A CRIMINAL investigation has been launched into three immigration officers who were accused of tampering with evidence by a judge during the collapse of a sham marriage trial.
Reverend Nathan Ntege, 55, from Thornton Heath had been accused of presiding over a "conveyor belt" of hundreds of bogus marriages at the Church of St Jude's with St Aidan's, also in Thornton Heath.
A church volunteer from Selsdon, Brian Miller, 81, along with five others, were also accused of aiding Ntege, though the case against all seven was thrown out on October 22 at Inner London Crown Court by Judge Nic Madge, who cited "serious misconduct" on the part of the investigating officers.
He had been presented with evidence the officers had concealed evidence and lied under oath.
Mr Miller described the home office investigation into him as a "total balls-up" in an exclusive interview with the Advertiser on the trial's collapse.
Today, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) announced it would examine the conduct of the three immigration officers during the course of their investigation, which started in 2011, and the trial, including their handling of exhibits, documents and their disclosure of evidence.
Investigators have begun looking at more than 100 boxes of evidence, gathering trial bundles and transcripts and considering Home Office policies, the IPCC announced.
IPCC Commissioner Jennifer Izekor said: "We will be conducting a thorough, independent investigation into the serious matters the collapse of this trial has raised. We are assessing a substantial amount of material as part of our initial enquiries."
