Police at the centre of the Rebecca Middleton murder investigation have come in for harsh criticism from former Bermuda Attorney General Elliott Mottley.

Speaking at yesterday's session of the Serious Crimes Inquiry, he said officers let the investigation taper off once they had gained a statement from Kirk Mundy, only to later realise that they needed more information because two people had been involved in the killing.

Mr. Mottley said he also raised concerns about the level of activity in the murder case with the acting Commissioner of Police at the time.

He recalled telling officers that they would have to find other forensic evidence if they wanted to prosecute Kirk Mundy for murder. It was not until December 1997 that a forensic expert signed a statement that two people must have committed the murder "I wrote to Michael Mylod (acting Commissioner of Police at the time), expressing my concerns at the level of investigation being carried out in the Rebecca Middleton murder, I said it was important the investigation continued until after the jury recorded a verdict.

"In September 1996 Police accepted what Kirk Mundy, a Jamaican, said -- the investigation wound down to a low level.'' The evidence that Mundy was implicated in the murder came 18 months after the crime, he said, adding that a first forensic expert would not commit herself in writing that two people were involved.

During his evidence to the Commission of Inquiry into Serious Crimes, Mr.

Mottley told of a meeting at Government House in which comments were made about the proceedings.

"I was told by someone there that "there is no way a Bermudian jury was going to convict a Bermudian for murder after a Jamaican had been convicted for accessory after the fact.'' MURDER MUR CRIME CRM