Editor of the Wolverhampton Express and Star for 11 years from 2002, Faber offered the Inquiry his views on the ethics of connections between police and journalists and his paper’s cooperation with the West Midlands Police. He formerly edited a number of local papers including the Gloucestershire Echo, the Bristol Evening Post and the Evening Argus in Brighton.
A former journalist, Stearns was Head of Media at the Metropolitan Police at the time of the Inquiry. His evidence was volunteered rather than formally sought and he attempted to put in context the work of the press office which dealt with 200-300 journalistic calls a day from the media. Following major incidents, this number could rise to 1,000 or more calls, all requiring individual responses, he told the Inquiry.
