‘Liam, I know I set it up right, I know it.’ He thought the possibilities through. No one knew he had a copy of the footage, not Liam and none of the investigation teams. So it had either been deliberately or accidentally erased. Wiping the disc could be done simply enough on a computer just by formatting, or it could potentially be done with a strong magnet or extreme heat. But by who? Who could he trust? He had handed it to Liam, who said he had handed it in turn to the investigators.

‘Who did you give the card to?’ Tom asked.

‘Some DS from Ilford called Pete Lyons. I don’t know the bloke. What are you thinking?’

‘Somehow, it’s been wiped. But by who? Was it sealed when you handed it over?’

‘Yes, mate. I sealed it at Forest Gate. You were there.’

‘This is fucked up, Liam. It gives Adebayo a massive loophole to jump through: he can claim destruction of evidence and allege that it’s all been concocted and a fit-up, for fuck’s sake!’

Tom’s head spun as he realised he didn’t know who to trust. He recalled Liam sealing the bag, but that was the last he saw of it. Plenty of people would have had the opportunity, possibly, to interfere with the bag. He made a snap decision.

‘I copied it,’ he said. ‘I put it on my phone to review it and check it had recorded okay. I watched it in the car before I got to Forest Gate.’

He heard a sharp intake of breath at the other end of the phone, followed by a pause.

‘Jesus, man, that’s good news. Defence may have a little go at a procedural breach but it’s better than having nothing. When can you get it in?’

‘I’m being careful with this one, Liam. I’ll copy it and deal with it myself. I don’t know who to trust here; someone has deliberately erased an exhibit, and there’s only one reason. There’s a fucking leak.’ He hung up.

Tom’s mind reeled. A leak, a corrupt officer somewhere. But who?

He didn’t know Liam personally, but he had a very good reputation and a long and distinguished history with SC&O35. The bag had been sealed when he left Forest Gate, but Tom had no idea what had happened to it following that. Tom had the only copy of the undercover footage that would sink Adebayo and the Serbs. They would obviously be desperate to keep it under wraps; who knew what they were capable of to get it erased permanently? Without the footage there were so many holes in the case for a good lawyer to exploit, so it was unlikely that Adebayo and his brother would be convicted.