Ministers apologise over death in police custody

But Christopher Alder’s sister Janet said the apology, lodged with the European Court of Human Rights, had come too “little too late”.

The apology came with an “unprecedented” admission that the treatment of Christopher Alder, who choked to death on blood and vomit in the custody suite of a Hull police station 13 years ago, breached the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Government will pay Ms Alder, who has been campaigning since 1998 over aspects of his death, £22,770 in compensation and £6,440 in costs.

However, Ms Alder, who lives in West Yorkshire, claimed last night the move avoided an embarrassing hearing for the Government at the European Court of Human Right and left unanswered questions.

She said: “If they had to admit their failings why didn’t they admit them years ago? If the Government hadn’t given the declaration there would have been a full hearing at the European Court of Human Rights.”

Ms Alder, who had alleged breaches of three articles in the European Convention on Human Rights, said some of her concerns had never been addressed or investigated: “Why or where did Christopher sustain the additional injuries he suffered? Why was another of his teeth missing? Where was his belt?”

In an appalling mix-up, Mr Alder’s body was recently discovered in a Hull mortuary more than 10 years after he was thought to have been buried.

Hull Council is applying to the Ministry of Justice over the exhumation of the grave, which now appears to have been where a Nigerian woman, Grace Kamara, 77, was laid to rest. South Yorkshire Police is investigating the mix-up.

The European Court of Human Rights said Ms Alder’s case had been discontinued in light of the Government’s admissions and the amount of compensation proposed.

The civil liberties group Liberty described the Government’s “unprecedented” apology of “blatant” human rights violations as “hugely significant and certainly not before time”.

Closed circuit television footage, which formed part of the evidence given to the court, caught the former paratrooper’s last moments as he choked to death over 11 minutes. Mr Alder had been concussed in a scuffle outside a nightclub, and hospital staff called the police when he became aggressive.

He was dragged into the custody suite at Queens Gardens Police Station, and was left face down on the floor with his arms handcuffed behind his back. After three minutes the handcuffs were removed, but he did not move.

Ten years ago, a coroner’s jury returned a verdict that Mr Alder was unlawfully killed and in 2002 five Humberside Police officers went on trial accused of manslaughter and misconduct in public office, but they were cleared of all charges on the orders of the judge.

Four years later, an Independent Police Complaints Commission report said four of the officers present in the custody suite when Mr Alder died were guilty of the “most serious neglect of duty”.

Humberside Police said it was aware of the findings of the court and these were now being considered by senior officers. Chief Constable Tim Hollis said the finding reflected the 2006 IPCC investigation.

He said: “At the time of the IPCC’s announcement, I made a full apology to the Alder family on behalf of the force. I would now seek to take a period of time to reflect on this latest ruling before issuing any further statement, if appropriate.”