Police to release secret report on the death of Blair Peach

Blair Peach died after being struck on the head at a demonstration against the NF

Campaigners believe the anti-fascist protester was killed by police during a demonstration in 1979

A highly critical report into the death of Blair Peach, the anti-fascist campaigner widely believed to have been killed by police in 1979, is expected to be published on Tuesday. Some 2,000 pages of documents will be released, including a previously secret police report. Peach, a 33-year-old teacher from New Zealand, died after being struck on the head at a demonstration against the National Front in Southall, west London. Witnesses said they saw him being attacked by police, but after an internal investigation no officers were charged.

It is understood the report has been redacted to protect the identities of individual officers. However, most interest is expected to focus on a report by commander John Cass, the Metropolitan police officer who investigated the death.

The Met agreed to release the report after Ian Tomlinson, a passerby at the G20 protests in London, died of internal bleeding last year after being attacked by a police officer. The incident, caught on film obtained by the Guardian, prompted comparisons with the Peach case.

At the April 1979 demonstration, more than 40 people, including 21 police, were injured and 300 were arrested. A pathologist report said Peach died from injuries likely to have been caused by a lead-weighted rubber cosh or hosepipe filled with lead shot. When officers' lockers were raided, unauthorised weapons including a metal cosh were found, but this was ruled out as the weapon that killed Peach.

Guardian

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Scotland Yard has passed a secret internal report into the killing to officials at the Crown Prosecution Service. The decision was made after public pressure to reveal the almost forgotten review in the months after the death of Ian Tomlinson during G20 protests.

Senior officers pencilled in publication for later this month after an appeal by Mr Peach's partner Celia Stubbs. But police solicitors advised prosecutors should look at it in case there is any chance further inquiries could be made and charges brought. One source close to the process said it is unlikely that murder or manslaughter charges will be brought, but officers may face corruption charges.

A shadow has hung over the death of Mr Peach, 33, since he was hit over the head at a demonstration against the National Front in Southall, west London, in 1979. Members of the force's Special Patrol Group were suspected of hitting him with a rubberised police radio or a lead-filled cosh.

A report written by Commander John Cass, a former senior officer at the Met's internal complaints department, examined his death. He is believed to have recommended the prosecution of police officers, although no charges were ever brought.

In June, Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said the report should be published, possibly by the end of the year, with some details censored. He told a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) that a review of the documents would take place to consider whether any censorship was required.

Members of the MPA unanimously supported a decision to review the documents with a view to publishing them before the end of the year.

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