[2025] EWHC 2684 (KB)

DC Baker said that Mr Cooper’s interview was one of the first, he had no idea how important it would be and would not say it was “make or break” for the enquiry. DC Baker was clear and firm that Mr Cooper was not told that they already had enough evidence and would have been told that there was a fraud investigation into extra care.

DC Baker said that Mr Cooper was “very cagey and protective” and that in between tape changes he advised them to “follow the money”. He also said that a whistleblower in the NHS would be committing financial suicide.

It was put to DC Baker that there was a “good cop and bad cop” approach and he responded by stating that he was “not in Mr Cooper’s mind” and questioned why on earth they would have behaved like that if they wanted an interviewee to trust them.

DC Baker rejected the suggestion that some important matters explained by Mr Cooper in the interview were deliberately not contained in the statement; such as that there was an assessment of a patient before they were accepted by Mr Deveney. DC Baker stated that he did not accept the suggestion “for one moment” and that he believed that the statement was a fair reflection of what was said in the interview.

It was also put to DC Baker that the summary was “false” and “deliberately skewed” and gave “a false picture” as regards Mr Cooper. It was at this point the fact that this allegation was not put to the author of the summary (DS Brownsell) was raised.