Hi Jay, good post have a look through this thread it might answer some of your questions or give a better insight into how and why the police handled it the way they did? It doesn't answer everything by the way.
http://jeremybamberforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,728.0.html
Thanks Justice, I've just had a read through that and, from my perspective, the police response to the questions does seem a bit damage limitation-esque, the following response is interesting with regards to priority:
Question 'Who takes credit now for the success of the investigation?'
Reply (Offr Stone) 'Can I answer that? i don't think we can talk about: a. Looking for scapegoats or b. To whom we should direct kudos'
Then again, I have a suspicious mind with regards to police in the 1980s -but I'll try not to let it cloud my judgement!