COMMENT: Botched Kevin Nunes gangland murder case was shocking shambles

He was referring to the police officers whose shocking conduct botched the investigation and those who subsequently failed to disclose a key document that would cast doubt on their entire case.

Maybe Lord Justice Hooper truly believed that those responsible would be punished. Unfortunately I never shared his optimism or faith in the system.

After a five-year investigation costing taxpayers £7.5 million, no-one will be held accountable for what went disastrously wrong in the Kevin Nunes case.

Operation Kalmia, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation led by Derbyshire Chief Constable Mick Creedon, has been a complete failure.

We appear to be in the position where the investigating officers recommended at least some of the 14 Staffordshire officers investigated had a case to answer in regards to misconduct or gross-misconduct.

But under scrutiny from Police and Crime Commissioners the IPCC now accept that there is, in fact, no case to answer.

So what has been going on?

So prolonged this investigation has been that all but three of the 14 officers have now retired, meaning they escape punishment anyhow. Indeed just a single detective in the case received 'management advice' over their role and subsequently quit. Another facing possible punishment was allowed to retire.

Sources have said 'concerns' have been raised with the conduct of the IPCC/Derbyshire investigation.

If that is correct then we have the ludicrous situation that the watchdog's investigation into the botched murder investigation is itself flawed.

And that could bring rise to the possibility that investigation into the original investigation could itself be placed under investigation.

Is is any surprise the public has little faith in the systems in place to hold the police or senior public figures to account?

I understand it is no coincidence that the Home Secretary revealed plans to replace the IPCC with a new body just days before the beleaguered watchdog finally revealed its determinations in the Nunes case. Its demise has been on the cards for some while.

And the complete shambles that is Operation Kalmia is the final nail in its coffin. Shamefully this brings us no closer to finding out what went so wrong.

What is clear is that Staffordshire Police was a dysfunctional organisation.

In the Sensitive Policing Unit, which handled the case and dealt with protective witnesses, informants, and covert operations, there was a lack of oversight and control. There was little challenge and an 'at any cost' culture deeply embedded within the psyche of the unit.

When the failings were eventually exposed years later, Lord Justice Hooper described it as a 'shocking episode'.

He also stressed that he hoped lessons would be learnt.

But because the IPCC has not published its full report, the public are left in the dark about the shocking conduct that led to this case falling apart.

Seeking the truth is not too much to ask.

Without it how can the lessons even start to be acted upon?

This sorry saga only further compounds the fact that those in high office, whether it be in hospitals, the emergency services, or local and national government, are never held to account.

In the TV series Life on Mars the protagonist Sam Tyler is transported the 1970s where he encounters what DCI Gene Hunt calls 'noble-cause corruption'.

There is never anything noble about corruption.

And in reality Sam Tyler would not need to travel back 40 years to find it.