Gosport War Memorial Hospital: Hampshire Constabulary's chief constable Olivia Pinkney under investigation from IOPC

Between 1989 and 2000, at least 456 patients had their lives shortened by treatment they received at Gosport War Memorial Hospital.

An independent panel review was published in 2018, reporting that patients at the Gosport hospital were prescribed ‘dangerous doses’ of opioids.

This led to the launch of Operation Magenta – an ongoing Kent Police investigation into whether criminal prosecutions could be brought against the doctors and nurses involved.

But now, bereaved families have also filed a complaint against Hampshire Constabulary’s Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney.

They say that the guidelines she laid out for Operation Magenta mean police officers involved in the cases have been granted protection.

Following an appeal to police and crime commissioner Donna Jones, an official complaint has now been submitted to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The complaint was officially submitted on June 8.

David Wilson’s aunt Dulcie Middleton died aged 86 after being transferred from the hospital in 2001.

He said: ‘Because of Olivia Pinkney, Operation Magenta is only looking at potential prosecutions for doctors and the hospital, rather than if the police had any part to play in the criminality that occurred.

‘We have suffered for years to get complaints submitted against Hampshire Constabulary because the investigation won’t look at officers.

‘All the families are aware of what was happening to their loved ones, and the police force was complicit in events that caused the deaths of patients in that hospital.’

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Following the death of Gladys Richards on August 21, 1998, Detective Constable Maddison and Detective Inspector Morgan looked into the circumstances around her passing.

According to the independent panel, local media reported that Detective Inspector Morgan was disciplined by the Police Complaints Authority for making an ‘inappropriate remark’ to Mrs Richards’ daughter, Gillian Mackenzie.

A second officer was also reprimanded for ‘investigative failures’.

Meanwhile, families claim that the investigating officers never contacted the Health and Safety Executive, which they believe could have stepped in to prevent further deaths from taking place.

Mr Wilson said: ‘Bereaved families have been subjected to more than two decades of torture, and Olivia Pinkney has done nothing but prolong our suffering.’

Mrs Pinkney announced in September that she would be standing down from her job in April, having made the decision in late June. She said she would not be taking up another policing job.