Kevin Nunes murder: IPCC probe looking at 14 officers

Drug dealer Kevin Nunes was shot dead in a country lane in Staffordshire in September 2002

Fourteen police officers, including a newly-appointed chief constable, are being investigated over the handling of a 2002 gangland murder, it has emerged.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is looking at how the officers investigated Kevin Nunes' murder in Pattingham, Staffordshire.

One of those is Suzette Davenport, who was named as Gloucestershire Police's new chief constable on Wednesday.

The claims surround whether potential evidence was withheld.

In March, five men who had been jailed in 2008 for the murder were freed on appeal after it emerged concerns over the credibility of the key prosecution witness were not disclosed to the defence.

Nine still serving

Mr Nunes, an amateur footballer who was on the books of Tottenham Hotspur, was shot dead in a country lane in September 2002.

Police believe the 20-year-old had been a drug dealer who was shot in an execution-style killing after straying into another gang's territory.

The IPCC said five of the officers being investigated were now retired and nine were still serving in various forces.

All were employed by Staffordshire Police at the time of the murder investigation.

Other serving officers include Northamptonshire Chief Constable Adrian Lee, West Midlands Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale and Staffordshire's Assistant Chief Constable Jane Sawyers.

The IPCC investigation into the handling of the murder inquiry started after the jailed men first lodged their appeals and the Court of Appeal asked the Criminal Cases Review Commission to investigate.

In 2010, the IPCC was brought in amid concerns evidence may have been withheld from the prosecution and the court.