The three men who were charged following the conspiracy investigation into the Bland case, but whose prosecutions were discontinued last year, have been granted Core Participant status in the McGrail Inquiry.
John Perez, Thomas Cornelio and Caine Sanchez were facing charges of conspiracy to defraud Bland Limited and undermining its ability to perform its National Central Intelligence System.
In January last year, the Attorney General entered a nolle prosequi, a rare legal instrument which effectively brought an end to the prosecutions of John Perez, Thomas Cornelio, and Caine Sanchez. He cited public interest as the reason for the decision.
Last November, the three men were granted legal funding for representation in the Inquiry into the early retirement of former Commissioner Ian McGrail.
The Inquiry judge, Sir Peter Openshaw, has now ruled that the three men have a significant interest in an important matter to which the Inquiry relates, and that they would benefit from being represented in the case.
They now join the Government parties, the Police, the Police Authority, the Police Federation, and Mr McGrail himself on the list of core participants.
