Shipman `altered file after killing'

A DOCTOR accused of murdering 15 of his patients falsified the computerised medical records of one alleged victim on the afternoon of her death, Preston Crown Court was told yesterday.

A computerised note dated 10 months before the death of Winifred Mellor, 73, on 11 May 1998, recorded that she had complained of chest pains.

But Detective Sergeant Mark Wareing said he had confronted the accused, Dr Harold Shipman, during the investigation with evidence that the entry was made hours before the GP claimed to have discovered her body.

"Did you do it before you left the surgery and it was premeditated and you were planning to murder this lady, or when you got back?" DS Wareing had asked him. "Did you do it to cover your tracks? Either way, it's not a very good situation for you, is it?"

Dr Shipman had replied simply: "Continue the story."

The prosecution case is that Dr Shipman fabricated the death certificates and medical records to hide his murder of 15 patients by lethal doses of morphine or diamorphine.

Dr Shipman, 53, of Mottram, Greater Manchester, denies the charges. He also denies forging the pounds 386,000 will of his final alleged victim. The trial continues.