Drury, Christopher

Christopher Drury was convicted in February 2000 of conspiracy to supply a Class B drug and perverting the course of public justice. Mr Drury received a sentence of 11 years’ imprisonment, reduced to eight years on appeal.

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in April 2003.

At the time of the offences, Mr Drury and Mr Clark (Mr Drury’s co-accused and co-applicant to the CCRC) were police officers serving with the South East Regional Crime Squad (SERCS).

Their convictions depended largely on the evidence of another officer who also served in SERCS.

This officer became a “resident informant” and pleaded guilty to various charges contained in the indictments on which Mr Clark and Mr Drury were convicted.

During review, the CCRC identified six significant instances of material non-disclosure that had disadvantaged the defence.

The effect of the non-disclosure was to have deprived the defence of material which, if deployed at trial, might have affected the jury’s view of the evidence of the informant and another key prosecution witness.

The non-disclosure also appeared to have led the defence to make tactical choices which it might not otherwise have made.

The CCRC concluded that the handling of the disclosure fell far short of the standards necessary to secure a fair trial.

The CCRC referred the conviction in February 2009.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in February 2011 and ordered a retrial.