, since he regarded the contemporary documents as supporting the Defendant's case.
(3) As at trial, Mr Pennock submitted that DC Lunn had decided to arrest the Claimant in order to promote his private investigator business (and, indeed, had been bribed to do so by the alleged payment of £183,000). However, in paragraphs 28 and 30 of his judgment the Recorder roundly rejected the suggestion that DC Lunn had hijacked the investigation for his own ends. This was a factual finding which was not challenged in the grounds of appeal and which, in any event, the Recorder was entitled to make, having regard in particular to the evidence of DI Taylor.
(5)(a) Reasonable Grounds for Suspicion: Item (2)
(5)(b) Reasonable Grounds for Suspicion: Items (7) and (8)
(1) "Experts are working with the enquiry and together have identified serious area's for concern in how this Doctor is handling the examinations & subsequent reports."(2) "NOTES OF OPINION OF DR TEDD ON WHIPLASH INJURY
DOCTORS EXAMINATIONThis should take 20 to 30 minutes for a proper head & neck exam.Should be done with medical records to be able to make a full assessment.NOTES OF OPINION OF DR McEVOY ON WHIPLASH INJURYUsual fee is between £250 to £300Examination should take between 20 & 30 minutes.Should be done with medical records to be able to make a full assessment."
"Experts will say that a proper examination for this type of injury should take between 20 & 30 minutes and at today's rates should be charging between £200 & £300 but not more.
In the 1st arrest phase on 10/10/11 the Advance Claims shop was searched and recovered from there was a black A4 ring binder which has many dates of examinations in it. Its basically lists of names of claimants for a Doctor to examine but they're booked in 10 minutes apart over an 8hr period. My experts will say that this amount of time is nonsense for an examination.
On each of the claim files containing his reports the Dr is billing £552 per person. This is going to be a matter of much debate as to whether he's being fraudulent or whether he's being unethical but for now the suspicion is that it's fraudulent.
One of the medical experts has inspected several of Dr Rashid's reports so far and submitted interim reports. His overall opinion is that they are of very poor quality and even makes comment that he thinks they have been written by someone with very poor medical knowledge such as a hospital porter! To this day he remains convinced that the author is not a Doctor! One reason for this is the way he describes certain body parts in that my expert says he doesn't know what he's talking about.
A very interesting comment from one of my experts is that Dr Rashid always works in imperial measurements when in fact the medical profession has, as standard practice used metric for at least the last 30 years.
On all of the Doctors medical report he or she will include a page of references they have used in which to form their opinion. The list Dr Rashid uses is the same on every report & is very out of date with the references being dated from 1983 to 1998 though he doesn't always include this list. One reason for having a list of references is so that those authors can be brought to court to support the diagnosis.
The experts will say that in order to make a proper diagnosis & more importantly give a realistic recovery time the examining Doctor should have access to the claimant's medical records from his GP. This isn't always done but Dr Rashid never does this. This isn't something written in stone just a recommendation of good practice."
(5)(c) Reasonable Grounds for Suspicion: Item (3)
"Barclays private premier account in the name Dr A A W Rashid (*697)
This account began in Feb 2007 & seems to be a general account.
1) On 30/7/10 there is a payment of £500 out to 'Concept Accident M'. There's no professional reason for any Doctor to have dealings with a CM as its all done through a solicitor."
"In short a picture of large sums of money always in round figures being paid on random dates, on regular occasions into a bank account controlled by an OCG!"
"At numerous points throughout the wider Op Thatcham investigation we have been told by solicitors, insurance companies, regulators and our own medical experts that the practices we see Dr Rashid employing are not uncommon in the industry. This is usually said with a sigh and a shrug as if to say 'what-can-we-do-about-it?'"
(5)(d) Reasonable Grounds for Suspicion: Item (4)
"On 21/11/11 there's a payment of £825 out to NK Consultants. This is a company set up by Nadeem Khalid (main suspect) as NK business consultants ltd which has no use and is suspected to have been set up as a money laundering tool. His co accused Sahir Mohammed also set up SR Business Consultants ltd at the same time."
"The N.K. Business Consultants account was a further account run by the OCG (N.K. presumably the initials of Nadeem Khalid) but one which was not known about by the Enquiry team at the time of the first phase arrests otherwise it too would have been subject to the restraining order. The fact that it was known about and used by Dr Rashid after the first phase arrests was regarded and recorded by the enquiry team as intensely suspicious."
(5)(e) Reasonable Grounds for Suspicion: Summary
(5)(f) Genuine Suspicion
(6) Honest and Reasonable Belief that it was Necessary to Arrest the Claimant
"4. The learned Recorder below erred in law and fact when he held that DC Lunn, or anyone else, held an honest and reasonable belief that it was 'necessary' to arrest Dr Rashid for the prompt and effective investigation of the suspected offence for which he was arrested.
6. the learned Recorder erred in law in failing to consider relevant matters and considering, insofar it can be determined the learned Recorder considered anything in this regard, irrelevant matters."
"It was put to D.I. Taylor that Dr Rashid could have been expected to have been co-operative and he agreed with that proposition. It was put to him that in those circumstances there was no necessity to arrest him and he could have been asked to attend the police station as a voluntary attender. He did not agree with this. The view of the whole team he said was that it was necessary to exercise powers of arrest. He gave their reasons. First, he said that the time constraints of voluntary attendance may not have been sufficient (PACE Code G gives this as a specific example of something that may make arrest necessary). Secondly he said there was a need to secure information contained, in particular, on the Claimants phone or phones. Thirdly he said that there was a need to obtain evidence seized on arrest for the purposes of later interviews. As to the degree of detention which followed the arrest D.I. Taylor considered that it was proportionate to the time needed for interview, particularly as Dr Rashid had asked to be and had been medically examined and provided with appropriate assistance."
(1) the ringleader of the organised crime group, Nadeem Khaled, and 62 others had already been arrested, so any conspirator would long have known that the police were investigating the conspiracy and would have had ample opportunity to dispose of or conceal evidence;(2) the police had obtained search warrants authorising searches of the Claimant's properties;
(3) the police anticipated that the Claimant would be cooperative; and
(4) no contemporary document was disclosed in which DC Lunn recorded his reasons for believing that the Claimant's arrest was necessary.
(8)(a) Reasonable Grounds: First Reason
(1) There were no time constraints on voluntary attendance for interview.(2) PACE Code G did not refer to time constraints on voluntary attendance for interview.
(3) The Claimant could have been invited to attend an interview voluntarily, and only arrested if he proved non-cooperative at the police station.
(8)(a) Reasonable Grounds: Second and Third Reasons
(7) The Recorder's Alternative Conclusions
(1) it cannot be said that, if DC Lunn had not arrested him, another officer would have arrested the Claimant lawfully; and(2) there is no scope for the application of the ex turpi causa doctrine, since the conduct on the part of the Claimant referred to in paragraph 45 of the Recorder's judgment merely provided the occasion for his arrest, but did not cause him to be arrested unlawfully.
(8) The Recorder's Reasons
(9) Summary