Well, well, well, said Judge Stephen Mooney.

The Bulmer’s art theft sorry tale drags on. Unconcerned at the cost to taxpayers, Avon and Somers*t C*nstabulary are rehashing an already failed case. Jonathan Rees and the others are victims of vindictive policing and malicious prosecution.

What of ex Det Ch Supt Dave Cook? He is relying heavily on his “mental illness” next week to get him off the hook. Alas, it is a grim forecast for the corrupt Caledonian, Cook’s sole hope is that he can get a reduced sentence by singing like a canary, and taking with him senior ranks such as John Yates and minnows beneath him. The CPS keep banging away that it is “not in the public interest” to prosecute Cook – when it patently is.

Goggzilla will be looking at the role of Judge Stephen Mooney in this saga. With an estimated cost in excess of £1 million, added to the £140 million already squandered, Mooney has a cavalier attitude to taxpayers money, plus aspects of the law, such as equality before it. That the CPS and Avon and Somerset Police are total and utter (cont p.9) is not in doubt, the decision which must be made is how much compensation to award Jonathan Rees, Garry Vian, Glenn Vian and Sid Fillery.

£175,000 offered instead of £475,000, it ought to have been in the region of £1.3 million each. Legal fees will top £1 million. With the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel dragging on, the Metropolitan Police has bleak options – they refuse to hand over paperwork concerning the framing of Rees et al. In doing so, it will damage an already tarnished reputation. Or, bite the bullet, pay up and cringe off. New Scotland Yard can either pay compensation without further quibbling, or take a hit, becoming an even bigger pariah.