Huge £2m GMP investigation into claims forensic lab 'falsified 27,000 test results' is DROPPED after seven years

A seven-year investigation into claims lab technicians manipulated data at a Manchester forensic lab has been shelved by Greater Manchester Police.

The force says it has not taken the decision lightly but has been unable to secure the funding needed to continue the huge inquiry, which has so far seen £2m spent. As reported by the Manchester Evening News in 2017, scientists are suspected of potentially perverting the course of justice.

It was alleged staff at the private Randox Testing Services Laboratory falsified 27,000 drug tests, including samples from sex cases, violent crimes, unexplained deaths, driving offences and the family court.

An investigation was started by GMP into data manipulation by seven workers at a site in Blackley, north Manchester. Two firms involved in the investigation provided services to GMP for the purposes of identifying drug use.

READ NEXT: Body of baby found on field in Salford confirmed as newborn girl

A High Court ruling in 2021 - which allowed GMP to retain materials which could potentially assist any prosecution - read: "The forensics analysed hair, blood, and urine for quantities of illegal substances, and the results provided, some of which were falsified, were used in in criminal, family, coronial or employment cases.

"The investigation has uncovered 27,000 reports which appear to have been affected, and therefore the potential injustices which have occurred as a result of the data manipulation are many and serious. It is worth recording that an investigation of this scale, complexity, and irregularity is difficult and skilled work, which necessarily takes time."

The alleged activity took place between 2011 and 2017 at the same Manchester testing centre, the Hexagon Tower - a well