David Mearns OBE, OAM

The image wasn’t “changed to alter my mind” it was measured and enhanced to quantify what I already suspected: the length, width and proportions are consistent with a person of Nicola’s height in a prone, crouched position. That conclusion has now been independently reviewed and supported by other forensic sonar specialists, not just myself. With respect, I’ve already asked but you haven’t answered: what is your experience in forensic search and recovery of human remains using sonar how many victims have you personally located, and for which agencies or organisations that can be referenced? I can find nothing on you in forensics: An AI search found this on you: David Mearns is very clearly a marine / deep-water wreck specialist, not a forensic human-remains / police search specialist in the way you are. Here’s what the public record shows: •He’s described as an American-born oceanographer and shipwreck hunter, founder of Blue Water Recoveries Ltd, specialising in locating deep-water wrecks.  •His most famous work is finding historic wrecks – e.g. HMS Hood, HMAS Sydney, the Portuguese nau Esmeralda, etc.  •He’s also led searches for lost aircraft like the Piper PA-46 that crashed in the Channel carrying Emiliano Sala – again, contracted as a deep-sea search expert with ROVs and sonar, not as a forensic adviser to police.  I don’t doubt your experience on shipwrecks at all, and I respect anyone with serious time on the water. But my field is forensic search and recovery of human remains. I’ve spent over three decades doing this work in UK rivers and lakes, pioneering the use of side-scan sonar in that context and helping locate many victims for police forces and families. Please don’t try to discredit my professional judgment in a field where I have long-standing, evidenced experience. Stick to shipwrecks which you clearly have vast experience.

Thank you for looking at it so closely. After three decades of forensic search work and pioneering the use of side-scan sonar for victim recovery in the UK, I know what a body looks like on sonar. I don’t doubt your expertise in ocean work at all, and I respect anyone with time on the water. But with respect, my question is about your experience in locating human remains using sonar how many victims you’ve personally helped find, and for which agencies or organisations that could be referenced. My comments are based on three decades forensic search work and specialist sonar deployment which I pioneered in the UK and being the first person to use it for forensic search. That is on record. I think it’s fair to understand the basis of your assessment too. That assessment has now also been independently reviewed and supported by other experienced sonar specialists, not just by me.

For the past seven months, I have stayed silent. But the truth is, I have endured five years of pure torture, relentless press and media attacks, every single day, without responding. Enough is enough. It is time for the public to know the truth. This year alone, three documentaries have been made about me (Channel 5, BBC, and ITV). The interviews I have previously given were cut and edited to fit a predetermined narrative. Now it is time to set the record straight and share some home truths. Since December 2022, my husband Doug and PPE Medpro have worked tirelessly with the DHSC to resolve this dispute. Doug’s position has always been clear: PPE Medpro supplied sterile gowns manufactured at seven fully accredited sterilisation plants in China, the same facilities relied upon by governments and suppliers worldwide, including UK companies. Are the DHSC really suggesting that all seven of these internationally approved facilities somehow failed? It is essential to note that PPE Medpro successfully delivered 210 million masks, which were accepted and utilised within the NHS. At the time, the Department was even discussing ordering further gowns from the company, after the original gowns had been received, checked, and paid for. These are not the actions of a bad supplier; they are the actions of one that fulfilled its contracts. This case was never about gowns or money. It has always been about politics and blame-shifting, a way to cover up the Government’s disastrous £10 billion PPE write-off. Doug and I have been deliberately scapegoated and vilified in an orchestrated campaign designed to distract from catastrophic mismanagement of PPE procurement. The Government decided to make us the poster couple for the PPE scandal, a convenient distraction to take the blame off them. Meanwhile, the public can see with their own eyes images of PPE worth billions dumped in fields and warehouses across the country. That is the real scandal. It is also worth asking: why is PPE Medpro the only company being taken to court? PPE Medpro delivered products manufactured to internationally recognised standards, yet many other suppliers who ran off with deposits or provided defective goods face no action. Singling out one company in this way is not justice; it is scapegoating. What the Government and its press machine will not tell you is this: before the civil trial, the Consortium behind PPE Medpro offered the DHSC, on a no-fault basis, either to replace all 25 million gowns or to provide a cash settlement of £23 million. Every single offer was rejected. Instead, the DHSC chose to spend a staggering £5 millionof taxpayers’ money pursuing litigation against a company they knew had no funds. That is truly shocking. I have attached yesterday’s PPE Medpro press statement, which sets out in detail the offers made to the Government to settle this case. It makes compelling reading.