Officers 'bribed thief for false confessions'

On another occasion they allowed the heroin addict to drink alcohol.

Detective Constables Gary Turner and Austin Heath were accused of using the bribes to extract information.

Both of the officers, who have 45 years service between them, were told to resign but have been allowed to keep their pensions.

The incidents happened in January and March 2005 when the officers, who worked for the Merseyside force, took the criminal from Altcourse Prison, Liverpool, to interview him about unsolved car thefts in the city.

On the first occasion, it was alleged, DC Heath allowed the offender to sleep with his girlfriend during an unscheduled, unsupervised visit to her home.

Prison bosses found out about the liaison after monitoring the criminal's phone calls and told the police who began an investigation and started surveillance of the two detectives.

In March, officers watched as DC Turner, 50, and DC Heath, 40, offered the prisoner a can of lager.

They bought it at an off-licence as they drove around places where cars had been stolen.

After the prisoner was returned to jail, both officers were detained and interviewed under caution. They were suspended and a lengthy investigation began.

At a disciplinary hearing last month DC Heath, a married father of one, admitted three charges of breaching procedure and was found guilty of a further four.

DC Turner, a married father-oftwo, admitted one charge and was found guilty of a further three.

Last night he denied that the prisoner had confessed to crimes because he had been offered bribes.

"I know it doesn't look good that the offender was offered a can of lager," said DC Turner, who worked as a firearms officer in the serious crime squad during his 25 years with Merseyside police.

"He wrote to the police himself expressing his desire to confess to unsolved offences and I've no doubt that the information we gleaned was 100 per cent accurate.

"I've been the victim of a perverse, disproportionate and unfair inquiry." Mike Franklin of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which investigated the case, said the officers had undermined the integrity of Merseyside police.

"Taking a criminal on a domestic visit or buying him alcohol while driving him round in the belief that he will admit to unsolved crimes can only be perceived as an inducement," he said.

Both officers plan to appeal.