Leading surgeon accused of hiding cocaine stash under rockery cleared after 'police bungle'

A judge has condemned police after a bungled investigation led to the collapse of the trial against a surgeon accused of possessing drugs.

Andrew Baker, 47, walked free from court after police mix-up over exactly where a washbag containing the drugs had been recovered from in his front garden.

Prosecutor Richard Thatcher told the jury the cancer expert hid the washbag containing cocaine and cannabis worth £45 under a rock to prevent his family discovering it because he was scared to confess he was a user.

But an officer had initially said the stash had been found in a washbag hidden under a log, before changing his mind.

The discrepancy was one of a series of errors in the investigation which came to light on Wednesday during the cross-examination of Detective Constable Rachael Delaney, the lead officer in the case for Derbyshire police.

Mr Thatcher yesterday offered no further evidence after telling the judge it was "intrinsic" to the crown's case to be sure where the bag had been recovered from.

Judge John Wait said: "There have been serious deficiencies in the conduct of this investigation.

"There may be questions on my part but there are questions that ought to be answered by those who want to ensure future investigations are carried out properly and expeditiously and disclosure is dealt with competently and conscientiously, as it must be."

It had been alleged that Dr Baker's secret life as a drug user was exposed when Leicestershire Police searched his Derby home in November 2006 in connection with a blackmail inquiry, which resulted in no charges being brought.

The Leicestershire officer who discovered the bag said it had been under a log, before revising his statement to say it had been in the rockery.

This information was then passed to Derbyshire police when Leicestershire finished its blackmail investigation.

The washbag contained 0.5g of cocaine, plus vials and a mirror to help snort it, and 3.34g of cannabis, as well as pipes for smoking the drug.

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At the time Dr Baker was a maxillofacial consultant at Derby's Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, treating patients whose faces had been devastated by cancer.

The court heard DNA evidence suggested he had used the vials and pipes and the chances the traces belonged to anyone else were a billion to one.

Dr Baker then told police his washbag had been stolen during a burglary at his home several months earlier and could have been returned by the culprit.

Derby Crown Court heard that fingerprint checks found the washbag's contents had been handled by the defendant, but that these checks were not conducted until December last year, some 13 months after it was recovered from Dr Baker's house.

Meanwhile, a sample of hair taken from the defendant for drug checks was never sent to be tested.

Ordering an inquiry by Derbyshire Police and prosecutors into the investigation, Judge Wait described the delays in fingerprint checks as inexcusable and the failure to fully check police statements as an "abrogation of responsibilities".

He added: "It's a case that should properly be investigated to see whether there are changes that are needed to be made in either the training of officers or the systems under which they work."

Dr Baker - said to be one of the 10 leading experts in his field - denied charges of possessing Class A and Class C drugs.

The medic refused to comment outside court, but his lawyer said in a statement that Dr Baker had been "vindicated".

The lawyer said his client had lost out on a job at a prestigious hospital as a result of the police inquiry and was considering legal action.

A Derbyshire Constabulary spokesman said Leicestershire Police handed over its file on Dr Baker in May 2007, and he was then bailed while further forensic tests were carried out and evidence were gathered.

"He was charged in September 2007", the spokesman said. "In light of the judge's comments, we will be liaising with Leicestershire Police and the CPS."