Neil Wilby Media

So sang Marvin Gaye on his 1971 Billboard Top 10 album, ‘What’s Going On’.

It is some months since Neil Wilby Media published their most recent article featuring Operation Laggan and what is claimed to be the biggest failed fraud investigation and prosecution in the history of the criminal justice system in the United Kingdom. Headlined ‘You couldn’t make it up’, it can be read in full here.

Prior to that article, another piece published almost a year ago to the day, and headlined ‘He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother‘, centred on the alleged role of a former detective and police and crime commissioner candidate in the conviction of his elder brother at Bradford Crown Court in March, 2015 and a consequent seven year prison sentence for Leeds-born Ralph Christie (read the full article here).

‘What’s going on’ now is there have been several dramatic developments in the long-running miscarriage of justice campaign which effectively began when Ralph Christie, 62, was arrested by West Yorkshire Police in 2009 and they froze substantial property assets and all bank accounts on the island of Crete where he was, and still is, resident (read more here).

The most significant of those is the belated uncovering of a startling and highly specific written confession by younger brother, ex-Detective Inspector Cedric Christie, 60, that he was a minor criminal before he joined the police as a cadet in 1979 and a corrupt cop throughout his 30 year service as a warranted officer.

Made even more astonishing by the fact that his campaign to become the PCC in West Yorkshire was predicated on a single theme: Driving out corruption in the county’s police force. The PCC campaign manager was none other than the author of this article, Neil Wilby.

A full analysis of the confession, sent by Cedric in an email to family members and close friends in July 2021, will appear once the ramifications have been properly assessed and comment from those most adjacent to these matters has been sought.

One of those is the present WYP chief constable, John Robins, who was personally embroiled in some of the controversy surrounding the Cedric Christie PCC campaign which attracted local, regional and national media coverage. As an assistant chief constable at the time, it fell to CC Robins to deal with complaints regarding other senior officers interfering with the election process and encouraging junior ranks not to vote for Cedric Christie. Matters that raged on for over two years after polling day, encompassed investigations by two other chief constables (Merseyside and Cumbria)  and, ultimately, it is believed, a financial settlement in favour of the unsuccessful PCC candidate.

How this confession will be dealt with by John Robins is one of the more interesting dynamics of a situation that could strike at the very heart of an already troubled police force if Cedric decides to implicate other officers in what he describes as a conscience-clearing self-purge.

Ralph Christie, who has steadfastly maintained that without Cedric’s ‘freelance’ and much-flawed investigation into the controversial Cretan property dealings in 2014 he would not have been sent to prison, is well entitled to ask: ‘What’s happening, brother?’.

So far, the younger brother has ignored all communications from his elder sibling since the confession came to light. Including the most obvious question as to why Ralph was the only family member (or friend) effectively excluded from the circulation of the confession by the use of a defunct email address. Giving the appearance that his wronged elder brother was included in the plea for forgiveness.

Cedric Christie has been offered an interview or, at the very least, right of reply.

Follow Neil Wilby on Twitter (here) and Neil Wilby Media on Facebook (here) for signposts to any updates.

Page last updated: Sunday 4th June, 2023 at 1105 hours

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