Cops and swabbers 'too tight'

Peter Williams. Photo / Doug Sherring

Peter Williams, who this week called time on one of the most illustrious careers in New Zealand legal history, has taken a parting shot at the creeping collusion between police and forensic scientists.

The QC bowed out on a high, getting final client Zion King off a murder charge.

He said the case highlighted how ESR scientists were becoming "too chummy" with the police officers who they were supposed to keep in check.

"In a small country like New Zealand we have a very limited number of independent experts and we rely very heavily on the ESR for evidence," he said.

"They obviously fraternise with the police on a daily basis and they are influenced by these associations."

Williams, 75, has represented drug kingpins and got Arthur Allen Thomas's murder conviction overturned.