David Taylor has admitted that he added additional details to the Dorset Police’s records after the 19-year-old was found dead in 2017. Investigative consultant Sarah Clarke QC suggested that Taylor had “strengthened” the files to make the police investigation look better. Taylor, who was the deputy police investigation coordinator, said he was wrong to change the log, but claimed he did so not to defraud but to try to give a more complete picture of what happened. He added: “I wanted to gather all the information. In hindsight, would I do the same again? No way. Was wrong. It does not look great, and I’m sorry about that. “ Pope, who had severe epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder after her alleged rape, disappeared on November 7, 2017. The student was eventually found in dense vegetation on a rock near a beauty spot called Dancing Ledge, having died of hypothermia. heard the investigation in Bournemouth. Among the details Taylor added was a note that a search helicopter may not have found the teenager due to “dense vegetation pockets”. Clark told police: “By the time you added this retrospective entry you knew it had been found. It can be said that the final version of this log was intentionally created to look as if it were modern while it was not. “By adding these records, you have improved it. You have not told anyone that you have entered afterwards. You never said you would add a series of retrospective entries until the subject came to light in the middle of this research. “To be honest, it’s one of the first lessons of police school – taking the example of a pocket book, if you want to go back and add a note, you learn to give it a star and say it’s a retrospective. “You made additions to the diary. “You may be offered a chance to enhance it and make it look better than it used to.” “I can understand why the conclusion is reached,” Taylor said. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST Officers admitted a number of failures and missed opportunities during the investigation. An officer who was disciplined about the investigation said many mistakes were made the night the pope went missing, including not deploying two officers available to look for her and not handing over the case to other officers at the end of the shift. The investigating court had heard Pope’s family repeatedly urged police to investigate the Dancing Ledge area, but felt the police were focused elsewhere. It has also been claimed that police investigating the rape charge advised her not to pursue the case, telling her: “We do not believe there is any chance that it will be successful and it would be very traumatic.” The investigation continues.
