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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/sep/19/manchester-shootings-criminal-conspiracy-shelter
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| Manchester shootings: was there a 'criminal conspiracy' to shelter suspect? | Manchester shootings: was there a 'criminal conspiracy' to shelter suspect? |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| A major plank of the police inquiry into the fatal shooting of two unarmed officers is whether there was a "criminal conspiracy" that helped the suspect in the killings remain hidden for five weeks. | A major plank of the police inquiry into the fatal shooting of two unarmed officers is whether there was a "criminal conspiracy" that helped the suspect in the killings remain hidden for five weeks. |
| Greater Manchester police are determined to bring to justice anyone who played any part in helping to shelter the suspect in the police killings. | Greater Manchester police are determined to bring to justice anyone who played any part in helping to shelter the suspect in the police killings. |
| Despite a £50,000 reward and 50 armed raids across Greater Manchester, including on the Hattersley estate, a five-week hunt for Dale Cregan – a suspect in the murder of a father and son – failed to apprehend him. | Despite a £50,000 reward and 50 armed raids across Greater Manchester, including on the Hattersley estate, a five-week hunt for Dale Cregan – a suspect in the murder of a father and son – failed to apprehend him. |
| Instead on Tuesday morning the two female police officers, Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone, were sent to part of the estate, unarmed and without back-up, to respond to a burglary report, where they were killed in a gun and grenade attack. | Instead on Tuesday morning the two female police officers, Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone, were sent to part of the estate, unarmed and without back-up, to respond to a burglary report, where they were killed in a gun and grenade attack. |
| The chief constable of the Greater Manchester force, Peter Fahy, made clear on Tuesday that there was no intelligence on the address in Abbey Gardens where the officers met their deaths that might have indicated the need for an armed presence. | The chief constable of the Greater Manchester force, Peter Fahy, made clear on Tuesday that there was no intelligence on the address in Abbey Gardens where the officers met their deaths that might have indicated the need for an armed presence. |
| Hours after the officers were fatally shot, Cregan, 29, handed himself in and was being questioned on Wednesday on suspicion of the murder of the officers and the killings of David and Mark Short, a father and son. | Hours after the officers were fatally shot, Cregan, 29, handed himself in and was being questioned on Wednesday on suspicion of the murder of the officers and the killings of David and Mark Short, a father and son. |
| The Guardian understands the two individuals who lived in the house in Abbey Gardens are not being treated as suspects. Police have spoken to them but they have not been arrested and are unlikely to be. | The Guardian understands the two individuals who lived in the house in Abbey Gardens are not being treated as suspects. Police have spoken to them but they have not been arrested and are unlikely to be. |
| Instead it is understood the pair, a 33-year-old man and his girlfriend, might have been held against their will inside the house before a call was made to which PCs Bone and Hughes responded. | Instead it is understood the pair, a 33-year-old man and his girlfriend, might have been held against their will inside the house before a call was made to which PCs Bone and Hughes responded. |
| A measure of the gulf the police might have to cross in their investigation emerged on Wednesday. Youths in Hattersley were heard laughing and shouting: "Pop, pop", and on Facebook a "Dale Cregan for OBE" page received several anti-police comments before being taken down. | A measure of the gulf the police might have to cross in their investigation emerged on Wednesday. Youths in Hattersley were heard laughing and shouting: "Pop, pop", and on Facebook a "Dale Cregan for OBE" page received several anti-police comments before being taken down. |
| The search for Cregan began five weeks ago and was one of the biggest manhunts in the history of the Greater Manchester force. He had been questioned in June over the murder of Mark Short, 23, who was gunned down in the early hours of the morning on 25 May in the Cotton Tree pub in Droylsden. | The search for Cregan began five weeks ago and was one of the biggest manhunts in the history of the Greater Manchester force. He had been questioned in June over the murder of Mark Short, 23, who was gunned down in the early hours of the morning on 25 May in the Cotton Tree pub in Droylsden. |
| Cregan was released on bail after questioning pending further investigation. | Cregan was released on bail after questioning pending further investigation. |
| Two months later Short's father, David, was killed at his home in Clayton, Manchester – a mile away from the Cotton Tree – in a grenade and gun attack, sparking the manhunt. | Two months later Short's father, David, was killed at his home in Clayton, Manchester – a mile away from the Cotton Tree – in a grenade and gun attack, sparking the manhunt. |
| Police offered the £50,000 reward – hoping it would be a life-changing amount to entice individuals to talk – and carried out more than 100 raids across Greater Manchester, including 50 with armed officers, during the operation. | Police offered the £50,000 reward – hoping it would be a life-changing amount to entice individuals to talk – and carried out more than 100 raids across Greater Manchester, including 50 with armed officers, during the operation. |
| There were reports from the estate on Tuesday that while this was going on Cregan was regularly seen drinking in pubs. But these reports could not be verified. A police source dismissed one report that he held a goodbye party in a pub on Monday night. | There were reports from the estate on Tuesday that while this was going on Cregan was regularly seen drinking in pubs. But these reports could not be verified. A police source dismissed one report that he held a goodbye party in a pub on Monday night. |
| One retired senior officer said the issue of individuals on the estate apparently claiming to have seen the fugitive being hunted had to be treated carefully. "How good is the information that he was seen drinking in pubs?" he asked. | One retired senior officer said the issue of individuals on the estate apparently claiming to have seen the fugitive being hunted had to be treated carefully. "How good is the information that he was seen drinking in pubs?" he asked. |
| He said there was no doubt that the manhunt had been intensive and active. | He said there was no doubt that the manhunt had been intensive and active. |
| "They will have had intensive coverage of the suspect," he said. "They will have used surveillance, looked at his phones, used informants and done all sorts of things including using the reward to draw people out. | "They will have had intensive coverage of the suspect," he said. "They will have used surveillance, looked at his phones, used informants and done all sorts of things including using the reward to draw people out. |
| "What is certain is that the police were hunting him; they weren't sitting about saying let's just wait until he turns up. They were actively looking for him. But if someone in the community has a network that is willing to make him disappear often it's quite hard to find the individual." | "What is certain is that the police were hunting him; they weren't sitting about saying let's just wait until he turns up. They were actively looking for him. But if someone in the community has a network that is willing to make him disappear often it's quite hard to find the individual." |
| Journalist Carl Fellstrom, the author of Hoods, the story of the Nottingham-based organised crime family the Gunns, said behind any wall of silence was fear and a failure of trust between the police and the community. | Journalist Carl Fellstrom, the author of Hoods, the story of the Nottingham-based organised crime family the Gunns, said behind any wall of silence was fear and a failure of trust between the police and the community. |
| "It is a double-edged thing," he said. "People are not only fearful, they also don't trust the police with the information. They are not perceived to be part of the community." | "It is a double-edged thing," he said. "People are not only fearful, they also don't trust the police with the information. They are not perceived to be part of the community." |
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