Former police chief speaks on Peter Sutcliffe's terror reign

Sir Rodney Brooke was the chief executive of West Yorkshire Police Authority at the time of the murders and played an active role in the pursuit of one of Britain’s worst-ever serial killers.

Sutcliffe, a lorry driver who lived in Bradford, was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others between 1975 and 1980.

Despite being Britain’s biggest-ever murder hunt, West Yorkshire Police were widely criticised for missed opportunities to bring Sutcliffe to justice earlier.

Peter Sutcliffe (Image: File)

Perhaps the greatest error was the decision to declare that several letters and a tape recording of a man claiming to be the killer was genuine.

The taped message - taunting senior officers - was spoken by a man with a Wearside accent.

Taking it at face value meant the inquiry team switched focus to the North-East of England when the real killer lay much closer to home.

The critical mistake left Sutcliffe free to carry on killing and hindered his potential arrest for 18 months. While the police looked in the wrong place, While the West Yorkshire Police were investigating the leads, Sutcliffe murdered three more women, and attacked two others.

A new ITV drama - The Long Shadow - has raised awareness of the murders and the subsequent inquiry.

In an article in today’s T&A, Sir Rodney explains how senior officers felt compelled to ‘go public’ with the tape recording after a national newspaper was told of its existence.

He writes: “In June 1979 the Sunday Times obtained details of the Wearside Jack tape and told the police that they planned to publish details. 

“Chief Constable Ron Gregory telephoned (me) and asked (me) to come over to Police HQ urgently. Together with the head of the investigation squad, Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield, Ron Gregory (and I) listened to the tape.”

Oldfield and Gregory said they had to give the tape credence or reject it.

Sir Rodney says he raised doubts about the message’s authenticity, but adds: “Gregory and Oldfield had made up their minds: they told the press they were 99 per cent sure that the tape and the letters were from the... murderer.”

More than 25 years after it was sent, the perpetrator of the hoax was revealed to be John Humble. In March 2006, Humble was sentenced to eight years in prison for perverting the course of justice. He died in 2019.

Sir Rodney also reveals how Home Secretary Willie Whitelaw wanted Ron Gregory sacked. As head of the police authority, Sir Rodney refused, only to be dismayed a few months’ later when the chief constable retired and sold his account of the manhunt to a national tabloid newspaper.

He claims Gregory’s decision to tell his side of the story led to him being shunned by former colleagues in West Yorkshire Police and treated as an outcast - you can read the full story here.