POLICE officers working at the scene of the Grand hotel bombing were not told they were being exposed to “very high” levels of lethal asbestos, The Argus can reveal.

Files obtained by this newspaper show the alarming levels were recorded on police logs at the time yet some officers continued to work amid the rubble without adequate protection.

Former detective superintendent, Bernie Wells, who helped oversee the work of Sussex officers at the scene said he was “flabbergasted” at the revelations.

The documents, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, were contained in files prepared in June this year ahead of a warning issued by Sussex Police to former officers, emergency service workers and others who would have been close to the scene, which said they may have been exposed to the deadly dust in the aftermath of the IRA attack on the Conservative Party conference in 1984.

What the police did not reveal in the summer was that high levels were recorded at the time when more than 30 officers from two forces were looking for evidence at the site for two weeks.

The warning followed a High Court hearing last year in which Sussex and the Metropolitan forces admitted liability for the diagnosis of mesothelioma - a cancer linked to asbestos from the scene - of officer Jonathan Woods.

Mr Woods's lawyer Andrew James, who is pursuing the case on behalf of his widow Sharon, said the fact levels of asbestos were "very high" was not conveyed to the officers at the time.

He said: "They should have been provided with a far higher level of protection and should have been made aware of the danger in continuing work in the manner that they did for a further 14 days.

"This was not an emergency situation where lives were at risk and they had to go into a dangerous scene. The area had already been cleared and proper precautions could have saved Jon Woods's life."

He added: "Full details of the high levels of exposure and copies of the relevant records should have been given to everyone who was exposed at the scene."

Mr Wells said: "There was never any suggestion of asbestos being in that hotel.

"I never had any hesitation in going in there whereas I would have done if I thought there was asbestos.

“Being in charge on the ground, as it were, I was in and out of that hotel every day and I’m absolutely confident that had there been any suggestion that there was asbestos in there I would have known."

The internal document see by The Argus detailing the “rationale" behind the June warning says: “The assessment that the level of contamination of the scene debris was at a level to warrant informing affected persons was based primarily on scene logs which note that asbestos contamination of the scene debris was ‘very high’.”

It adds: "There is also evidence to suggest that persons entered the bomb site without sufficient personal protective equipment."

It is understood some officers were provided with respirator-style marks, others given air-fed masks but it is claimed there were no warnings of the dangers of dust on clothing, the risks to the families of Sussex officers who may have taken their contaminated clothing home or warnings about the high levels of asbestos present.

The documents that Sussex Police Deputy Chief Constable Bernie O'Reilly, appointed also in June last year, made the decision to tell affected officers and the wider public in June because it was keeping with the force's "code of ethics".

Asked why the discovery of “very high” levels of asbestos contamination had not been conveyed to officers at the time, a Sussex Police spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately the bombing was a long time ago and we don’t know the level of detail people were briefed at the time.

"It recently came to our attention that the risks had resulted in a death potentially related to the exposure.

"We feel we now have an ethical duty to tell people, having learned of the officer’s tragic death.”

OFFICER’S WIDOW FIGHTS FOR JUSTICE OVER KILLER DUST

ON OCTOBER 12, 1984, the IRA targeted Margaret Thatcher by bombing The Grand hotel.

It was one of the most serious terrorist threats the country had seen – an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister and the entire Cabinet.

Emergency services workers rushed to the scene and risked their lives after the sixth-floor blast caused part of the hotel to collapse.

Five people died, including Tory MP Sir Anthony Berry, while dozens were injured including the then Trade Secretary Norman Tebbit and his wife Margaret.

The bomb caused floors of the hotel to collapse into the basement and at least 30 officers, including 15 from the Metropolitan Police, spent around two weeks sifting the debris for clues.

About 24 hours after the site had been made safe, Sussex Police took control of the scene and teams of officers went to work scouring the rubble for evidence to help bring those responsible to justice.

On October 16, 1984, Metropolitan Police counter terrorism officer Jonathan Woods was told blue asbestos had been discovered. Thirty-one years later his exposure to the deadly dust made him the sixth victim of the Brighton bomb, aged 66.

Emergency services workers on October 16 were not fighting to save lives but, without knowing it, their own lives were endangered.

The dangers of asbestos and the risk of mesothelioma had been brought to light in the UK more than 20 years earlier in 1965 by Newhouse and Thompson and numerous press reports.

Blue asbestos, like the kind found in The Grand, had been banned from imports into the UK since 1970 and well established practices for protecting against asbestos exposure at the time were covered by the Health and Safety at Work Act.

In addition to Mr Woods, as many as 30 other police officers – as well as countless fire fighters, Conservatives and hotel staff – could also have been contaminated.

The risks of contaminating homes and family members was also widely known but the Sussex Police officers could have passed dangerous particles on to their families.

Mr Woods’s wife, Sharon, described her husband as “immensely proud” of the work he did at The Grand, despite the cost to his life.

While he may have been told about the discovery of asbestos at the scene, other officers say they were left in the dark.

Met officers had notes placed on their personnel files, but this is not thought to have taken place for Sussex officers.

Mr Woods’ lawyer Andrew James, who is now pursuing the case on behalf of his widow, said: “It is interesting that the documents you have obtained refer to ‘very high’ levels of contamination. This information was not conveyed to the officers at the time.

“They should have been provided with a far higher level of protection and should have been made aware of the danger in continuing work in the manner that they did for a further 14 days.

“This was not an emergency situation where lives were at risk and they had to go into a dangerous scene. The area had already been cleared and proper precautions could have saved Jon Woods’s life.

“The Met Police placed a record on the files of their officers called an ‘injury on duty’ form which detailed the exposure.

“However, full details of the high levels of exposure and copies of the relevant records should have been given to everyone who was exposed at the scene.

“Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma many decades later, by which time the emergency staff are likely to have retired and moved away. Knowledge of the exposure would help medical staff in the event of later developing symptoms of this disease.

“All of the people exposed to blue asbestos at that site are at risk. The officers from Sussex worked in overalls over their normal clothing.

“This is also likely to have been contaminated and, unlike the Met officers who were staying at Lewes, the local officers may well have gone home contaminated.”

Mr Woods’s widow Sharon said: “There are no words to adequately convey my grief at my loss.

“The way this disease kills someone is terrible. It destroys people and strips them of their dignity as well as their life.

“Jon was devastated when he was given the diagnosis.

“He knew he had been exposed to asbestos at the scene but he was immensely proud of the work he had done there and the fact that they had been able to find evidence that helped track down the bomber and led directly to his arrest and conviction.”

In 1985, Patrick Magee, who planted the bomb, was given eight life sentences but was released in 1999 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.