A FORMER police officer has denied using “aggression or violence” as he interviewed a suspect in the Babes in the Wood murders 32 years ago.

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Russell Bishop, then aged 20, was challenged on his accounts of the day Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway were found dead in a wooded den in Brighton on October 10 1986.

The defendant had been helping with the search for the nine-year-old girls and rushed to the scene on hearing they had been found.

The Old Bailey has heard he went on to give police conflicting accounts of how close he came to the girls.

In one account, he described how they were lying and claimed to have touched them to check for a pulse.

But in a later account, he denied going into the area where the bodies were.

Under cross-examination, retired detective constable Barry Evans was accused of playing “soft copper, hard copper” when Bishop was interviewed about it on October 15 1986.

Joel Bennathan QC, defending, said: “Was there a stage he got up to leave and was pushed back in his chair?

Mr Evans replied: “That’s not how it worked.”

Asked if Bishop was shown photographs of the dead girls, he said: “I don’t think so.”

Mr Bennathan suggested Bishop was told that two teenagers who found the bodies had made statements that neither got close to them, and one had put a hand up to stop the defendant going into the den.

The lawyer said: “He had two experienced detectives basically bullying a very young witness.”

Mr Evans replied: “I do not accept that, no.”

Prosecutor Alison Morgan said: “You were asked about the way in which you conducted your questions to Mr Bishop and whether or not that questioning involved aggression or violence.

“Did you ever use aggression and or violence when questioning someone?

Mr Evans replied: “I never used violence or aggression.”

Bishop, now 52, formerly from Brighton, is on trial for the second time for the murders of Nicola and Karen following new DNA evidence.

He has denied the charges against him.

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