The aftermath of Lee Balkwell's death

An enquiry into Lee Balkwell's death began on the day he died. (18th of July 2002) A file was produced by Essex police and presented to the Crown Prosecution Service. (CPS) By the 23rd of August 2002 this file had been considered by the CPS and they advised that "no action should be taken".

It's a mystery how the CPS reached their decision because they were not in possession of any of the following;

1. A forensic report.

2. A pathology report.

3. A report concerning the vehicles mechanical condition.

4. Any statements from any significant witnesses apart from Simon Bromley who made a brief statement twenty days after the incident.

5. Any statements from Emergency service personnel who were present that night.

6. Any Health and Safety Executive reports regarding working conditions.

7. A toxicology report.

The undisputed facts are enough to raise concerns with any rational thinking person. The undisclosed facts are enough to strike terror and dread into anybody physically capable of reading them. They paint a dark picture of a group of sinister Essex police officers who are not only prepared to lie to cover up one another's failings, but who are prepared to cover up murder and drug dealing - the lucrative by-product and business of their pay masters.

Approximately two months after his son's death, Les Balkwell became initially concerned but later suspicious about the way Lee had died. This was because Detective Constable Martin Oakley, an officer appointed to liaise with the Balkwell family, lied to them about Simon Bromley on three separate occasions. Les told DC Oakley that he knew Simon Bromley was a violent individual who used illegal drugs and asked if he had been tested for drugs following the incident. Initially DC Oakley had said Bromley had been tested and they traced a small quantity of a drug in him.

When Les asked the same question later, DC Oakley had stated the Simon Bromley had never been tested. Then, on a third occasion when the question arose, DC Oakley was adamant that Simon Bromley had been tested and he was clean. DC Oakley reinforced this final version of events by stating he knew the test had been done and done properly because a friend of his had actually conducted the test. This lie was supported by DS Jason Weald who was present at the meeting.

DC Oakley also lied to the Balkwell family on three separate occasions when trying to explain how Lee had met his death. Initially DC Oakley had said Lee was thrown out of the drum, he then said he was trapped whilst climbing out and finally he said Lee had fallen from the drum head first. To have done so, Lee would have had to have been working whilst doing a handstand. Unlikely is hardly the word to describe such a ridiculous and insulting suggestion.

Les knew, as well as everybody else in the area knew, that the Bromley family "sailed close to the wind" regarding the law in their efforts to make money. It was only after his sons death did Les learn the full extent of their shocking criminal activities. In a late night telephone call to his home Les was warned that he ought to be careful what he asked or said about the Bromley's as they were "very, very dangerous people." The caller confided in Les that "another" was at the scene when Lee had died and the truth would only come out when he could be identified. "They know you are on to them Les," the caller said, "so go easy, for fuck's sake, go easy."

Three months prior to Lee's death, Simon Bromley stabbed a local man repeatedly in a pub in the Ardleigh Green area of Hornchuch, Essex. A number of people witnessed the attack but Bromley escaped prosecution.

Six months after Lee's death, Simon Bromley viciously attacked the proprietor of a double glazing company who rented an industrial unit at Baldwin's farm. Despite the man being badly beaten and requiring hospital treatment, Simon Bromley was not prosecuted.

The Bromley family purchased a retail business from another family in Rainham Essex. The business lost money and the Bromley's held the other family responsible. The home belonging to the family who had sold the Bromley's the business was petrol bombed and suffered severe damage. Fortunately the family was not harmed but their much loved pet perished in the inferno. Simon Bromley's brother Scott, a psychiatric patient, was charged and convicted of this offence.

Simon Bromley slashed a doorman's face in the late 1990"' at a nightclub called Berwick Manor in Essex. The doorman was so badly injured he lost the use of his cheek muscle. Simon Bromley was not prosecuted.

John Palmer, a mature Essex businessman and his wife were attacked in their home at 2 a.m. by David Bromley, Scott Bromley and Simon Bromley as they had decided they were owed money by them. Mr. Palmer has always denied owing the Bromley's anything. He later learned the dispute concerned his brother and the Bromley's but they had taken the view that if they couldn't find the man they wanted they would take it out on a member of his family.

Mr. Palmer was struck with a knuckle duster, stabbed in the abdomen and cut in the face. As the cowardly attack continued, Mrs. Palmer was threatened with violence and verbally abused but Mr. Palmer managed to fight back and force the Bromley's out of the door before any harm could come to her. The police attended and as a result of their enquiries the Bromley's were charged with aggravated burglary and wounding with intent.

When they were sentenced, David Bromley was given a term of two years and three months imprisonment and served less than a year. Scott Bromley was sentenced to two years and one month and served just seven months. Simon Bromley was ordered to do community service!

Many in the criminal fraternity could not understand how the Bromley's had escaped prosecution for so long or how, when finally prosecuted, the leniency of the sentences. The conclusion was reached that the Bromley's were in league with the police. That is paying officers backhander's who in return turn a blind eye to their wrong doing and offering information to the police about other drug dealing gangs so they are arrested and the Bromley's retain their customers and control on the price of drugs locally.

The more Les learned about the Bromley's, the more he became convinced about the fact they had murdered his son and their friends in Essex police were helping them to cover it up. Because DC Oakley had lied about Simon Bromley's drug test and how Lee had met his death to Les, he decided to contact his superior Superintendent Graham Ball to try and find out if anything untoward was going on.

When Les telephoned Superintendent Ball, he told him that DC Oakley had lied to himself and his family on three separate occasions about Simon Bromley and therefore, given Bromley's history, there was a possibility that DC Oakley was corrupt. Superintendent Ball told Les that he was going to arrange a meeting with him so that they could discuss the matter fully, "I will get an officer to call you shortly so that it can be organised," he said.

A minute or two after Les had replaced the telephone receiver, his phone rang. "DC Oakley," a voice said, "I believe you wish to arrange a meeting?" Les was astounded, the very officer he wished to discuss with Superintendent Ball had been given the task of ringing him to arrange the meeting. "Would you prefer to meet me in a country lay by Les or a quiet country pub?" DC Oakley asked. "Not likely," Les replied, "we are a bereaved family with nothing to hide not one of your paid criminal informants. The meeting eventually took place at Rayleigh police station, Les and his daughter Tanya were led in through a back door to an interview room where a smiling DC Oakley was sitting alongside Superintendent Ball.

Out of undeserved courtesy, Les and Tanya decided not to embarrass DC Oakley by calling him corrupt in front of his senior officer. Upon reflection, they now feel it would have been a waste of time because they had already voiced their concerns to Superintendent Ball on the phone and he had responded by inviting the very subject of their concern, DC Oakley to accompany him to the meeting. At no time during this meeting did Superintendent Ball raise the subject of DC Oakley having any form of improper relationship with the Bromley's, the sole intention of having the meeting.
At the conclusion of the meeting Superintendent Ball said that he would review the case and get back to Les.

Content something at last was being done, Les waited three to four weeks but Superintendent Ball failed to contact him. Tired of waiting, Les telephoned Superintendent Ball and led him to believe that he had something important or incriminating to tell him. Almost immediately, Superintendent Ball arranged a meeting with Les. On this occasion, Les took along his brother Ray and a man who had worked in the concrete mixer business for 20 years (AN EXPERT)

Superintendent Ball discussed the procedures of cleaning a mixer with the expert and also looked through a set of photographs depicting the amount of loose concrete that had been left in the drum. Others showed the position of the Kango hammer drill's placed neatly in mounds of concrete next to the vehicle.

Despite having no knowledge of the concrete industry, Superintendent Ball still made two assumptions at that meeting.
Firstly that Lee was probably doing the unthinkable and was drilling/hammering the hardened concrete through the inspection hatch. (A feat strongly disputed by the expert)

The second assumption was that Bromley probably had cleared up after the accident and placed the Kango's in the concrete. Superintendent Ball wanted Les to accept that this tidying up took place whilst Lee was trapped in the between the drum and the lorry chassis next to him.

The concrete expert expressed his views as to why he did not think it possible that one could hammer/drill hardened concrete through the inspection hatch and it would have been impossible for Bromley to "tidy up" without clambering over and around Lee's body. A task no sane man would do for the benefit of tidying up a scene which was at the very least an industrial accident and at worst a murder scene.

At the end of the meeting Superintendent Ball informed Les that he had not had an opportunity to review the files but he assured him that he would "in due course."

Just after this meeting Les contacted the Police Professional Standards Department who deal with complaints against officers and the way investigations are handled. Les complained about the way his son's death had been handled and the Professional standards department said they would look into the matter.

The following Monday morning Superintendent Ball telephoned Les to say that he had managed to look at the file and there were some areas that needed re-examining but then he knowingly or unwittingly tried to scare Les off by saying, "I will have to bring in Bromley you know - how do you feel about that"

Les replied " If you mean am I frightened or apprehensive I would be lying if I said I wasn't, but it was on my insistence that you reviewed this case so of course I want you to follow it up." Superintendent Ball then said, "I know you have been talking to Professional Standards." Les replied, "Yes, and I am going to keep talking to them until I find out exactly what happened to my son"

Superintendent Ball in a raised voice, then said "I don't know what conclusion we are going to reach, it may be that your son's arm may have got caught and that pulled him into the drum" Barely able to catch his breath because of the stupidity of the Superintendents remark, Les blurted out, "what a load of bollocks" and slammed the phone down.

A fireman who had attended the scene on the night of Lee's death contacted Les saying he had important information for him. When they met, the fireman who has asked not to be named at this stage, said, "I felt there was a lot of unusual activity that night involving the Bromley's and the police. I will make a statement if necessary in the future but at this stage Les I am advising you to get hold of the ambulance report and read it." Les had no idea what the fireman, who was clearly nervous talking about that night, was trying to say.

However hard Les pushed him all he would say is, "get that ambulance report." Confused, but equally determined, Les applied for the report and after several weeks it arrived. The report stated quite clearly that when police arrived at Baldwin's farm they declared it a crime scene and foul play was suspected!!!

Shortly after the report arrived a meeting was arranged with Detective Sergeant Andy Colours of the Police Professional Standards Department but this was cancelled. When Les contacted DS Colours to ask why, he was told, "You are starting to rattle cages and they don't like it, the top boys are coming down to see you." Les wasn't quite sure what DS Colours was saying but less than two weeks later he was left in no doubt.

The police contacted Les and said they would like to see him so he suggested they do so at his brother's house as talk of Lee in front of his wife caused her severe distress. unhappy with the way previous meetings had been handled Les contacted a Solicitor and requested that he attend before driving over to his brother's home with his daughter Tanya. When the police eventually arrived Les was astounded. DS Colours hadn't been exaggerating when he said the top boys were getting involved. Detective Superintendent Simon Coxall (Director of Homicidal Investigations) and Acting Superintendent Peter Hood (Head of Operations for Professional Standards Department) were on his doorstep with their private Secretary Sue Cove in tow.

The meeting covered the concerns Les had but it failed to yield anything more than empty promises. (minutes of meeting in documents section) Undeterred, Les contacted Inspector Richard Croft who was at Baldwin's farm on the night and asked him why the ambulance report which raised concerns about the way Lee died had not been given due consideration and been investigated fully? Les threatened to include Inspector Croft in the growing list of those he was complaining about concerning the non investigation of Lee's death.

Inspector Croft paused momentarily and then replied to Les, "I did everything right on the night, I was involved in declaring it a crime scene, the scene log was started and the scene was secured." Les asked Inspector Croft, "If it was only an accident, then why would you treat it as a crime scene?" "From the moment I arrived," Inspector Croft replied, "I suspected murder or at the very least manslaughter." When pressed as to why he thought this Inspector Croft said, "I noticed that the blood around the concrete mixing drum indicated that the drum had revolved one way causing damage to the deceased. It had then been stopped and revolved the opposite way. I concluded this had been done to mask fatal injuries caused to the victim prior to him entering or being placed in the drum. Having worked at South Ockendon police station I am fully aware of what the Bromley family are capable of, we have been trying to prosecute them for twenty years."

People had aired suspicions about Lees belt which supported Inspector Croft's belief that Lee was murdered. Lees belt was "folded" either side of his hips as if it had been used to lift him from the ground into the drum. Greg Nicholls heard about these suspicions being aired and telephoned a third party who contacted the Balkwell family. Various conversations between Nicholls and another were recorded and due to their significance, cannot yet be disclosed but they are extremely damming to the theory that Lee's death was an accident.

Not everybody was making life difficult for Les and his family, there were some who were prepared to help. An undercover Police Intelligence officer serving outside Essex contacted Les and arranged to meet him. He said that he was aware of the fuss Les was causing within Essex police and he wished him to know why hurdles were being erected to prevent him from exposing those who had intended to kill or recklessly killed his son.

The Bromley family were police informants and officers were not prepared to prosecute them because they were using the circumstances of Lee's unlawful death to apply pressure to them to offer information about serious criminal activity and criminal organisations. The police can imply they have a case against the Bromley's for murder or manslaughter and squeeze them for information. The Bromley's can offer that information on the condition enquiries into your son's death are dropped. "Like it or not," the officer said, "the police know they would have a hard time convicting the Bromley's for this, so it suits both parties for it to be booked as an accident."

The officer said the police had been targeting a high profile gang from the London area. Intelligence suggested that they were involved in a major heist at one of London's main airports. The officer said the Bromley's were prepared to furnish police with the information that would lead to the convictions and subsequent downfall of this gang. "Whilst that is going on you will get no joy in having the Bromley's troubled in any shape or form," the officer advised Les. Confused and deflated, Les telephoned the acting head of the professional standards department, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Hood. "You dirty bastard," Les shouted in frustration, "you knew they murdered my son and the reason you're holding off is because you know the Bromley's are grassing up the gang who are involved with a robbery at an airport."

DCI Hood did not respond and so Les slammed the phone down. Moments later his home phone rang but Les was so angry he decided not to answer it in case he said something he may later regret. When the phone stopped ringing it immediately started ringing again and continued to do so throughout the day. Les telephoned his brother on his mobile and told him what had gone on, "answer the phone then Les," his brother advised, "you have nothing to hide."

When Les picked up the phone a relieved Chief Superintendent Simon Coxall pleaded with Les to attend a meeting as soon as possible. Les agreed, on the condition his brother attended with him so there was a witness to anything that relevant that may be revealed or said. The meeting took place at Brentwood police station in Essex on a Friday evening at approximately 20.30hrs. Acting Superintendent Peter Hood, Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Coxall and an un-named "Senior" Metropolitan police officer asked Les to reveal his source regarding the airport heist.

Because the intelligence officer had been careful not tell Les the identity of gang members or which airport had been targeted Les couldn't assist but he gave the impression he knew everything. "I want answers about my sons murder before I tell you anything," he said, "I am going on holiday this week, I will think about it and contact you when I get back." Four days later, Les flew to Spain for a much needed break. The same morning, police swooped on a gang in East London and charged its members with conspiring to steal £1.2 million pounds from Gatwick airport.

When the matter came before the courts, Joseph Ashman, 36, from Rainham, Essex, was sentenced to 10 years while Jonathan Turner, 43, of Plaistow, east London, was jailed for nine years. Spencer Chamberlain, 36, of Maidstone, Kent, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years. Ian Burr, 37, from Basildon in Essex, and Gary Mullen, 45, of East Ham, east London, each got three years. Lewis Nicholl, 55, of Maidstone, Kent, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Derek Blackburn, Christopher Saxon and William Freeman - were jailed for three years each. The alleged leaders of the gang, three brothers named Bowers who ran the Peacock gym in Canning Town East London were also jailed. Tony Bowers, 46, was jailed for 12-and-a-half years, Martin Bowers, 43, got seven years and Paul Bowers, 37, was given six years. Police told a press conference that they knew what they were planning almost from the start and not only bugged their headquarters but set up secret cameras to monitor them. It appears the Bromley's paid in full and were rewarded with protection from prosecution by Essex police.

Over the next few months several meetings took place between Les, members of his family and intelligence officers from outside the Essex force. It was explained to Les that the phone records of the Bromley's and associates present on the night of Lee's murder had been studied and this had revealed some startling information:

1. The Bromley's had telephoned a major crime family based in the Thurrock area just after Lee was murdered.

2. A member of this family had then telephoned Kim Webber a man who had serious criminal connections and was Vice Chairman of Basildon United Football Club. Webber was good friends with Tony Tucker, Patrick Tate and Craig Rolfe, three ruthless Essex drug Barons who were found dead in a Range Rover parked down a farm track in December 1995. At the time, Webber was serving a prison sentence for wounding. He had smashed a glass in a mans face following a disagreement at Southend Flying club.

3. When Webber received the call he immediately telephoned Detective Sergeant John Moran who was based at Rayleigh Major Investigation Team in Essex. DS Moran was a friend of Webber's and despite Webber's appalling criminal convictions and connections, he was also a work colleague. DS Moran, also happened to be Chairman of Basildon United football Club!!

4. Following the conversation with Webber, DS Moran and the Bromley's made contact. It is as yet unclear, who phoned whom.

Kim Webber and DS Moran's involvement in this matter is of paramount importance because this was not the first occasion they had worked together to ensure a serious crime would go undetected. It is undisputable Webber and Moran had a close relationship because they worked closely together as Vice Chairman and Chairman of Basildon United Football Club. Members of the public may think a Detective Sergeant serving with Essex police was short sighted when choosing Kim Webber as a colleague when one considers Webber's background. But when one considers DS Moran's background, his choice of friends are hardly surprising.

A murder enquiry was launched in March 2001 after 24-year-old Dean Boshell was discovered in allotments on Manchester Drive, Leigh, Essex, with a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. Boshell had been released from prison just five months before his death after serving a short sentence for a string of burglaries.

He had been living in Southend where he had been moving around bedsits in the weeks up to his death. Police had found it hard to piece together Mr Boshell's movements prior to the murder. It is believed he had tried to impress potential friends with false boasts about his past.

The real reason police were finding it hard to solve the murder was because one of the Detectives hunting the killer or killers was DS Moran. It is believed Kim Webber is an associate of the persons being investigated for the murder. One theory is that Webber asked his friend DS Moran who had been informing on drug dealers who purchased their supplies from Webber as several had been arrested or had their homes searched. There is no hard evidence that Boshell was ever a police informant but his name is said to have been given to Webber and subsequently to those involved in his murder by DS Moran.

During the investigation into Boshell's murder, evidence was contaminated and "lost" from a secure evidence locker at Rayleigh police station. At the relevant time, Inspector Cliff Haynes was responsible for the security of this area. Around this time internal police enquiries which evolved into an operation called "Volunteer" began. This was an operation to seek out corrupt officers and DS Moran soon became the focal point of the enquiries. Two years and four months after Dean Boshell was murdered, the crime remained unsolved. DS Moran, no doubt with a heavy heart, realised he was being investigated and retired. However, his retirement did not mean he left the police force, he simply re-enlisted as a civilian officer back at Rayleigh police's major investigation team!!!

Three months later, in October 2003, Basildon United football Club was raided by 100 police officers. Chairman and former Detective Sergeant John Moran and Vice Chairman Kim Webber were both arrested and questioned about allegations of drug deals, theft, corruption and perverting the course of justice. After seven months John Moran was told he would not face any criminal charges. However, he was told he still faced a police internal disciplinary inquiry and was to remain suspended from his job until that inquiry was completed. Kim Webber on the other hand, was charged with conspiracy to produce amphetamines and supplying cannabis with persons unknown. When he appeared in Court for sentencing Webber was imprisoned for 14 years which was later reduced to 10 years on appeal.

Temporarily, a large part of a very bad apple had been cut out, but other, more rotten parts, remained.