Things they said, we didn't fucking believe!

In March 1998, *Jack Straw, the then Home Secretary said:
    "there is great public concern over cases where police officers retired due to ill health before disciplinary proceedings against them could be completed."
    "I plan to introduce a system of fast-track dismissal, and police officers under investigation will not be allowed to retire early on health grounds."  
   "A corrosive minority of bad officers" must not be allowed to undermine standards."
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From todays 'Telegraph' Tuesday 11th December 2001

Death raid police chief retires early: By John Steele, Crime Correspondent

    A senior police officer who authorised a raid on a house in which a naked, unarmed man (James Ashley) was shot dead has retired at the age of 43 on a medical pension thought to be worth more than £30,000 a year.
    Mark Jordan, the deputy chief constable of Sussex, had been suspended on full pay since Feb 1999. His departure means disciplinary charges against him will be dropped.
    Mr Jordan, who will leave in January next year, was removed from duty over his role in the storming of the house in St Leonards, East Sussex, in Jan 1988.
    The Police Authority yesterday denied any suggestion that Mr Jordan had been allowed to retire to "escape" discipline, saying it had "unequivocal" evidence - from Mr Jordan and its own experts - which justified a medical retirement.
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Back ground;
http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=80433
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4211893,00.html
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*Straw made this statement after a highly critical report on corruption within the police force, by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee in January 1998.
The committee chairman, Chris Mullin, insisted that reform had long been needed to deal with the few corrupt officers who were damaging the service as a whole.
"There is no doubt a small minority of officers, with I am sorry to say the backing of the Police Federation and its extremely skillful lawyers, have effectively subverted the system by exploiting every conceivable loophole."