A Thorn in Their Side--Hilda Murrell Threatened Britain's Nuclear State. She Was Brutally Murdered. This is the True Story of her Shocking Death Read online

  A THORN IN THEIR SIDE

  ROBERT GREEN

  WITH KATE DEWES

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  FOREWORD BY MICHAEL MANSFIELD QC

  MAIN CHARACTERS

  DEDICATION

  CHAPTER 1: MUCH MORE THAN MY AUNT

  CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST WEEK

  CHAPTER 3: MORE THAN A BURGLARY GONE WRONG

  CHAPTER 4: DALYELL’S EXPLOSIVE ALLEGATION

  CHAPTER 5: CONSPIRACY THEORIES STRENGTHEN

  CHAPTER 6: INCONVENIENT EVIDENCE

  CHAPTER 7: COMPLICATING DEVELOPMENTS

  CHAPTER 8: STALKER, SMITH AND INTIMIDATION

  CHAPTER 9: COLD CASE REVIEW

  CHAPTER 10: THE TRIAL

  CHAPTER 11: A STITCH-UP

  CHAPTER 12: OTHER RELATED VICTIMS

  CHAPTER 13: CASE CLOSED?

  CHAPTER 14: ‘BIGGER THAN THE SHREWSBURY POLICE’

  CHAPTER 15: WILD CARDS AND FACING FACTS

  INDEX

  Plates

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Copyright

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Chronicling my pursuit of the truth about how and why my aunt Hilda Murrell met her violent death in 1984 has been arduous but deeply cathartic. My primary and immediate motive is to expose damning evidence that proves at least one other man was involved in Hilda’s murder. This would probably acquit Andrew George of abducting and murdering her. Suspicious loss by the Forensic Science Service of key parts of Hilda’s body relating to toxicology testing is another primary reason why the case must be re-opened. However, I have no illusions that – barring some extraordinary new whistleblowing – her killers will ever be identified, let alone brought to justice.

  Nonetheless, recent developments have given me renewed hope that I might yet uncover the true motive, and who was responsible. As I describe in Chapter 14, explosive new information given to me by several witnesses during my visits to Britain in 2012 suggests that Hilda had documents that threatened the Thatcher government far more than anything I knew of. Furthermore, copies of these documents might still be at large – and the information could damage the present government. This could explain our ongoing harassment as people try to get information to us.

  My experience of sitting through the five-week trial of Andrew George in 2005 was that the English adversarial judicial process proved woefully ineffective in discovering who had murdered Hilda. I believe this book provides enough evidence, known to both prosecution and defence but not put to the jury or the Appeal Court judges in 2006, to re-open Hilda’s case. My hope is it will generate enough political pressure for a public Commission of Inquiry. This would be a genuine search for the truth, exploring all the possibilities – including those raised by the victim’s next of kin.

  A powerful topicality and sense of déjà vu surrounds this cautionary tale about a distinguished elderly woman who was a law-abiding, true British patriot. Hilda loved her country so much she was not prepared to have it damaged and poisoned by the nuclear machinations of the State, regardless of which political party holds power. As the present British government presses to replace nuclear power plants and weapons, Hilda’s prophetic arguments against both have lost none of their force. Indeed, the nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima in Japan in March 2011 has highlighted the hazards of relying upon such an unforgiving way to generate electricity. Hilda stands vindicated regarding the uniquely intractable and long-lived characteristics of radioactive waste, and the fact that no nuclear power plant has ever been built without massive government subsidies. Also, British political leaders need to confront their 60-year-old delusion that nuclear weapons guarantee Britain’s security and independence.

  Hopefully, this book also clears my name and puts the record straight about my involvement in the 1982 Falklands War – which did nothing to solve the still-festering conflict over these resource-rich islands in the South Atlantic. In March 2010, the start of British oil exploration in Falklands waters angered the Argentine government, which gained widespread international support for pressure to be applied to the British government to negotiate on the future of the Falklands. In December 2012 previously secret files released by the British National Archives confirmed that Margaret Thatcher rejected US President Reagan’s suggestions for negotiating a ceasefire and a multinational peacekeeping force.

  SOURCES

  Every fact proffered here can be backed up by source material, much of it not available before and giving new information about the case. This includes Hilda’s and my personal diaries; police videotapes and forensic reports; witness statements; the suppressed Northumbria Report; transcribed notes from the 2005 trial of Andrew George and his failed Appeal in 2006; notes and audiotapes from interviews and meetings with the police and key witnesses; books; transcribed tapes of TV and radio programmes; newspaper reports and correspondence. Some names have been withheld for their protection. All photographs from West Mercia Police have been released to the media. Passages in italics are from documents, including witness statements disclosed before and during the trial. Electronic copies of important source documents, plus media updates, are at www.hildamurrell.org

  For permission to use his archive of material I must thank Andrew George.

  Every attempt has been made to gain permission to use other material. In some cases there has been no response to requests; in others, it has not been possible to trace relevant people.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Researching and writing this book has been a long haul. I could never have done it without my wife Kate’s tireless enthusiasm and determination, as well as her research, transcribing and record-keeping skills. On the many occasions when ‘Murrelling’ fatigue set in, she kept me going. Her dedication to Hilda and what she stood for has been inspiring and humbling. Also her three daughters have sustained me with wonderful affirmation, support and encouragement.

  During the past 20 years of intimidation, indications of surveillance, and occasional mysterious break-ins and reports of intruders, we were grateful for support from several New Zealand parliamentarians. These included two former Prime Ministers, David Lange and Helen Clark, as well as Kate Wilkinson MP. Special mention must go to Michael Mansfield QC for his Foreword. For years he followed the case and my pursuit of the truth, and on countless occasions offered advice and encouragement. Andrew Fox also deserves a special tribute for his help with early drafts.

  Over so many years I have received help, support and encouragement from countless good people. Some I cannot name for reasons they will understand. In alphabetical order, I wish to acknowledge and thank the family of the late Don Arnott, Norman Baker MP, Kathy and Rick Beech, the late Dr Rosalie Bertell, Gladys Bury, Ian and Thalia Campbell, Trina Child (Guthrie), the family of the late Patsy Dale, Tam Dalyell, Chris Eldon Lee, Michael Fitzgerald, the late Brian George, Jane Gilmore and Pat Dymond, the family of the late Philip Griffith, Robert Hunt, Paul Marsden, Christopher Mileham, Gary Murray, John Osmond, Laurens Otter, Anna Parker, Tatjana and the late Murray Parsons, Jenny and the late Edward Radford, Marnie Sweet, the family of the late Joan and Clive Tate, David Watson, Derek Woodvine, and Stuart and Angela Wright-Stow.

  For editing advice, I am indebted to Ian and Diane Grant, and John Blake Publishing. For permission to use certain photographs I thank David Burrows at the Shropshire Star.

  Robert Gree
n

  Christchurch, New Zealand

  July 2013

  FOREWORD

  This is a tale of mystery and intrigue that touches all our lives. Carefully researched and lovingly told, you cannot remain unmoved. The questions come thick and fast. There is always another stone to be overturned. Far more than a ‘who dunnit’, it is also a ‘why’ and ‘what dunnit’. Echoes of the death of Dr David Kelly. It is a story that uncovers the life-threatening risks that have to be endured by a few for the many who ‘dare not speak’.

  The most compelling aspect of this book and the convolutions of its continuing saga is the daily vindication of Hilda Murrell’s cause celèbre. This may, in itself, provide an explanation for her murder. Her singular presence was too important to be ignored by the authorities, and the extent of what she knew had to be discovered. Something had to be done. But the intervention went fatally wrong.

  The bizarre circumstances surrounding Hilda’s murder have been trawled through in books, articles, documentaries and plays. A man has been convicted – but this cannot be the whole story. Rob Green and his wife Kate Dewes have painstakingly pieced together a scenario that is irreconcilable with the police version. After reading this book, I doubt anyone will imagine that the whole exercise from house, to car, to lane, to field, to copse in broad daylight was accomplished by a slightly built 16-year-old who had merely been looking for cash.

  Hilda was killed in 1984, shortly before she was about to deliver her paper entitled An Ordinary Citizen’s View of Radioactive Waste Management to the first UK Public Inquiry into the burgeoning nuclear power industry which was focusing on the proposed Sizewell B plant in Suffolk. Her fundamental objection concerned the dangers relating to the hazardous nature of high-level radioactive spent nuclear fuel. Her research was meticulous and authoritative.

  When the Government outlined its future plans for new generation nuclear power plants in 2008–09, it offered generous inducements to local authorities that might permit waste storage – finance, transport infrastructure, utilities, employment. Despite this, only local councils in one area were initially enticed – Cumbria.

  Early in 2013, a few days before writing these words, significant but barely broadcast announcements were made in quick succession. They struck at the very heart of current UK policy, and reflect growing reservations and opposition to the development of nuclear power. They echoed precisely the sentiments expressed by Hilda Murrell.

  The first announcement, by Cumbria County Council on 30 January, rejected the proposal to develop underground waste storage in a pristine and prestigious national park. Nearby, the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing site already has extensive surface storage facilities. The rationale for rejecting the proposal was based on the inherent geological uncertainty of the region, especially seismic, set against the longevity of the potentially carcinogenic toxic waste. Only two years earlier, in the spring of 2011, there had been two minor but significant tremors in Blackpool connected to shale gas ‘fracking’ exploration, which was suspended but then given the Government go-ahead to resume in December 2012. Any interest shown in storing nuclear waste by local councils in the area has now been overruled by the County Council. Without disposal sites, properly researched, approved, and tested – should that be possible – any new construction of generating plant is completely nonsensical.

  The second announcement was made by Centrica (owners of British Gas) on 4 February 2013. It said it was withdrawing from a consortium with Electricité De France (EDF) in which it held a 20 per cent option, originally established to replace old nuclear and fossil fuel plants going offline, with four new nuclear ones, at Hinkley Point, Somerset and once again Sizewell, Suffolk. The reasons given for withdrawal were the uncertainty of spiralling investment costs and unclear construction schedules. If this decision stood alone it would be bad enough for Coalition energy policy, but it is symptomatic of an industry wide malaise – cold feet!

  In March 2012, two of the big six companies in this field, both German, pulled out of their Horizon project, which had planned reactors at Wylfa in Wales and Oldbury in Gloucestershire. This was entirely consistent with Germany’s post-Fukushima nuclear phase-out and its switch to renewable energy sources. In fact, the German engineering association VDE has predicted this move could ‘obliterate’ the need for nuclear or coal-fired power.

  In 2011 Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) had already taken their leave of another joint venture, NuGen, for a new plant at Sellafield. The writing is on the wall, Hilda, as you well you knew it would be.

  Another motive swirling around Hilda’s murder was the harrying of Mrs Thatcher by maverick Labour MP Tam Dalyell over the controversial torpedoing of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano by the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror in the 1982 Falklands War. Rob Green was then a Commander in the Royal Navy, helping to run Intelligence support for British forces. After the war, Dalyell received a drip-feed of signals intelligence that he claimed showed Parliament had been misled about details of the sinking. Rob became embroiled in false accusations about possible leaks of this information to Hilda.

  Continuing pointers towards State complicity in Hilda’s murder have been the endless and remorseless efforts to put the authors off their stride by harassment, surveillance and intimidatory intrusion. Even after publication of this book in New Zealand, this has not abated. No one in the UK should be in any doubt about this reality following revelations in January 2011 about the extent of police undercover activities in relation to perfectly peaceful and legitimate protest groups. An undercover cop, Mark Kennedy, admitted that for eight years he and other officers pretended they were environmental activists and befriended individuals in order to gain information for the National Public Order Intelligence Unit. In January 2013, the UN special rapporteur on rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association called on the Government to launch a judge-led public inquiry into this and other similar cases. He described them as ‘shocking’ and as damaging as the phone hacking scandal.

  In the wake of widespread evidence of this latter disgraceful practice, the Leveson Inquiry held its hearings in public in 2012 to examine the extent of collusion between the state, politicians and police, and the media. It concluded essentially that the relationship was too close for comfort and not in the public interest. In the light of pending criminal prosecutions, no further comment can be made until the next edition of this book!

  As a result of these factors and the other 50-odd unanswered questions and concerns summarised near the end of the book, I have called for a Commission of Inquiry into this case. On 3 July 2012 Austin Mitchell MP, who has given unstinting support to the authors, tabled a powerful Parliamentary Early Day Motion (EDM 314) that contained this submission as well as a number of other points. It attracted important cross-party support.

  Since then, there have been dramatic developments in relation to another case and the search for truth by the friends and relations of victims – Hillsborough. The disaster, in which 96 people died, happened five years after Hilda’s murder. From the start the victims were blamed and vilified. I have described the subsequent investigation as ‘the biggest cover-up in British legal history’. The families, like Robert Green, have struggled courageously for over 20 years to uncover the truth, confronting denial, hostility and harassment. After much soul-searching and public pressure, the Government finally agreed to establish an independent panel of nine under the chairmanship of the Bishop of Liverpool to collate all relevant material and manage its disclosure. The panel were also tasked to assess the extent to which this material added to public understanding of the events. Over 400,000 documents were assembled. The report, published in September 2012, was a blockbuster. It led to all 96 inquest verdicts being quashed and fresh inquests instituted, and a reinvestigation by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Independent Police Complaints Commission of criminal and civil liability of all the agencies involved.

  This independent panel is a model
of best practice for the Commission I have called for, and could be invoked to at least gather all the accumulated information, and especially materials which may not have seen the light of day, for the purposes of disclosure. It almost certainly would be able to add a great deal to public understanding. This is the minimum that is owed to Robert and Kate, to Hilda, to the public and, of course, to truth.

  Michael Mansfield QC

  MAIN CHARACTERS

  Mr A – Police informant at Andrew George’s trial.

  Dr Peter Acland – The pathologist who performed the first autopsy on Hilda, and for many years a media spokesman on forensic aspects for the West Mercia Police.

  Don Arnott – Retired nuclear scientist living in Wales who Hilda went to for advice 1983–84.

  Anthony Barker QC – Defence counsel at Andrew George’s trial.

  Detective Chief Inspector/Superintendent Mick Brunger – Led the investigation before, during and after the trial and appeal of Andrew George.

  Detective Chief Superintendent David Cole – Based at West Mercia Police HQ in Hindlip Hall, Worcester, he led the investigation into Hilda’s murder from 1984 to 1990.

  Judith Cook – Journalist, author and playwright who wrote two books and a play about the case.

  Tam Dalyell – Backbench Labour MP who led a campaign criticising the controversial sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano on 2 May 1982 by the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror.

  Police Constable Robert Eades – Organised the search that found Hilda’s body in Moat Copse on Saturday 24 March 1984.

  Andrew Fox – Documentary film-maker and producer of the pulled 1989 Central Lobby television programme on Hilda’s case. He later helped to write early drafts of this book.