Chris Gregg
West Yorkshire police officer
Christopher Adam Gregg QPM is a former Detective Chief Superintendent and was head of West Yorkshire Police's Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET).[1] Gregg joined the force in 1974 and as a constable was put on front-line duties in the Yorkshire Ripper inquiry in the Helen Rytka murder incident room.[2][3] He left the force in 2008 to take up a senior position as an adviser[4] to a forensic service provider company, LGC Forensics.[2] In 2010 Gregg, together with Lord Stevens and Dr Angela Gallop, founded Axiom International Limited.[5] He is married to Yorkshire Television Calendar regional news presenter Christine Talbot, with whom he has a daughter, Beth.
Awards
Gregg was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours.[6] Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, Sir Norman Bettison, described Gregg as one of the finest detectives the force had ever known.[4][7]
Career
Gregg was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and in a 34-year career, headed up some high-profile criminal investigations of recent years including:
- The kidnap and murder in November 2000 of 16-year-old Leeds schoolgirl Leanne Tiernan by John Taylor described at his trial in 2002 by the judge as a "sexual sadist".[8][9] In February 2003, he was convicted of two rapes, based on DNA evidence, and given two additional life sentences.[10]
- The American fugitive David Bieber who murdered traffic PC Ian Broadhurst and attempted the murder of two other policemen on 26 December 2003.[11][12][13][14][15]
- Identification of the Yorkshire Ripper Hoaxer, John Humble, who was tried and sentenced in October 2005 – 25 years after the offence which was one of the most notorious – and damaging – hoaxes in criminal history.[16][17][18][19] Gregg won £50,000 libel damages, plus costs, after being accused by Irish writer Noel O'Gara of "stitching up" John Humble as the writer of the hoax letters and sender of a tape recording purporting to be from the Yorkshire Ripper.[20][21][22]
- Serial killer Colin Norris, dubbed the 'Angel of Death' who murdered four elderly patients in a hospital in Leeds receiving a life sentence in 2008.[23][24][25]
- Gregg led the enquiry into the Harold Shipman deaths in West Yorkshire, when Shipman, a practising medical doctor, was apprehended, later having 218 murders positively ascribed to him.[26]
On leaving the force he spoke against the misuse by suspected murderers of the protective shield of human rights legislation.[27][28][29]
References
- ^ Gregg talks about his career". BBC News. 19 May 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2010
- ^ a b "Chief is off after 30 years in force". Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 16 May 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2010
- ^ "The Yorkshire Ripper Files: A Very British Crime Story" Manhunt (TV Episode 2019) - IMDb, retrieved 31 August 2019
- ^ a b "Human rights law 'shielding rapists'" The Daily Telegraph. 13 May 2008 – Retrieved 18 March 2010
- ^ "Axiom International Key People"
- ^ Queen's Birthday Honours 2008
- ^ "Human Rights Loophole Condemned". Daily Express. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2010
- ^ BBC News" 8 July 2002. Retrieved 17 March 2010
- ^ "Documentary revisits murder and abduction of Leeds schoolgirl Leanne Tiernan". www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "The murder of Leanne Tiernan" – Forensic cases. Retrieved 23 March 2010
- ^ CBS News" 16 February 2008 – Retrieved 18 March 2010
- ^ "Police killer will die in prison for brutal, cold-blooded crime". The Times. 3 December 2004. Retrieved 18 March 2010
- ^ "Hunt stepped up for police officer's killer". The Scotsman. 29 December 2003. Retrieved 20 March 2010
- ^ "Leeds PC shooting tragedy remembered". www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Ex-officer fears for police safety". 26 December 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ Man still held over Ripper hoax". BBC News October 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2003
- ^ Ripper hoaxer sent to prison for eight years". The Independent. 22 March 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2010
- ^ 'Callous' Ripper hoaxer sent to prison for eight years". The Independent. 21 March 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2010
- ^ 'I did it because I was bored and on the dole'". Yorkshire Post. 21 March 2006. Retrieved 19 March 2010
- ^ "Ripper detective wins £50,000 damages" Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Sunderland Echo, 11 March 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2010
- ^ "Former detective speaks out after Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer's death | Bradford Telegraph and Argus". www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ Thornton, Lucy (20 August 2019). "Police came so close to catching Wearside Jack hoaxer before Ripper struck again". mirror. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ Colin Norris, 'Angel of Death' nurse, jailed for life". The Daily Telegraph, 4 March 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2010
- ^ BBC TV News interview with Gregg after the trial". Retrieved 20 March 2010
- ^ Colin Norris, 'Angel of Death' nurse, jailed for life". Daily Telegraph. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2010
- ^ "How Many More did Shipman Kill?"[dead link]. The Independent. 9 October 2001. Retrieved 23 March 2010
- ^ "Human Rights Law 'Shielding Rapists'"[dead link]. The Daily Telegraph, 13 May 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2010
- ^ "Human Rights 'Loopholes' Condemned". Daily Express, 13 May 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2010
- ^ Detective Attacks Criminals Pleas for Human Rights". Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 13 May 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2010
