Review into Peter Sullivan’s police bullying claims to take place

A police force accused of “bullying” an innocent man into falsely confessing to a murder for which he was jailed for 38 years has referred itself to the police watchdog after a BBC investigation.

Peter Sullivan claimed he had been beaten and fed information to make his confession believable after being arrested for the killing of Diane Sindall, who was beaten to death in Birkenhead, Wirral, in 1986.

Mr Sullivan, who has learning difficulties, spent 38 years behind bars before fresh DNA testing led to his conviction being quashed in May.

Merseyside Police said earlier it would refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after the claims made in an interview with the BBC.

It comes after the force already referred itself to the police watchdog after Mr Sullivan’s conviction was quashed.

A spokesperson said “no misconduct had been identified” at the time of the first referral in May, but said Mr Sullivan’s comments to the BBC would form the basis of a second referral.

Mr Sullivan had been denied legal representation after his arrest and was without a solicitor for his first seven out of 22 police interviews.

He told the BBC while in custody he had twice been beaten by officers with truncheons in his cell between interrogations.

He also claimed he was told he would be “charged with 35 rapes” if he did not co-operate.

Merseyside Police, which had maintained its officers acted within the law at the time, said it had not previously been aware of those claims.

Chief Constable Rob Carden, who joined the force in September this year, said: “It was a grave miscarriage of justice and obviously as chief constable of Merseyside it doesn’t matter how long I’ve been there, I deeply regret the detrimental impact on Mr Sullivan’s life.”

Mr Sullivan, 68, said he wanted an explanation for why detectives “picked me out”.

“I can’t forgive them for what they’ve done to me, because it’s going to be there for the rest of my life,” he said, adding he had “lost everything” since going to prison.

“I’ve got to carry that burden until I can get an apology.”

The semi-naked body of Miss Sindall, 21, was found in an alleyway off Borough Road in Birkenhead on 2 August 1986.

She had suffered devastating head injuries during a frenzied sexual attack, which included serious bite mark injuries to her breasts.

Mr Sullivan was freed after the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) – the body set up to examine potential miscarriages of justice – ordered fresh testing in 2023 on semen samples recovered from her body which found the profile of an unknown man and paving the way for Mr Sullivan’s freedom.

DNA testing technology had not been sensitive enough to test the samples, which had been diluted by rainwater at the time, in previous years and premature testing had risked destroying them forever.

Merseyside Police is re-investigating the murder but as yet no new arrests have been made.