AN MP has spoken in Parliament to allege a police and probation ‘cover-up’ in relation to a murder case in Wrexham.

Ian Lucas MP said "grave errors" were made before the brutal murder of one of his constituents – former Rossett wine bar owner Nicholas Churton.

And he was heavily critical of subsequent attempts by the authorities to establish what went wrong.

Mr Lucas led an adjournment debate in the main Commons chamber on ‘Police complaints, accountability and the case of Nicholas Churton’.

Mr Churton was murdered in his flat in Crescent Close, Wrexham town centre, in March 2017 by dangerous offender Jordan Davidson who was on licence from prison at the time.

Davidson had been arrested and taken into custody four days before the murder for possession of a knife, only to be released rather than being sent back to prison.

Mr Lucas, a qualified solicitor, has spent two years trying to find out why Davidson was freed to murder Mr Churton and commit a series of other serious offences, but he said several key questions remained unanswered.

The Wrexham MP used his speech to praise the "commendable bravery" of the officers who arrested Davidson. However, he criticised North Wales Police, the probation service and the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) over their failure to give him answers in relation to the case.

Mr Lucas told MP colleagues: “Davidson is responsible for this horrific crime and for other attacks for which he is now serving a 30-year prison sentence.

"However, the events leading to those crimes revealed grave errors by the police and by the probation services in Wrexham and North Wales.

“I now believe that I, along with the public, was misled deliberately about the facts of this case in order to conceal the errors.

"There has been a systematic cover-up involving North Wales Police, the probation service, the community rehabilitation company (CRC), the Independent Police Complaints Commission and Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC).”

Davidson was known to Mr Churton and had approached him in the days before the murder.

An IOPC investigation into Mr Churton’s contact with the police was launched in the days following his death – yet Mr Lucas was not informed of this important development. It is IOPC protocol for local MPs to be told.

Days before the murder Mr Lucas contacted North Wales Police for more details later that year, after learning of Davidson’s arrest and release for possession of an offensive weapon.

But the then Chief Constable, Mark Polin, said he could not comment because the IOPC was investigating ‘all contact’ the police had with Davidson prior to Mr Churton’s death.

This was not true, Mr Lucas, said as the IOPC was only investigating police contact with Mr Churton, not Davidson.

Following pressure from Mr Lucas, a second IOPC investigation was opened – this time focusing on police contact with Davidson – but it only began in April 2018, more than a year on from the crime.

The first IOPC investigation has finished, resulting in misconduct cases for two officers, but the second inquiry is ongoing.

Mr Lucas has now written to North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones to ask him to look into the statements made to him by Mr Polin, who has since left the force.

Speaking outside the chamber Mr Lucas said: “This case raises serious concerns about the criminal justice system and the safety of my constituents.

"It is why I have been so determined to find out what went wrong, yet I have been met with a great many obstacles which have been a cause of huge concern to me.

"The family of Mr Churton also deserve answers but, sadly, we are still waiting more than two years on from this terrible crime.”