Fury as officers who bungled murder case get their jobs back

Peter Woodhams, 22, was murdered by a gang seven months after being the victim of a vicious knife attack which left him horribly scarred.

His family said police were given the name of Bradley Tucker whom they believed was behind the stabbing - and was later convicted of Mr Woodhams' murder - but officers failed to investigate properly.

Following complaints from Mr Woodham's family, Detective Sergeant Darren Case and Detective Constable Adam Suett were forced to resign after an investigation by the police watchdog found serious flaws in the way the Met handled the case. A subsequent misconduct hearing found the pair guilty of gross neglect of duty.

But a review by a senior Metropolitan Assistant Commissioner has ruled the punishments were too severe and the officers have been reinstated.

Mr Woodhams died in front of his fiancée Jane Bowden and three-year-old son Sam in August 2006, after being shot three times outside his home in Canning Town.

Miss Bowden, 25, said today she was disgusted by the decision to reinstate the officers, whom she blamed for her partner's death.

She said: "I am livid. I think it is disgusting. I blame them for Peter's death as much as his killer. I hold them responsible one hundred per cent.

"If they had done their jobs in the first place it would not have happened.

"When we got the result last October from the IPCC it was a comfort to know the two officers who acted so irresponsibly would not be able to do anything-like this again. Now I'm shattered-that they will work as police officers-again. "There have been constant failings." Det Sg Case was demoted to Detective Constable while Det Con Suett was fined 13 days pay after they successfully appealed last week against their expulsion from the force.

Miss Bowden said: "I was not expecting them to get their jobs back. He has lost 13 days pay but Peter has lost his life because of their negligence. It is not right. I don't know how they have decided this - how they could just change their mind.

"Nothing makes up for what happened, but this is an insult - it is ridiculous. It is one thing after another. If I do something wrong in my job I can expect to get fired, I don't expect they will just give it back to me.

"I'm really, really angry. It is not justice. They probably won't do it again but it should not take someone to die for the police to do their job properly."

Mr Woodhams, a satellite TV engineer-was stabbed in the neck and slashed across the face by the gang in January 2006.

He was shot in the heart seven months later after suffering a campaign of violence and intimidation.

His father, also called Peter, said the decision to reinstate the officers was unbelievable.

He said: "We are very disappointed. We thought all along they would be sacked for this.

"It is what they deserved. This is an insult. To be docked just 13 days pay over my son's death makes his life seem worthless.

"When they were told to resign, we hoped it would stop anything like this happening again. We felt it sent a clear message that the police now knew that they must do their job thoroughly, and not half-heartedly.

"To allow them back to work sends out the wrong message."

Bradley Tucker, 18, was jailed for a minimum of 25 years in May for murdering Mr Woodhams.