- John Stalker
John Stalker (born
1939 inManchester ) is a formerDeputy Chief Constable ofGreater Manchester Police .The Stalker Controversy
He is most notable for heading the
Stalker Inquiry , a police investigation into the shootings of a number of suspected members of theProvisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) by theRoyal Ulster Constabulary in1983 . His temporary suspension from duty and removal from the inquiry in1986 , based on false allegations some, allegedly, from Kevin Taylor, a friend, others being false reports that Taylor was a professional criminal. His suspension caused considerable public outcry.He was the subject of a British
Parliamentary debate held on22 November 1986 , where the following, totally false, allegations that led to his suspension were given ‘The reasons put forward for Mr. Stalker being taken off the inquiry essentially related to four matters. One was that a personal associate of his was under investigation for fraud. I must make it clear that even to this day that individual has not been charged with any criminal offence. It was suggested that Mr. Stalker associated with the same individual, and possibly other known criminals and that there was photographic evidence of people in the same room. It was suggested that, while he was on holiday with Kevin Taylor, the yacht on which they were sailing was under observation by the American authorities. The implication was that they were involved in drugs or some other criminal activity.It was also suggested that Kevin Taylor, through his solicitor, had threatened that if he was charged with offences he would, I think it was said, blow Stalker and his associates out........it contains innuendo of the most unpleasant sort, which is unfitting for such a report. The report is simply not up to scratch. At one stage, it talks about an anonymous allegation that the police dropped a criminal action against a person whom Mr. Stalker knew. The Sampson report says: No further action was taken…the papers have been destroyed…the matter cannot be taken further nor can any comment be made. There should be further investigation into the claim in The Observer that its inquiries showed that the case was prosecuted in the normal way.’Tony Lloyd [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Lloyd] M.P. [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1986/nov/27/mr-john-stalker] .The report was shown contain ‘Groundless rumours and gossip were stitched together by senior police officers in a "gross dereliction of duty" [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19950517/ai_n13982871] .
He was able to clear his name publicly by taking the matter to court and proving his innocence against all media reported allegations. This court battle costing him twenty one thousand pounds by 1986 of his own money which he was never able to recover [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1986/nov/27/mr-john-stalker] .
Career
After
Grammar School he joinedManchester City Police as a cadet in 1956.He joined the CID in 1961
and was promoted;
Detective Sergeant (1964),Detective Inspector (1968),Detective Chief Inspector (1974).Detective Chief Superintendent (1978), at the age of 38 he became the youngest DCS in Britain.He attended the Senior Command Course at the
Police Staff College, Bramshill in 1979.He was appointed
Assistant Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police in 1980.He is a graduate of the
Royal College of Defence Studies .During his career he served in the Serious Crime Squad, the
Bomb Squad and the Drugs Squad.During his service he spent traveled around the world studying both
terrorism and crime from an international perspectiveRetirement
Since his retirement Stalker has been active in developing new careers, in both the media and industry.
He is a director of a large national security company and runs his own busy consultancy and advisory group.
For six years he was the host of the popular
Central Television TV program, ‘Crimestalker’, before moving ontoCarlton TV where he presented the award winning series, ‘Inside Crime’.Stalker has been a popular speaker, delivering seminars, lecturing on motivational issues, and is active on the after dinner lecture circuit [http://www.gordonpoole.com/?artistID=740] .
He presented the
Carlton TV program ‘The Verdict’ which ran for 26 episodes.He is a member of a
BBC Governors advisory panel. [http://www.normanphillips.co.uk/john_stalker_bio.htm] .Since his retirement from the police, he has written frequently for the "
Daily Telegraph " and "Sunday Times" newspapers amongst others.He appeared in the following TV programs:
"
Harry Enfield and Chums" (episode 1.3), 1994. As the. Crimesearch Presenter"
GMTV ",25 January 2005 ... Himself (1 episode, 2005)Millennium: Fact & Fiction (1997)
"
Have I Got News for You ", (episode 7.5) guest 1994"Question Time" ... (
7 March 1991 ) guest. The premier British political program where guests, from all the main political parties, and selected guests answer question from an audience about key political issues important of the day [ see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/default.stm] .As well as television Stalker has appeared as the Narrator for the long-running theater production ‘
The Rocky Horror Show ’, during its UK tour, 2003Following an incident in which Mr Stalker had to fend off two rottweilers biting his wife Stella in June 2006, it is reported he supports an overhaul of the
Dangerous Dogs Act . It took at least sixty stitches to mend her wounds and the significant injury was requiring treatment for many weeks after. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/02/nstalk02.xml John Stalker's wife injured in attack by two rottweilers - Telegraph ] ]Trivia
His self penned book "Stalker" topped the best sellers for several weeks with worldwide sales of over 400,000 copies.
He wrote the book 'The Stalker Affair' ISBN-10: 0670822620 Viking; American Ed edition (
31 December 1988 )Nowadays, he and his dog "Drummer" are familiar on television and press adverts endorsing products including garage doors, awnings and various blinds manufactured by Nationwide Ltd.
He is also a qualified athletics coach.
He is also a very keen soccer fan.
He is an an accomplished jazz drummer, a passion reflected in the name he chose for his dog.
Advertisements and TV appearances would regularly identify him using his job title, leading a number of comedians to joke that "John Stalker-Former-Deputy-Chief-Constable-of-Greater-Manchester" was his full name.
References
[http://www.nationwideltd.co.uk/advert.php John Stalker TV advert for Nationwide Patio Awnings]
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