Police misled me over Nicholas Churton murder, says MP

Nicholas Churton was murdered at his home in Wrexham by killer Jordan Davidson

Wrexham MP Ian Lucas has said he was "misled deliberately" by police over a murder case.

Nicholas Churton was killed with a machete and hammer at his home in 2017 by Jordan Davidson, who had previous convictions and was out on licence.

Mr Lucas said he asked police why he was released from police custody four days before the murder and was wrongly told this was subject to an inquiry.

A minister told MPs there was "clear evidence of failure" over the case.

Davidson, from Wrexham, is serving a life sentence with a minimum of 30 years.

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Despite his long list of previous convictions he was bailed after being arrested for possession of a knife days before killing 67-year-old disabled man Mr Churton in his Wrexham flat.

Mr Lucas told the Commons on Thursday "events leading to those crimes, revealed grave errors by the police and by the probation services in Wrexham and north Wales".

"There was no inquiry into the circumstances of Davidson's release from custody," he said.

"In fact, the IOPC [Independent Office for Police Conduct], following my questioning and my enquiries, commenced an inquiry into this release in April 2018, an inquiry which still has yet to conclude."

He said: "There's been a systematic cover up involving North Wales Police, the probation service, the Community Rehabilitation Company, the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Independent Office of Police Conduct."

In response, Home Office Minister Nick Hurd said there was "clear evidence of failure" over the handling of the case.