London police to review Fallon race-fixing probe

City of London police today announced a sweeping review of their disastrous horse racing corruption investigation.

An Old Bailey judge directed a jury to clear Kieren Fallon and five other people of race-fixing last week.

The dramatic decision brought to an end an unprecedented three-and-a-half year £10m (€14m) investigation that rocked the horse racing world.

Commissioner Mike Bowron said the review will focus on the entire inquiry from its launch in March 2004.

He said City of London Police will not be deterred from other high-profile and complex fraud investigations.

The force is responsible for an explosive inquiry into alleged corruption in football that led to the arrest of Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp last month.

Mr Bowron said: “As we said last week, we believe we uncovered and presented some compelling evidence during the course of the investigation.

“However, this was the largest inquiry of its type ever undertaken and there was no precedent.

“It is right, therefore, that we should conduct a full and thorough review of the investigation.

“Once complete, we will look at the findings and assess where we may need to do things differently.

“Like any police force, we are always striving to improve the quality of our work in all areas.

“As lead force for fraud investigation, it is our responsibility to stage investigations into high-profile cases where there is significant evidence of fraudulent activity.

“We will continue to fulfil that responsibility, while learning from experience where necessary.”

The review will be led by Commander Patrick Rice and is expected to be completed in February when the findings will be made public.

City of London Police came under intense criticism after the trial collapsed at the Old Bailey.

Fallon said he was “outraged” after a judge threw the case out after the conclusion of prosecution evidence.

Speaking outside the court, the six-times champion said: “I am of course relieved and delighted, but also outraged. There was never any evidence against me.”

Fallon, 42, and fellow jockeys Fergal Lynch and Darren Williams were alleged to have plotted to lose 27 races so a betting syndicate could win on bets.

But the judge, Mr Justice Forbes, found the Australian steward called to give expert evidence was not qualified to analyse British racing.

Fallon was suspended from riding in Britain for 17 months since his arrest and said he lost a year’s racing and considerable earnings.

His solicitor Ian Burton said the prosecution should never have taken place and that Fallon was the victim of “ill-founded vilification”.

However, within hours of being cleared, it emerged Fallon tested positive for a banned substance after riding a race in France in August.

City of London Police, who had been asked to investigate by the Jockey Club, came under constant criticism throughout the case.

The defence attacked the force for asking the Jockey Club for money towards its estimated £3m (€4.1m) costs.

It was also revealed that the main detective in the case had been offered a job with the British Horseracing Authority’s security unit.