Sir Peter Openshaw aims to deliver McGrail Inquiry report ‘late spring 2025’

Sir Peter Openshaw, the chairman of the McGrail Inquiry, is aiming to deliver his final report by late spring of 2025, assuming necessary interim steps can be completed by then and barring any unforeseen developments.

The update was provided by the Inquiry team in a statement on Monday.

The McGrail Inquiry is tasked with looking into the reasons and circumstances leading to the early retirement of former police Commissioner Ian McGrail in June 2020, after a 36-year career and halfway through his term in the top post at the Royal Gibraltar Police.

Mr McGrail has alleged “misconduct and corruption” at the highest levels of government, insisting he was “muscled out” after being placed under huge pressure over the conduct of a live criminal investigation.

Those allegations have been “denied and roundly rejected” by the Government parties, who said Mr McGrail retired because he knew he had lost the confidence of the Chief Minister and the then interim Governor, Nick Pyle.

Under section 24 of the Inquiries Act, the chairman of the Inquiry must deliver his report to the Gibraltar Government setting out the facts determined by him.

The report may also contain anything else the chairman considers to be relevant to the terms of reference, including any recommendations he sees fit to make.

Neither the terms of reference of the Inquiry, or the legislation, prescribe any timings or deadline for the delivery of a report to the Government.

However, the Inquiry said Sir Peter Openshaw is “firmly committed” to delivering his report “as soon as practicable”.

“Since the conclusion of oral evidence on 9 May 2024 and the hearing of oral closing submissions from core participants on 25 and 26 June 2024, the Inquiry has received additional evidence - as well as submissions and representations - which have been the subject of due consideration by the chairman,” the Inquiry said in the statement.

“The chairman continues to work on his draft report with a view to the Inquiry commencing an intended Maxwellisation process as soon as practicable and preferably before Christmas.”

Maxwellisation is a practice where an inquiry intending to criticise any individual in a report to be published provides an appropriate opportunity to that individual to respond to the proposed criticism in advance of publication.

“It is anticipated that the Maxwellisation process will take approximately three months, and once it is completed, the chairman should be in a position to finalise his report and deliver it to the Government as foreseen by section 24 of the Act as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter,” the Inquiry statement added.

“Without giving any binding commitment, unless any unforeseen contingency arises, the Inquiry anticipates - at this juncture and subject to the envisaged Maxwellisation process - that the report will likely be delivered in late spring 2025.”

“Under section 25 of the Inquiries Act, it will then be the duty of the Government to arrange for the report to be published.”