On the main HOLMES database used by WMP, the records for 94 of those who died suggest that CRO checks were carried out. A CRO check is not the same as a PNC check. It does not provide the same level of detail and typically only includes any unspent convictions.
The IOPC has not found any specific explanation for why or when CRO checks were conducted, nor any evidence of who conducted them or who instructed that they should be conducted.
This still does not explain how the solicitor obtained the information. There is no record of any direct contact between WMP and the solicitor, and the documents in his possession were PNC printouts, not CRO checks.
Despite pursuing multiple routes, it has not been possible to ascertain how or why he had obtained this information. The IOPC has not found any legitimate reason for it to have been in his possession.
