MPS FOIA Disclosure - WhatDoTheyKnow · commenced t was not compxM zes~ on ~Gne 1968, a- ~isoner...
Transcript of MPS FOIA Disclosure - WhatDoTheyKnow · commenced t was not compxM zes~ on ~Gne 1968, a- ~isoner...
~~i~~~4. ._ .... .,.. -
MURDER a. .,..._.w.. .a. .,. _ _ °.
44372f6~ aReforen To Detective Chief _
'~ B . . . .
margirmlly quoted, mh1ch deals-with th e
Ramon George SNM, C .R.O. 366 44317 O~wn
to be games Earl RAY, alias 3r1*4jLtU
wanted 'for the murder of Doctor 0, Luther MG .
tMr. John M ~CB~D Legal A ~Yas f the
'Pd
Square, London, WA, hat quest, on t',a
instructions of th eau of Investigaticum> ,
O'eWashington, D.C., be Ished with a
,comprehensive report lag all aspects of the
Investigati elatAve to the arrest of
an the 1968, at Hemphis, '2erz--is
XXNC" Civil Rights Leader, with a
2ar- tallow g of supporters (mainly coloured) was
no by a gunman .
a the result of their enquiries, the
B of -Investigation, Was Baa s DaG e ,
identified the asiassin as James Earl 1W, :s.
nvicted criminal 'and fugitive from kinsouz"i StaL ---< . . . - w
was f r :a sentence a- f rears imprisonment
for
Rag Les carried-out o ara)
Bnresu of Investigation by the Cana,"' c-,
a ' -
i
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on -to be made for a Birth Certificate
the 8th Auguata 1'932 4
Having obtained thisa ° e presented It to a
Iie application, ~~~ ~ -0) Passport at the
Bureau or .Passpo -Otta on the 24th Apri
It mast be NZ ki that in consequenc e
clerical ~~~~~~ a ',aaaadi Pa$s ports No 3312 a 4
In the name of SHEYA, and not O ad e
On the 6th xg 996 9 us th pa art, RAY
travelled In the name of SNM ronto to
London by British Overseas Ai a rporation . He
arrived on the 7th MaY, 19 ater went --' zz g
to the ~~~ ~ ~~~ the 4kD,", t i situated in Regent
Street, Londosbn W. gle ticket to Lisbon,
of Ini sfl `Ono
t (Central Branch)
ZS%V.,,%nd
d TRZON, deputed to take up the investigation
uiries confirmed the flight to London from
~ton Canada, on the 6th/7th May, 1 969 , a~ -Le
late flight to Lisbon on the 7th May, 1968, 'by
rit3 °ogea Airways, using the BX.A.G . ticket .
his Is,, of course, normal procedure, for the two
a A tea' I w a unable to establish
V although it war. later
eazi is i 1 returned D London'on the 17th May,
99680
are
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sea teimentate, a
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Asthere was od of 1 one or
e
was. airculat ed an the 2 Tune, 1968, including,
t
hwanted for aerious-offences In contravent-
-AllanB Orden' no mentim being made of
interrogation would be carried out '
On Saturday, the 6th June ative
Sergeant Philly BIRCH, of SpeqjW was on
duty at Terminal 2 9 London A! rt RAY
himse at the ion Desk, having
previously Pur sad a cket to Brussels
.at the West 0 r 1, Oloucester Road ,
' produced two than Passports, one in the
name of ,,ao flu and the other In the r-s of 91 Efd
-4ae other ha dre ZNA31,3_ Po*rta Warcanj and
be i8flue the J6-.Ib May, .1968, in Lisbon .
~~ ~~ ing the positiong Detective
geant BIRCH ~ ~~ the ~ to accompany him to an
.re he -later a e -L : I, "SNWD" and discovered in
r.,- ght ham ket a .38 revolver, loaded
_h f'lve rounds or iunition,
The ravolver was loade d
positiae ~ t ac hommer s~~~ ~~~~ely
PC. e apty al One mere r pun the
tPIA, V the M -,umber In presented and the
'bullet dis -hMPS
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StatementsPages
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- - -- ------- - - ----- --------- - ------------------------------fortunate for Detective Sergeant!odd
BIRCH wer -as ad 'the firearm. 'It may well
be, of couesz, that RAY believed It was merely a
passport enquiry and he --could -explain the posse
of-two passports satisfactorily.-
This belief Is strengthened when it -is I d
that he could not know of the Iaaforma-ti red
by the Royal Mounted Police, which we t
possession of only-a few select Of sera
Detective Sergeant BIRCH, in a e with the
directions set'cut in the All-P in rning,,
Immediately informed New Be d, C .O . 0 .1 .
The prisoner was 3.40t r e gated by
Detective Chief. Sups d BUTLER and myself
shortly after j p on th, tea jaxaa en 1968 .
He asserted tha t we was "MV' and he
was a Caned" citizen. This facet was deliberately
dealt Tith In ly bTief fashion, for obvious
~ ~~so~~~ th g centred upon the
,posse~ f ~~~~~~ er and ammunition .
8NMO2 Itted the weapm~ was his property
s travelling toBrussels . When pressed
the necessity of carrying a firearm In the
B an capital, he added that'he was considerin g
--Ug On to Rhodesia and that "things are not too
there just now" .
Readmitted he had no firearms certificate for
the -weagonand ammunition, 'and was then taken to
Cannon Row Police Station end detained whils t
~~~~ were ~ ~ln~e &
At 4.45 p .m. the same day, --jer it had bee
established by Detectjv~6 chi -tor "thur -z-,MPS
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Yingerprint Deportment,, New Scotland Yardq that
"SNEYD" was Identical-Vith Rff, the prisoner was
again interviewed by Detactive Chief Superintenden
BUTLER and myself In -a aell0
The prisoner was tcld there was every rafts 0
"believe he was not a Canadian citizen, 'but one
American origin.. Be repliedp 'Ohv we 1 9
He was then Informed that 'there was Pea elieve
his name was not 11SNEYD" but RAY,
In the United S° ~ ~~ ~ for ~~~iouft
wanted
a
Including the course11
h a firearm
was useda
The accused had been p, but Whenhe
heard this, be suddenl the bench in the
call, put his bead an d said, "Oh, god" .
He added after a ant or o, "I feel so trapped" .
He was again cautions then said,,"Well, yes,
~rJ, a2a t°a Iaj 0 in some
d we left cell, agr x ;d
L-'- ds.
-.AY wa rged in the name of "SNEM" at
20 cannon Row Police Stati taaa 9 with the
0 wing offences, but-made no reply .-
1m That you did on the 8th Jtanes 1968, atLondon A3rgort s without lawful authorityuse for the pr-nose^ of the A?i ene sOrder, 1953, a forged passport .
Qontr '__' '5[37 af thClyd e~a9
2. That you, not being a .person exemptrafrom the requirements of the Firearms
'A'Pom Ba H 1-7 A $ did, D. -'Le 8th 4! e y 1968 ,at La )n Airpe Ive in your possessiona -1 : 131 38 '7 -~erty Chief 'Ile and 5 P ., ' mmunition,tc wg Part I or IM ~ said Act appliesam 01A not hol vearms certificate
me.
L~k
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The accused appeared at 50W UTreel XagaslraLes
Court on Monday, -the -10th June, -1968, -".d was
remanded, In austoop- until the i8th June, 1968 .
-Lega2 Aid va's granted -to the prisoner by -"Mr . Fr
WILTON, the Presiding Magistrate ... On the 18th June,-1968, the prisoner agai
appeared before the Court, being remanded dy
until the 27th JaneQ 9 9684 without any v ° e
.being given. The prisoner was lega ented
by Mr . EUGENE, of Michael Dres Go Solicitors,
of 330 ~aviatock Streets London
Accoa°d.iaaglyo on the 27th uaae, 968$ the
prisoner again appeared be rank MILTON,
D6aga.stsate a ~~ the Bo*S M asta°atesa Co t D
and was defended b BY, of Counsel ,
t rsacted by th efendi sali citors a
Mr. Nigel Wffl9 ~ and Maw and Co a A
801:, Ators, f ford House, Norfolk Street, W .C .2,
i, a American Embassy, had ,
suce a cation. for a provisional warrant for
th xtradl on of RAY to the United States of
1 . James Earl Ray, hereinafter called thedePex~dante suspected and accused of thecommission of° ptta,e crime of murder t owit, on Apri
l ty, State of Ta%121ese68 did unlawfully ,Counfeloniously, wilfully, deliberately,premeditatedly and of his maliceafore th 't, kil2 and murder MartinLuthe- ~-ng, Junior, within theJaari€sdaa ;.rasa of the United States o
2 . Unlawful flight to avoid c;onfinement in
Of robbery in violation of title 189Section 1073 of United States cade o
The hearing Of the twO British Offea a was notMPS
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----------------------commenced t was not compx M ze s~ on ~Gne
1968, a- ~isoner was-Turther remanded, l
ncustody, i a -the 2nd July, 1968. -when the
Magistrate recommended -extradition ion both obs,
Since that time RAY has remained In custody and
appeared on the 9th Julyn 1968/1 6th July,, 1968,
Bow Street Magistrates' Court, being rem
custody pending any appeal against the
extraditi o
The appeal period terminat on a h July,
1968a when "~ decided to abazad than
pa°~~~~digags o
RAY's American- Attorne a Mrm Arthur
S g of 6170 Frank N AS 11 ngs, Birmingham,
Alabama, who trav I country on two Occasions
but never intervi d . the ison<% The legal
procedure in this .c ebarred him from taking
~ active p t An the Court proceedings . He has ,
H" Visit RAY under these conditions on four
Z. the 5th, 6th, 17th and 18th July ,
`aa Thursday, the 1 8t%2 July, 1 968Q the hea r ings
In relation to the two British offences . namely, of
ssessing a forg ed passport and of being found In
seession of a firearm and ammunition without a
certificate, were beard at Bow Street Magistrates'
Court before Mr . X-T~G~ BAP-RACLOUGH, Magistrate .
The prisoner did not appear personally, but he
was represented by Mr . LnW, Solicitor~ and
Mr. HO-7.4, - 1",, Di ; of ftblic Prosecutions Dept~,
at '
-491.RMeRM".. zo) /The
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~tatemaat
-possessing a forged passport be withdrawn bY
'leave of the Court, and no evidence was offered 1A
--relation 'to the offence -of possessing -8 -xirearm
ammunition .4t being L_ d by virtue or
-Section 7 of the Magist ~a`es' Courts Act, 1952-
I will now deal with the enquiries I
to and subsequent to the arrest of the p
,SXitils .l d1A.eJ I'll "+.`4fiF1ISVVla'a
It has already been mentioned a report
that "SNM" travelled from To to,. :ahla
moaa fl the 6th may, '9 9689 v this country
-an the 7th mays 1968, *.B, aC. light No. BA 600 .
His further whereabo a stage were then
unknown .
vere deputed interview the crew bf the
aircraft Wh "SNM--'v travelled to this country,
and f, a enquiries at the numerous airlines
Whil opera at Heathrow Airport .
~ view of the eleven members of the .crew
f ght BA 600 (Document 1) revealed that only
ember remembered 9Ak3dY EM' travelling as a
pass germ This is Ewa a
awarda o
f
mad, -i'ng
conversation with either crew or fenow passengers .
The passengers, totalling '73, have now been
Interviewed by Follce, but none was able to
identify "SNM". as a passenger f"ocument 2) .MPS
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tTM aementPage 15 .
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'It%*4
3aaaro~~rje6 vra~~~ continued at Bea eau a-Por
-at the var.10.-, _Siplines, to trace the movements of
~)ut -SuecesB . It was mot on il
thls,psrtlou~_ line of,anquirY was extended
booking offices of airlines :-that Atyroved
a reservation a he
affi~~~er~~ that SNMp -whose photo Ph was
shown, called at the above ment ce on the
7th Mayfl 196 0 Be surrenders Orre ticket from
London to Toronto for a sin c to Lisbon,
being,credited the dij;W7 c value by virtue of
-a miscellaneous charges e r 14 dollars, 60 cents .
Subsequent a rch A.C . orecords revealed
"W "M" travelle C BE Flight No- BE 074 on
the 7tb May, 1968, to on~ The records, however,
'i not 7 is stage his return to Fmgland~is
'anderstand.6ble because of the'Th l's 1 d
'Yast flow q a eager traffic at this time of the
Yo , the rl .neW records being In arrears in
re ~ ~~ e~atation by at -least two months .
ted States Embassy In London, of the enquiries
to to D end r. ,.t suggestion enquiries in Lisbon
gent. I had preVje)'tS]
A-11 Ports" w,, )Ang to be circulated 6th may,
1968, relative to showing he Was wanted
for serious emigration of'fences and the". in the
event or his being detained, any interrogation
In the circulation .
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Statements
- - - - ----------------- - -,tea
wSX- in fact, returned toEngland
Airlin e, on t) 17th May, 1968 .
on the 8th june,--1968, after purchasing a-
sa le ticket from London to Brussels on a B ry~~
flight-9 at the West London Air Tea°~inalv M
his Way to,London Aini6it, where he was by
Detective Sergeant BIRCH, of Specialg
was aware of the "An Ports" w 9 is e to
"SNEn" . Immediately after " N1 rest-on the
8th Juaaeg 1 9b6 8 It was reallse that is suitcase
and contents had already be y the aircraft
on which he would nor .A avelled, to
Its ret °a24 and a s, tak possession of by
Detective Sergea=nt amnd Detective Constable
tai? A of fSNjw._Bs^ acho
Examinat, 'e contents of the suitcase by
these two ic at Cannon Row Police Station
prov ~xt ning , as evidence indicating'ina
H croX4 9 M CP tis ~ . bi 2~a7 was fo sda aaongs an the¢ddg
jacket 'bearing the name "Brie GAL ~ 9 e° 9s
2aaof the many aliases used by RAY in the Unite d
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X embers of the crew and, where possiblep
passengers as set out on the Aircraft X-anifest
(Documents 4 and 5) have been Interviewed, but no
one remembers "SNUD" or having any conversation with
him. This -x of enquiry was, of,course, Conducted
as I t war at one ~~~~e P__ was in the
/company
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company of another -man . Viis Proved negative and
-I have no reason-to believe tbat'he was accompanied
by any
"___.. .. .,m..e. .~_.s we .ems . ....m. . e ..v a.. ... . . ..- .... . .. , o. .. . as . ... ..«w:e.s 8 s..r-mro e` er.
91SXM~1,,when -he,first arrived in
Toronto,, Canada, on the 7th May, 1968 ,
the same day- to Lisbon, and therefor e
stay In this country amounted to onl TOtz~~.
T2aea~~ ~s no aowledae ag w2a ere ~a~~~ tiffi e on
t~ s Particular occa s ion8 e ac c ep f s e a that
he obtained his ticket to Lisbo t a BoO3AaCm
office In Regent Street, Lo o~M.1 .
The movements of
now been checked
attached Schedule
This information
Ithis country have
are shown on the
obtained after a
protracted e Involving the personal visit of
P"'Ce officer- over a thousand hotels and
the West London area, by local
Offi 5 a era of this Branch.
ese ries established beyond any doubt
'~ `e stayed at the ~ieathfie ~. d House Hotels
~ e Croffiw e11 Road , L aao don 9 SmWa S D from the 17th. ~
68, until the 28th May, 1 968 . He is
Identified conclusively-by
=e=berss o MWstaff~ and where
possib2ag residents who stayed at this hotel during
the material times, have been most carefa y
Interviewed, but there Is no InformatJ :)n a
shows that "SNEn" had any visitors, mail i indeed,
telep] In - calls, Be may well have made a
to: 111 on WE; last day at the hotal, but
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7a$es ia,- 19 .
StatementPages 20 m 22 o
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re ference -is made to the statement
wv, -there Is --some doubt wIxether lie i is
-e pc !a or not i
4 I'M 'IT I DU stayed at .New,_'Barls - Court Rotel .-
&qjPenywern Road, Earls Court, S .W.59 from th e
se's 1-9 68a until V^° 5t2zJ ° s 1968a d
:Identified by
receptionist, as being a resident .
who Is a mo s as tep bon g paid
particular attention to 74~111 is stay and
assisted him generally, men ra he made two
telephone calls to the Dai ~' p Ya aa eti~s p age x ,,
as lis texaed t~o-ar t telephone
conversations to at von raexiaa
says he did not ~ eive mail, visits or
telephone calls .
From the 5th June, 1968, until the 8th June,
1968 (the vll~arrest) "SNAM" stayed at the
Pax Hot4%jLj eL a qua dki v, Loaadons S .W.,, and is
Iden the
he statement,
en as t "SZtiT" irafos^ffi~~ he had booked
a °~ht to Germany . Enquiries, however, have
ealed thst,tfi:s did not, in fact, occur . Abe .
also mentions "Sa b " received two telephone i'lls
nf these two-'w sons has b,-~a UI'a-ntified by Police,
and, on present facts, Id entification is not likely ~
Bnquirlei have been made at every hire car
firm in the loc, 'ity Of fbz,~mentioi -. ht
, ~ t
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l - - ~- .
-that II&NEYD" might wen -have utilised this servlce~
were found writtea-m--correspandence -found In
possession .- '-,:Responsible :persons of the three
coaar ex°aa eda Damely Charffiaae Car Hire Lim
Guildford Avenue, Feltham, Middlese or
Mini Cab Limited,' 65,_-Lisson Street and
Xezaway Court Cars limited, 9, oa
have been .~nterviewed 9 but the' ds do not
show that " SIe °B wa s a oaasto r . quiries have
also been made at taxi cab the same
locality, but withoutt 0
LEFT LUGGAGE LOCK .~ M1
Members of assp t Squad have personally
searched Left Luggage ers and left and Lost
propertyO t the places shown on the attached
2ist ('Docume as It was thought 'that
who was -a 01 age believe& to have been in
pos a ~Nf green7holdall, may have deposited
It one these places. This enquiry proved
ed
7w
i t~a some doubt, but cannot be ignored
co te1,y m
.SA'E 'E DEPOSITS
. A special enquiry (Document 8) was als o
Instituted, at -all safe deposits . in the london area
to establish whether or not "SNEYD" had deposited
any large sums of money, but without trace .
PLMS a
re made at the Overseas Visitors'
-id the Zambesi Clubp RarlsMPS
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S ' a$eat,','ages 23 - 28.
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Court, at both are in the 'g of the hoteis
where -Stayed, and thes are Places
aihel'e kmericans of dcrtfbtfu~ t "Aaracter and ex
mere -is from Africa are sometimes knotir-
k Lte~ - Searcb of the Clubs' record
that a had not visited -there . -
During the course of encuiries, I e aad
Yr. Ian COLVLK, Cbief 7oreign Lead Write
Daily Telegraph- deaaspa-Der o B9Stic acted
6 8s had aIr. COLVIN on the 4#.h June, 1 9
,-te3.ephane conversation with hz,~ cl set out in
deta il in b~~°a COLgi.~'s sta-temexa 1~ -ill be seen
,that mention Is ma de of 11SK ~$ teTe se in °
mercanaa°y volunteers, and a rs obvious h e had
? .r2 $ join -t.h 1 was also made of a
The latter was int wed , but declined to make
any statemen deed, disclose AM address, but
associated cenary activities in the Belgian
C o%Lg a d d, .
f
f necessary, put any would-be
vol per in uch with parties interested in
canaries . so was able to tell me that
k ~ s a Biafran Yissicn in Lisbon which, at one
~#a 3. t well have enlisted mercenaries in the
conflict which is taking place in that country at th e
7th
. aa~t tiffien ~'s da i no conversation
"S NM" concerning-- this mtat° r~,
is an information centre, known as Liebor of Corps~
'a lid be able to fu,, aish particulars of'any
)e t first visited
/Lisban
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StatementPage 10 0
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i5
lisbon and then later booked a passage t o-- - -- - -
Brussels .
I
z5rie ' . ~~~ arranges for~ _ .. _ . .
volunteers asi ; ~st African countries against
internal aggression, -but "'assured me
never applied to him as a volunteer .
The firearm, a Japanese .38 Lib
revolver, was forwarded to the r 0 it Poli c e
Forensic Science Laboratory, wh as examined
by Mr. John ~~~nERTYYg Senior -per -ental Officer .
A t the reru e st of the Amer* Attache, test
bullets were fired fxo# e and were later
handed to Mr. MI I 'tion~ of caurse~
comparison of tea ullets we 3a eea: made with any
spent bullets found a scenes of major c rime s
coming to t otice of Police in this country ~
The 01c) 0 ld in the suitcase belonging
to " N, S n examined by ultra viollet ray
and a~ a found thereon. Enquiries were
mad ~~ ~l~ rs in the Victoria area, and it v~as
a~ rat e~~WIMM" had iaken a aa~~~ to
Lo as Cleaners, 95, Wilton Road, Victoria, &fia a 9 ,
p to the 6th June, 9 968o Be had also made
purchases i n 1ocal shops for toilet requisites . No
eful information was obtained from these sources
ich would help.lkn furtherance of the enquiry,
Examination of the shoes that "Mt~,'1'D" was
wearIn&.,.at the time of his arrest revealed that
they were an English make bearing certain
manufacturer's numberso As the result of encuiries
that, oes were a make,
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they were exclusively produced for sale In Came a
and America,-, and would not, therefore, be sold in qjthis co=try. Ws Is supported by the fact that
the shoes were badly--viorn and th
e course, Is that they were -obtained by sail ~.n
Canada or America prior to coming to this M
Enquiries have been made of the Por
Airlines to establish the identity o:1 rson
who remembers e'S11t4 as a passe~~~~ ate
this his p roved negative, - altho quia zv
-itself has not been completed 9 an difficulty has
been experienced in tracing passengers and
crew, who are now in evidea fed locatioaasa .
During the p
separate* off ences
London., two
tea in different
1oca2.ataes a for . which be a°esp9rasablem _He
tl,has bee
n out, of course ice the com,uassimn of any cr~~in~l
offence~ r. have not been completed, so
detai a t tlined in this reoort. At the
cone ion e eraoat~. x°ies9 anything of a helpful
ore e ~ep or ted a
t will b e seen f rom the facts already disclosed
the 'ETD's" vi s it to London and Lisbon and intended
isit to Brussels was to make enquiries regarding
possibility of joining a Mercenary Unit i n
ca. If successful he would have had little fear
of -his true identity being discovered or, if
discovered, little or nothing would have been done
about it .
It is also worthy of mention that on a Scuth
African Airline timetable found amongst h:
PO s8essions, a pencil mark has been _= e ~r 2-
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newspaper t: cheap flights to
South Africa v&E
The officers most ~~~ly engaged on the f~~
reaching enquiries made are satisfied that "SINRYD
has no firm associates in this country, and
certainly received no financi al assistanc e
here . 'This latter aspect Is very firml ed
by 'the- inescapable fact that he d
bargain with the three hotel -aza~
in his anxiety to secure a cheaps ate or the
rooms he rented .
M
As is to b e expe~ °~ edt tiga~,i o~ In
which there has been blic .-ty, Meml.-5-rs
of the public genui belie they have seen
aaS '8 and have a c c ord~ aa foz°mea Pelicea All
suca i -ormati as been properly Investigated, 'out'b e
wathou any, us~a ~ ati~a~a Iaeab~g obm aa Aee~"3a~
~2~ T~at~ ~ ~ ~ z J~ ~u r n J968, the home
this F ce to d RAY to the United States
Aga ri
4 was taken to the United States Air ?orce
Base elzen3aeHth, 'Suffolk, and , with his property,
Wwas transferr~d into the custody of the official
t. He left this country by air at 12-38 a .m.
!a ta.mea on pea s the 19th July, 1 9 68a
Submitted for Information and directions as to
whether copies of report and relevEnt papers may
be handed to the L-egal Attache, American Embassy,
GTvenor Square, Iff .j, for transfer to the a-ppropriateMPS
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CA f~
~~~trao Offker °SSpmcsae Rm-e J
SUBJECT bequests
from t7,.. .6. .. . . .. . .. . .- . .. . . house. .o.. . . .. . . . . . ..
Representatives.. . . .. . . .. . . .. .. .. .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. ..
Committee&~~~erencaa to Papers
ca2 01l771288. .. . . . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. .. . .
M .P ; >-~09713 M K14" (2)
Now sea
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Commander
Two letters dated 6 .1Oo1478 d 6 4197 have been
received from Home Office under their e ferencesXTN/78o10j64J1 and QPE/75,1j39/40 and co attached to
this report. They refer to James E.as° equests received
about his activities in London9 from U.S o se of Representatives
Committee .
In their letter ov 1 K e Office seek informationon a number of matters as Po7,rs ~
A
~ez1 tt tuu, arm duty Chief
`-^9+ector< On 28o7a1976o he was arrested
of this force and charged wit h
ence of Conspiracy to corruptly accepta ft in respect of a criminal rose he hada slings with in Play !968 . He wa s
t r charged with two offences of Conspiring
to ervert the Course of Justice s
ommitted for trial on
ev y was arraigned for trial at
The Middlesex Crown Court an
was ~ witted in respect of all three chargeson
Re ference is made in the Home Office lett erst o two le tters re ce ived from James Earl RAY(copies attached) . In his letter of 15a9o I 4 7 8 .RAT asks Police and Hom e Office for certaininformation whi ch he lists in the for s ofel even questions set out in his letter .The following information is releaant o
(1) RAY was detained at Cannon Raw PoliceStation following upon h is arrest at tendonHeathrow airport on 8 .6 .1968. and unti lh is first appearance at Bow Street Magistratescourt o n l aa6o1968.M
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Whilst he was detained at Cannon Row Po~zce
Station s 'way kept under surveillance at
All times by Detectiv e officers o f Ce4eC a $ o
aneh of the Metropolitan Police. One ofthe officers engaged upon those duties
w
now Detective Superintendent Thomas StZC
who was recently interviewed in London
representatives of the U.S . House of pie tiresCornmi tteea A record of that intervi f ardedto Rome Office together with my p nu rtof 16,8 a 1978a During the course terviewSuperintendent SMITH -revealed t
fog ad been engage n i1 ance
duties upon RAY at Cannon a t
.
tion
on the morning of gmbo 68 >
I ha s since established. as so and
tha as accompa on occasion by -
7~tse ire constable
Cisto r BAXTER who
is still a serving Me oli n Police Officer .A copy of a wrtt w tamq by BAXTER is
attached to this p d it will be seen
his reool.le*1an e ants of that day are
rather vague he w unable to remember
details 9 ve ions ~uhie~ztoak place between
EIST an.rR~ha tea
Never as m~ clear conversation did hake
place an aye he was left in^Roubt RAYhad indeed esponsib?a for the border of
Doctor A t~..n then KZIYGe
his account by BAXTER I then put
xn passages set out in the ',Bola
m
.r-f8
aied 28-7-1978 . which was submittedto ce tugether ;=rich my previous report
It will be seen TEI? claims h eh~ a ection of any such conversation
etwse and FAY ,
have also taken a written statement fromDe~e&ive Chief Inspector Bernard HOI OETTS9
I a serving Metropolitan Police Officere whoas a Detective Ser axit in 1968 was regularlyemployed with His statement is self-explanatory and he has no recollection hatsoeverof any zaerbal admissions made by RA :Y toin his presence . Nevertheless I feel that this
evident M and HODCET TS does tend to
sugges id have conversAtions with RAYduring vine and July 1968 and whatever thoseconversations m have been it is clear that"
was telling ol.sce colleagues at that t ;.-that RAY had indeed murdered Doctor martin LuthiKTNCo
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CA/8
I have also spoken to &- Detective ChiefInspector THOP§PSON, who was also interviewedrecently by the U .S . Committee representsand who9 together with E . Detective ~h~,Superintendent BUTLER (now deceased) wasin charge of the London Police enquiry.
1968a His recollection is that two offi
together were always employed upon a
surveillance duties upon RAY. He
that surveillance was carried o 0throughout the 2 day period thedetained at Cannon Row Police St on d on
every occasion thereafter t
transported and escorted t d the
courts and the reenandlseis o
Similar suz°veillance '11F&was kept whilsthe was actually in t c or mid he was alsoeventually as rted C.O. 8a officers when
hewas taken - d 9.san on 18o7a195$oto Go2ders Gee, ions lodged there
for a few ux°s r the same nightdrivenauffo7
. to e Base at kenheatPa
kqand ad into the custody of
the Uo i he extradited to America.
THOMP is h erQ arable to recollect .
the cific oc sor~upon which was actually
enga an t a duties. He does r~;~uember hose ve~°y
that e of several. officers o fwho were so loved at that time .
R„ r4(E)
so spoken to Detective Chief Inspectoro as a Detect~.rre Sergeant was concerned
a case in i968 end who was also recentlyi ~rie~re~ by the Corrv~aitte RPpresenta+ ores inn o
He
has a recollection that" wan one
0 eve~al police Officers who togethex- with
escorted RAY from London to Lakenheath
on 18m7m1968 m
It appears thez°efores was one of several
Police officers who escorted RAY to Lakenheath
on 18o7a19 68= but no Police records now exist
whereby this can be confirmed or whereby details
of the other officers of that escort can be
ascertainedo Similarly, in the absence of police
records it is not now possible to say on wh t
other occasions in June and July 1968 that
might have been concerned in surevei~_aaace
duties upon RAY4 that is other than on 9 . 6>1968e
Such information will not °ng unless
direct enquiry is made of ~ r and this
course of action has been Uec-a against as a
matter of policy.
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(2) Records are no longer available whereby
this information can be provided
(3) There is no record of any such repobeing lodged by any Metropolitan Polic
Officer in 196 8
(4) In the absence of Police records i s
ssble to provide informat' e g
It is known howeverm &~Y p at
ow Street Magistrates Court on J 9
18th June s 26th June 4 2nd J v
and 16th July, 1968 0
(5) As at (4) aboveo v s unlikelythat one police officer wo d have bee nso eavployeda Mr o llect ion is that
two officers were al s em yed together upon
these duties .
(6) it is not s' o say from existing
Police recdlk w r not this could have
happened,
(7) at ov
(8) icon ations provide that whilstdetained icon prisoners must agreed tobe so inter ed before any interview w ith Policecan take place .
} records ar e not available whereby thisat a on can be prov adedr. However, Mir THOMPSON
t me RAY was not interviewed by Police a t'me whilst he was lodged in any of Her
Qty ' s ps'isons e
( 1 0) See (9) above.
( 11 ) See attached copy statements which were
submitted by the Police officers concerned at the
t imes I have been unable to trace any other
relevant written statement made or submitted by
any Police officer in relation to RAY .
Returning now to the Home office letter of 6 a1 2 m7 8 oE-igiaaa..s :~ has been made at both Brixton and WandsworthP; , ., s and the prison Service is able to provideonly very limited information a s to RA :Y°s movementsin and out of those prisons in 3,96$ e It isestablished howe v es° 2 12ti1P° s prison number was060480 and that he was first admitted to BrixtonPrison a s a r emand prisoner from Bow Street MagistrateiCourt on 10a 6 a I96$ a I have also been able t o
t(E )
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ascertain from Police records that RA .1' wasvisited in prison on 5the 6thq, 17th and 18t
July, 1968 by his American Attos°ney at
a Mr Arthur IiA , of 6'179 Frank Nelso
BuiAdangsg Birmanghamg Alabama.
BAZes extradition was ordered by a isat Bow Street gists°ate°s Court a a1gHe was then remanded incaastody pst:atz~toyy appeal period under t e ion
its which expired on 17o7s196 d in
fact lodge Notice of Appeal b _a andoned
it. on 18-7-1968. he was Policeescort from Wandsworth Fri n to lder sGreen Police Station e ~a odged for a
few hoirP°s9 an doubt a m e Payed to
evade the attentions r egorters.v then lateri7 that day escorted by olic t Lakenheath. He
was then handed ove o an erican Police escort
and left this co y' a Air Transpor t
a' craft at 120 9e7„196$m
Meanwhile ~ W, 0 oxza1 charges brought
against b ropo],ftan Police when he
was f' ne t London Heathrow Airport
on 8 968. disposed of at Bow StreetMagi tea Cou , in RAY's absence, on 1&7a1968 .Charge 1'oe pion of a forged passport was
withdrawn ave of the couz°t . Charge(2)
Possession o a fireas°mm No evidence offere dd dismissed by the court under the provisions
7 Magistrates Courts Act 1952 0
s assumed therefore RAY was remanded to~ on Prison until 2-7-1968., the date hi sxt dition was ordered at Bow Street Magistrates
t and thereafter he was detained at WandsworthPrison until the date of his extradition to theU. "moo
Finally, Home Office seek information upon the
more recent visit to London by representative s~ of the U.S. Committeeo Mr Edward EVANDe Mr
Jerome GUIS,INGS and ter Lewis PARISE arrived in
London during the weekend period 27thj29th
OC tOb G'Y' g 19,78m EVANS then left this country
on 5~11p19'78e his two colleagues eventually
leaving on 7o11o1978m I saw Mr EVANS myself at
New Scotland Yard on 31„10629786 when I advised
him in accordance of the guidelines set out in
the Flume Office memorandum dated 24810,7:9'780
which had been forwarded to me for this purpose .Ys° EVANS assured me he would convey that adviceto the members of his cammiLteeo
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In accordance with the policy agreed withHome Office I provided Fir TsVA~1' •, °
etective ea-&TIMM whn r tared on 16a5e196Se it 's
understood hnweverg the committee p xw~:$
then failed in their attempts to e either
man .
MANS was also given detail rentaddress of Ex. l?eteetiee Se pant Bert CHMY'eMr CHERRY was intervi b he:. J6itteerepresentatives but PolT1%L1e,1qW prssent .
In accordance with Off' 0Ttaidelines no
further information sup °ed to the committee
representatives esjj%jW the 1968 fingerprint
ev idexice m
could be foundin Police eco t ver reported Verbal
I told Air n
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e
admiss ° t y Y in 1968 . I alsotold S tha imself had also written aLett o this ce asking for this same information,Z also ide TANS with details of the datesin 1968 t had appeared before the London
Courts and t hira it suss not possible to provide
im with details o f the actin time that RAY had
t he remand prisons on tho s e particulart naliys E(7A i11u asked me if he could be
ded with detail s of police servic eZ~re ccs and a ash appraisal repos.to I refused
e que st o
I as that this report, in duplicate, together with atta che ~; erne be forwarded to Home Office, for their info ationm
copy is provided for the Foreign an d Commonwealth
F,Detective Chief 8uper5 satende nt
i -i
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