Mark Daly
BBC Rough Justice
I came on to this case about a year after my producer Louise Shorter had become sure Barri and Keith could not have committed this terrible murder. But I wasn’t so convinced at first. In fact, the first few months of my involvement in the story were spent dispassionately trying to prove Louise wrong. I had no emotional attachment to the story - probably part of the reason I was brought in – and just set about trying to find the evidence which could lead to the truth. And if that meant finding enough of it to put sufficient doubt in our heads that Barri and Keith might have done it and kill the programme, then so be it.
But between us, we methodically contacted every relevant witness, chased up every lead and explored every possible theory until we reached the incontrovertible conclusion that Rachel could not have been killed by Barri. There wasn’t time. I have replayed the evidence over and over, in the office, on the whiteboard, in my head; I have driven the route and simulated the circumstances of the crime – it’s simply not possible for them to have done what the jury concluded they did, and clean up after themselves to the extent that they left no forensic trace of their activities. That’s why we made the programme. And that’s why we are still following the case with a view to making a follow-up documentary about the appeal.
The scientific evidence used to convict the pair was not just flaky or inconclusive – it was plain wrong. I, personally, stood aghast as the expert in question brazenly admitted to me that he had not done the work to back up his spurious conclusions. Some of the police work was lazy and questionable. The case went through a flawed justice process. But Barri and Keith’s fate remains still in the hands of the same system. And we have to hope that it will come good in the end. When this case appears in front of the appeal court in a few months time, it’s my hope that the evidence will be viewed by those three learned men with lingering disbelief that the case ever reached court in the first place.
At the BBC, we did as much as we could, but without the help and pro bono work of Dr Peter Bull and Chris Hallsworth, we would not be here now, waiting for the appeal court hearing.
I take my hat off to Barri and Keith. Barri; for keeping himself alive under circumstances in which it would probably be easier just to curl up in a corner and accept your fate. Keith; for holding it together and venting his understandable fury in a (sometimes!) controlled and constructive manner.
I also offer my sincere thanks to Dennis Gilmartin who, for more than three years, as well as running this fantastic website, has never failed to take a phone call from Louise or me no matter how busy he is. And there have been hundreds. The families and friends of the pair deserve recognition. Their support to the BBC, but more importantly, to Barri and Keith, has been invaluable.
For the moment all we can do is wait while the legal process takes its course. The legal team and the numerous experts are working away tirelessly towards the appeal. We need to be patient, as we have to get it right this time; there is no margin for error. But, it won’t be much longer before the boys have their day in court again. But this time, I believe the justice delivered won’t be so rough.
Mark Daly, Reporter, BBC
13/03/07
About Mark
Mark Daly is 32 and was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. After completing a degree and postgraduate in Journalism, he took a job in his home town’s local newspaper, The Clydebank Post, in 1999. He was named Scotland’s Young Journalist of the Year six months later and moved to The Scotsman, Scotland’s national broadsheet. After a year there, he joined The Daily Record, the country’s biggest tabloid, and spearheaded a series of award-winning undercover investigations.
In 2002 he left Scotland and newspapers to join the BBC, and embarked on a two-year undercover investigation into racism in the Greater Manchester Police service, the UK’s second largest force. This involved joining the police and spending seven months in uniform, while secretly recording his colleagues using a series of covert cameras. The resulting documentary, The Secret Policeman, caused a national outcry. Ten officers were forced to resign and a further 12 were disciplined with three trainers being removed from their posts. As a result, a national investigation into racism in the police was launched by the Commission for Racial Equality, which made 125 recommendations. The programme won a BAFTA, two Royal Television Society awards, three additional programme of the year awards and Mark was named British Young Journalist of the Year. All new recruits to British Police Forces are now shown The Secret Policeman in the first week of training.
He followed this with Rough Justice: Murder Without a Trace in 2005, which was an investigation into the case of a murdered young woman in which the wrong men had been imprisoned. As a result of this investigation which found fresh evidence proving innocent men had been jailed, the case is set for the appeal court later this year.
In August this year, His third BBC investigation was aired to an audience of 4 million. The Boys Who Killed Stephen Lawrence was the result of a forensic 18-month investigation into Britain’s most famous unsolved murder. The film broke new ground with fresh evidence of police corruption and the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, is currently investigation the Metropolitan Police as a result.
Mark continues to work for the BBC and was reunited with Rough Justice producer Louise Shorter in November and their latest investigation is due for delivery and broadcast in the Spring.