Kyle: 'Police must apologise for years of hell'

Published Date: 19 December 2008 ( Cleveland Police the UK's most corrupt force on record.)

SUZANNE Holdsworth's solicitor has demanded an apology from police after she was put through years of hell.

Campbell Malone went on to say that Suzanne was "lucky" to have partner Lee Spencer by her side throughout her grim ordeal.

Mr Malone said: "It's difficult to use the word lucky when she has spent years in prison but she is lucky that she has had Lee by her side, he is a great guy.



"He has been the driving force behind this.

"Lee knew that she simply could not have done this and he never wavered in getting the case re-opened after her conviction."

Mr Malone hit out at police for praising their inquiry in a force publication and called on them to
apologise to Suzanne.


He added: "When Suzanne was originally convicted, the police, in their annual publication, congratulated themselves and I hope they are going to take a deep, serious look at this investigation.

"I had hoped the appeal would have been the end of it but although it has been a prolonged ordeal for Suzanne it is great that all of the evidence has come out and she has been cleared by a local jury.

"I know that the one thing Suzanne would like to come out of this case is an apology from the police."

After the case, Cleveland Police said they would not be reopening the investigation into Kyle's death, and later added an apology would not be issued.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Braithwaite said: "The retrial of Suzanne Holdsworth was properly brought at the direction of the Court of Appeal and followed the receipt of new expert medical evidence that was not available to the jury at the first trial.

"This has been a classic jury case. Their job is to consider the evidence against the defendant. To convict they must be sure of the defendant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

"The jury has properly done their job and have acquitted Suzanne Holdsworth. It is not our intention to reopen investigations into Kyle's tragic death."

Of the apology, a Cleveland Police spokeswoman added: "We are not reopening the investigation into Kyle Fisher's death and we are not issuing an apology."

Keith Simpson, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The role of the Crown Prosecution Service is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to justify a case being brought and a realistic prospect of conviction.

"The role of the jury is to decide whether the evidence shows beyond any reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty.

"That is how our justice system works.

"The jury have decided that Miss Holdsworth is innocent.

"I am entirely satisfied that the Crown Prosecution Service and the police were wholly right in bringing this case to court for a second time."

It later emerged that Kyle was not known to social services at Hartlepool Borough Council, and was therefore never deemed to be at risk.

A serious case review after his death concluded that any culpability for Kyle's death "lay outside any professional agency".

It also emerged during the trial that the tragic youngster was due to undergo surgery for a brain condition, but that medical evidence never came to light.