Dead? It wasn't Martin! Cos he was...
I said shut up, noisy bitch...
- I don't want to get into trouble. - I don't want you to either.
So should I lie, then?
There was an Afghan family who had a long-running dispute with him.
Really boiled over.
You should start with the guy that interpreted for them.
Hiya.
Oh.
All I have done is walk into my house,
and I've found an illegal immigrant.
And how many times?
It's not illegal for someone seeking asylum
to cross the channel however they want to.
I don't know what to say that will best allow you to forgive me.
Just the truth, Debs.
We did sleep together.
- Sorry. - It's just, I...
Night, dollface.
Can I just ask you if you ever thought your husband
might have been having an affair?
What the hell sort of question's that?
A few months before he disappeared, he'd seen him with another woman.
He said he'd introduced her to him as "Melinda".
Cos a row that got out of hand about infidelity,
it's just about the oldest motive for murder there is.
I don't know if they're listening to this,
but don't say anything about Daddy.
I would like to take my break now, please,
so that I can get my story straight.
*CREDITS*
I just find it rather hard
to square Juliet Cooper's description of their relationship
- with what Prentice told me. - Hm.
- Ditto the bar manager. - Ditto her.
Husbands and wives are allowed
- to have different political opinions. - No way!
But that diametrically opposed?
Although we're assuming that Juliet's who she says she is.
Yeah, I'm just asking if...
maybe this was a toxic marriage, perhaps violent, perhaps coercive,
that finally imploded?
Where are we on his girlfriend?
So, our Melinda, is Melinda Ricci.
- Peachy Ricci? - Yeah.
"Peachy"?
She had a column in the Mail a few years back.
She's like a BTEC kind of Katie Hopkins,
working for a cable channel now.
You think that they met through this forum that Cooper set up?
UK United, yes.
Cooper is in the background of the viral video about the retweet.
Do we have an address for her?
Well, I spoke to an HR guy at BNC, her current employers.
They're based in Docklands, but she dials in her contribution
from her home about ten miles west of Cork, apparently.
Hm.
Er, OK. Contact regional Garda.
See if they can get local plod down to set up a Zoom with her.
And check if they have anything on her in their systems, too.
Yeah.
And as much background as you can find before we speak to her, please.
Yeah, sure.
- That's mad. - I know.
So, you mentioned your dad earlier, Marty.
Yes, I mentioned my dad earlier.
I'm guessing he's always been a great support to you.
- Mm. He has, yes. - So I'm wondering,
did maybe your dad go and speak to Mr Cooper about the money?
You OK, Marty?
I-I'm fine, thank you for asking.
Did he go and speak to Gerry for you?
No, he never went to see Gerry.
You seem a bit upset at these questions.
Marty?
Well, he couldn't go and see Gerry, could he?
Why not?
I think we should probably take a little break.
Cos he was dead.
Because Gerry made him be dead.
Why am I even at that school, anyway?
You're supposed to be a fucking socialist.
Taylor, not this, not now... we'll miss your train.
I loathe that school.
I loathe everything it stands for, and you should too.
Or is that all a lie as well?
Gerry told me the vaccine was a plot to control us
that contained micro-transmitters, and that we should not take it.
When did he say this?
Whenever I went to see him to get my money.
Did he tell you not to take it?
Yes, he told me not to take it.
Did he suggest that your parents shouldn't take it, too?
No, he didn't do that.
I did that.
But maybe you told your mum and dad not to take it
- because of what he said to you? - Yes.
Did they listen to you?
My mum and dad were offered the vaccine at the end of January,
and they, they refused it.
On the second of February, Dad got COVID
and was admitted to Dover Royal Hospital a week...
a week later with
severe respiratory difficulties.
On the 19th of February,
Dad died.
All on his Jack Jones.
Thomas Henry Baines was 76.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
We both are, Marty.
He had a good innings, as they say.
So... on top of the money...
you now had the awful tragedy of your dad dying.
Yes, this is correct.
How did you feel about Gerry at this point?
No good crying over spilt milk.
Were you not angry with him?
Because I'm wondering...
I'm wondering if maybe you arranged to meet him somewhere on the 24th?
No.
Not to tell him about your dad? Not because you were angry?
- No. - Maybe... Maybe you rowed?
You know, er, maybe he'd pushed you again,
and it all got out of control?
No. No, no, no, no, no...
I think he's answered your questions,
so unless you've got any evidence you haven't mentioned,
I think we bring this to a close.
Let's RUI him for now and
do somemore background on that arrest.
We'd better head.
Hey, Mel.
Hey, Joseph. How you doing?
- Good, thanks. You? - Er, yeah, I'm fine.
How's your man doing?
Slow but steady.
Father Ryan being very supportive, I hear.
How can I help you, Joseph?
Had a call from a police officer in London wanting to speak to you
about being a possible witness in a murder investigation.
Wow. Murder of whom?
A man called Gerard Cooper.
Yeah, I-I knew Gerry.
He-He went missing a few years back.
Just before you came over here, they said.
Right.
They asked if you could make yourself available for a Zoom,
tomorrow at four.
Yeah. Yeah, I-I-I think I could do that.
So just drop by the station, we'll take care of everything our end,
and I'll sit in with you.
I mean, do... do I need a lawyer?
Entirely up to you. See you tomorrow.
Oh, Murray's just forwarded me an email from the lettings agency.
So, the lettings agent thinks police were called
to the dispute she told him about.
OK. So this guy Asif would remember that too, no?
Look, these are absolutely top quality.
From the same factory that makes the genuine article.
And, er, the passport...
how much?
Well, the passport, driver's licence and the national insurance card
I can do you for 7K.
We do also offer finance options,
if that was something you were interested in.
A lot of people go for a five-year repayment schedule,
which makes it very affordable.
We're also happy to accept late-term payments if that worked better...
Out the back now. Now!
Now!
- Hi. - Hi. Asif Syed?
Yes.
DCI Jess James, and this is DI Sunil Khan.
Have you got five minutes for a quick chat?
Er, yes, maybe. About what, please?
It's in connection with a murder investigation.
We think you might have known the victim.
Who was the victim?
- Could we come in? - Yes. Yes, please, of course.
It's the fucking Matrix, buddy.
They're trying to shut your voice down cos you're a strong man.
- So what do you need to do? - I need to be one step ahead, man.
Be ahead or be dead, dude. Be ahead or be dead.
Ahead or be dead. Ahead or be dead. Ahead or be dead.
Ahead or be dead.
This is him. Name of Gerard Cooper.
Yes, I... I think I remember him.
And what do you think your connection to him was?
I work as an interpreter.
And back then,
I worked with tenants whose rent was being paid by the council.
Er... I think he was one of the landlords.
- Erm... what council was that? - Thamesford.
OK. And can you remember specifically
when you might have encountered Mr Cooper?
- I would have to check. - OK. Roughly, then?
I think maybe it was early on in the pandemic.
Maybe the first year.
I have a vague recollection of some COVID-related issues.
- OK, so it was 2020. - Yes.
Do you have any recollection of what he was like?
Er, I mean... I must've met dozens of landlords
in the three or four years I was in London.
Because the agency that managed his portfolio said he was quite tricky.
- Did they? - You don't remember that?
I remember, erm...
he wasn't very good at maintaining his properties.
The agency said that.
- Anything else? - Erm...
- He could be... quite aggressive. - With you?
With the tenants, who obviously were often very vulnerable people.
- And physically aggressive? - No. I never saw that.
Because we have an agent who gave us details of several cases where...
disputes had blown up.
One in particular,
which was a family of asylum seekers from Herat,
where it had turned violent.
- Which family? - The Dowari family.
Dowari...
As I say, I must've dealt with many dozens of cases.
Most of them were fractious.
Except the police were called to this one.
It was a dispute about a chronic damp problem.
The family had a toddler, a newborn.
It was making them all sick.
The police getting involved wasn't that rare, sadly.
OK.
Quite a distinctive case, but you've no memory of that at all?
They all just merge into one.
- Sorry. - No worries.
And when was the last time you think you might've seen Mr Cooper?
My contract with the council ended in September 2020,
so not after that.
- Right. - And, erm...
Do you mind me asking what your nationality is, Asif?
I hope to very soon be British.
Oh. Well, good for you.
And welcome. This can be a fabulous country.
Yes, it can. And thank you.
- And before that, where are you from? - Afghanistan.
OK. Well, that must have been tough,
to see your fellow countrymen and countrywomen,
vulnerable people, being mistreated often by this man.
Of course.
Did it make you angry, or...?
If I got angry every time I saw a refugee being treated badly...
I'd be living in a permanent state of rage,
DI Khan.
Thanks for your time.
I think we need more detail on this Dowari case.
Mm-hm.
- Sam... - Who was that?
Social services. They wanted some gen on a client.
- Can... Can we talk, please? - Sure.
Yeah, so, if Hassan moves out after he comes home from work today, and...
if you can minimise any future contact with him, then...
yeah, I'm happy to just move on.
And if I don't agree to that?
OK, why...
why do you immediately have to turn this into a conflict?
Says the man who's just given me an ultimatum.
- No. It's not an ultimatum. - No.
You're not going to hold a gun to my head
because I did right by a man who saved your life
- on at least two occasions. - OK. Asif...
And you know what really winds me up?
It's that you think you can do this.
Do what?
Just tell me how it's going to be.
You don't even consider the idea of finding another way through.
No. Is that not exactly what we're trying to do right now?
What, telling me what's going to happen?
Not really, Sam.
I'll play by the same rules.
No.
Hassan's not going anywhere.
But...
this is my house.
Then call the police.
I mean, I never really believed him.
But there was always just enough ambiguity
to make me think we could get through it.
Except now...
if he could have done that...
he could do anything.
- So? - So...
What do I do?
So, digging into the Marty Baines' caution
and it gets interesting.
In 2016, he studied a foundation course in computer programming
at the University of Ramsgate, but eight months in,
he's asked to leave after he starts to regularly pick the locks
of the rooms of his fellow students in his halls and enter their rooms.
Right.
Now, he's not trying to steal anything.
They're just coming back from the pub at night
to find Marty sitting on their beds in their rooms.
- Jesus. - Mm.
- Male or female? - Both.
Not at all scary.
And how many times did this happen?
Well, the university weren't really sure.
Some students thought that maybe they had forgotten
to lock their rooms
and so treated it more like Marty wandering in uninvited
and so didn't report it.
But there are three formal cases.
Was there ever any violence?
Not from him, and not from any of the other students,
until the last incident.
Which was?
So, one bloke comes back from the pub, pissed up,
to find Marty in his room and kind of loses it.
Calls him all kinds of stuff,
which ends up with Marty trying to strangle him.
Whoa. What, like, properly strangle?
Yeah. He has to be pulled away by the guy's mates.
- Takes three of them, apparently. - Wow.
How come he only got a caution?
So, the student didn't wanna pursue anything.
He admitted to the investigating officer
that he'd used "inappropriate language about disability"
and was scared it was gonna be brought up in court.
Mm. And do we know why Marty was doing this?
He said he was just looking for a friend to talk to.
In terms of any potential link to violence,
I've just received the evidence list for the assault on Cooper
- in his pub car park. - Oh, yeah? What we got?
Well, we've got Cooper's sweatshirt, and they've taken DNA off it,
- so we've material for comparison. - Nice one, thanks.
So, Melinda Ricci. Tell me stuff.
OK, so, born in 1978
in a small market town in Surrey.
Went to a local Catholic girls' school, got decent As.
Went to Rochester uni to study marketing,
then enlisted in the Navy.
Served four years and left in 2005 following a disciplinary issue
involving a fellow officer.
A fellow Muslim officer.
She then started her own green beauty business
which gained the attention of some red-tops
following an advertising campaign she herself featured in.
After the 2008 crash, the business went bankrupt,
and she lost her home and had to rent.
And it was a bad experience with an Asian landlord,
prompting this online rant which gained half-a-million views,
erm, got her an invitation to write an article for the Mail
which went down so well, it led to a weekly column.
- What sort of column? - Opinions.
- Of which, you know, she has a lot. - On?
Er, recurring themes include
immigration, benefit cheats, the EU,
erm... anti-abortion stuff, arming the police,
all as self-styled "Sister Mel".
Ah. She's not a real nun, right?
She spent six months in a convent in Wicklow in 2009, actually.
Ah.
And the column ran from when to when?
2015 to 2020,
but she also wrote for pretty much every red-top
and also started popping up on breakfast TV guest spots.
And when was that Boris Johnson retweet, post thing?
October 2016.
Do we know why she moved to Ireland?
No, just that she went there in 2021.
- OK, thanks, Fran. Right, shall we? - Mm.
Jesus.
- What are you doing? - Eating a sandwich.
- What are you doing here? - I didn't wanna go back.
You have to go back.
- I really don't. - Yes, you do.
If you still hate it at the end of this year,
then we can talk about moving you, but right now,
- I need you to just grow... - Was it you?
Was what me?
Who killed Dad?
What?
Was it?
- How can you even ask me that? - Well, you haven't said no.
No.
It wasn't me.
You don't seem that sure.
I'm very sure,
I'm just in shock that you could even think that.
No. A thousand times, no.
No.
Have you told the police about the row that night?
What row?
Do you think I don't remember?
I remember it all.
Very clearly, Mum.
It was just one of our rows.
OK? Nothing more.
I would never have hurt your father, Tay, never.
But I do want you to promise me something.
What?
I want you to promise me that you will never mention that row,
or, in fact, any of the others to the police.
Why?
Because they will almost certainly come to all the wrong conclusions,
and it's... it's just not worth it.
Will you promise me that?
There's, erm...
There's...
something I've never told you.
So, thanks for taking the time to speak to us.
No problem at all.
Can I dive straight in, Melinda, and ask you how you knew Mr Cooper?
Sure. Erm...
I met him initially at a political thing he'd started.
- This was UK United? - Yes.
So, when was that exactly?
Er, that would have been... late 2015, I guess.
And you hit it off straight away?
Yeah, kind of.
We shared a similar outlook on the world, sense of humour.
Neither of us were afraid to call it as we saw it.
And you became friends, would you say?
- Yes. Briefly. - "Briefly"?
Yeah, we...
ran into each other a few times over the next few months.
I think I might have had a lunch with him once.
Right. So it didn't develop into anything more?
Like what?
- Like a romantic relationship. - 'No.'
Right.
Because we spoke to a witness who suggested it did.
What witness?
An old friend of his who ran into you both
in a pub in Aldgate in 2020.
Well, that was then.
Sorry, I'm confused. Are you saying that you did have
a relationship with him, or you didn't?
Yes... I did.
A very brief one, just not when you were saying.
My question didn't actually specify a timeframe,
but that's... that's fine.
So, erm, spell it out nice and clearly for us.
When did you two get together?
Erm... Summer of 2020,
just as things were opening up again.
And when you say "brief"...?
Erm, just a few weeks, two months at the most.
And did his wife know about this?
I've no idea.
But you think you weren't seeing him in February 2021?
No.
But you were still living in the UK at this point?
Yes.
So, when exactly did you move to Ireland?
Early March, 2021.
OK.
So, just a couple of weeks after he disappeared.
I obviously had no idea about that.
- You didn't know he'd gone missing? - No.
So, when did you find out?
A mutual friend told me months later.
- How? - Er, they messaged me, I think.
Hm. Can you forward that to us?
Er, actually, no. Wait, I... Er...
It might have been a call.
OK, er, well, think we'll come back to that.
And what prompted the move to Ireland?
Erm... I used to come on holiday here as a kid.
My dad was born here.
I was feeling a bit burned out from London, and then...
when I got offered the job with BNC,
I could do that from anywhere, so... Change as good as a rest.
And so when do you think was the last time you might have seen him?
Oh, maybe, erm...
October, November, 2020.
So, this was just as your relationship was coming to an end?
- Yes. - And how did it end?
Oh, just fizzled out, really.
- No rows? - No.
- No fights? - No.
Because we do have a fair amount of evidence
to suggest he could get violent.
- Not with me. - OK.
Erm... Were you aware of anyone
that you'd come into contact with through him
who might have wanted to do him harm?
No. But, like I said, I didn't actually know him that well.
Our lives weren't that intertwined.
OK.
And if we needed to know where you were on the 24th of February, 2021,
would you be able to provide us with that information?
I could try.
- Any proof will do. - Sure.
- Obviously, you have our email. - I do.
OK. Anything else you'd like to add?
Anything else you think might be relevant?
- No. - OK.
Thanks so much for your time.
You're so welcome. You have a nice day.
'You too.'
So, he was violent to her, yeah?
100 %.
_
This site.
OK, can everyone please stop what they are doing
and stay exactly where they are.
We're officers of the Immigration Enforcement Agency,
and we believe some of you working here today
may be doing so illegally.
- So, Martin Baines' phone... - Melinda Ricci emailed,
- can't find the diaries for that year. - No way!
- Just calling it as she sees it. - Sorry, Murray, carry on.
- Sorry. - Martin Baines' phone records
show multiple calls to a landline
which has the same address as the Three Crowns pub.
Also multiple texts to a Gerry,
which are very angry and threatening in nature,
but weirdly, they don't stop after the 24th.
Right.
Although you'd do that if you were covering your tracks.
Fair point.
Listen, we still need to take a swab from him
for the assault in the car park, can we get someone down there?
Yeah. I can sort.
And where are we on Cooper's records?
So, we've obviously looked
at a fair amount of his open source stuff.
He used a number of platforms.
- Parler, Reddit, obviously Twitter. - X.
- And?
Endless fights on X,
very aggressive and hate speech-y from him,
but, perhaps more significantly, to him.
- Any physical threats to him? - Dozens that we've found so far.
- And death threats. - Mm-hm.
- And the rows were about...? - Everything that you'd expect
from what we're now learning about him.
Immigration, lockdown, grooming gangs, vaccines.
- It's gammon bingo. - Can't say that.
Emails and texts have just come in,
I'm getting them printed up. Triangulation, still waiting on.
Man, I would love to have been a fly on the wall in that house.
Well, the daughter was.
I mean, if this was some sort of coercive,
toxic marriage that blew up...
she would have witnessed it, right?
She'd have certainly seen something.
I wonder if the school would let us talk to her there?
Why don't we call?
- Hey. - Hi.
Just, er... Just wondered if you got my email.
Er, no. Sorry. Been a bit...
What did it say?
Er, the board want a meeting. They...
They think they have a solution.
What solution?
Well, obviously, you're aware that funding's on the floor
for the next five years anyway, so, basically, erm...
they want to offer you early retirement.
Asif was a lovely guy. Couldn't do enough for people.
And I presume that includes the Dowari family?
Absolutely. In fact, I ran into him a few months after he stopped working for us,
and he told me he was still in contact with them,
still helping them, all pro bono.
Did you personally ever see him have any interaction with Gerard Cooper?
- A few times, yeah. - What was he like with him?
Always incredibly polite.
Very quietly spoken, very diplomatic.
- So, he never got wound up by him? - Not to his face, no.
How do you mean, "not to his face"?
I gave him a lift to another rental one time,
it was on my way back to the office, and he said back in his country,
in his village, people like Cooper got dealt with.
- What do you think he meant by that? - I don't know.
I just remember there was something in his eyes when he said it
that sent a chill down my spine.
And the Dowaris, can I speak to them?
If you can find them.
We moved them from Cooper's flat to another in February 2021,
and then a few weeks later, they just upped and left one night,
completely dropped out the system.
Specifically when did they disappear?
February 28th, 2021.
Can I have that last address, please?
For elimination purposes, I really think we should swab Asif Syed.
On it.
So, these are text messages from 2019 and 2020,
and you don't have to read too many to realise that they were
quite clearly in a relationship at this point.
"Hey. At work, and can't stop replaying last night.
"Getting hard just thinking about you.
- "G. Kiss, kiss, kiss." - Yeah, last of the great charmers!
- That's, er, February 2020. - OK.
"Eurostar full. How about we fly?
"J and T away with her mum for the weekend,
"shall we play?"
That's April 2019.
So, we got emails going between them from late 2018,
which is when the relationship seemed to have started.
- OK. So she flat-out lied. - Hm. Yeah.
It all seems to go sour, sort of start of 2021.
My guess is that he knew not to write down too much.
But I did find these three messages.
These are just from his side, and these are from February 2021.
"Do not ignore me, Mel, or you will regret it."
Yeah.
"Mel, call me,
"we can still discuss the amount, I am open to discussion."
And this last one is from the 15th of February.
"If you make me lose everything I have ever worked for,
"I swear to God, I will fuck you up."
- OK. So, these are blackmail threats. - From a person we know was violent.
- Do you think they could have met? - Who?
Melinda and Juliet?
- Wow. - Oh. It's just a thought.
OK, er...
One of us has to go over there, and it can't be me.
- OK. - Sorry.
- Er, no, that's fine. - It's just... I... I, erm...
I still have stuff going on at home, Sunny.
No, you don't have to explain.
I'm sorry. Because I know we... You know, we both...
shared before, but, erm...
it... it...
To be honest, it is just so damn complicated,
I wouldn't even know where to begin.
Seriously, no worries at all.
But also, you know, I'm here if you...
Thank you. Seriously.
- Thank you. - OK. Right.
- Erm... Sorry. Hey, Lee? - Hey, how you doing?
Yeah, all great, thanks.
Did you get my message?
Yeah, really sorry, I've been mad busy, but, erm...
- I'll call you. - Yeah, I...
- No rush. Just... Yeah. - Yeah. Speak soon, then.
Er... Yeah. Yeah. Sorry to interrupt.
So, what I was saying is financially...
It'll just be ten seconds.
Alison said she needed to be here if you spoke to me,
so where... where's Alison?
I didn't wanna get her all the way down here just for a swab, Marty.
Oh, come on, love, help the young lady out, huh?
Okey-dokey, pig in a pokey.
I-I... So, just give me a minute.
OK... Here we go.
Hey.
Hi.
Is Hassan not here?
He's not back from work yet.
Look...
Asif, I've been thinking about everything you said, and...
I'm... I'm sorry.
I really am.
Asif... You cope so well.
You're so, so strong, that...
I forget what you've been through.
But, I mean, the truth is I...
I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for you.
And... I do... completely understand your anger.
And...
Listen.
I wanna try and help.
- Evening, sir. - Hello.
Is this your home?
Er, it is, yeah.
- You're Samuel Collet? - Yes.
Mr Collet, my name is Officer Hughes
from the Immigration Enforcement Unit.
I have a warrant to search these premises
under Section 28D of the Immigration Act 1971,
with regard to information gained on an earlier raid today.
Are we OK to come in, please?
Yeah... Yeah, sure.
Enjoy your flight, sir.
Thanks.
_
Marty? Marty, come on.
Why have you double-locked the door, Marty?
I just need to see Mum, sweetheart. Please, let me in.
Marty.
I just need to see Mum's OK.
If you don't let me in, I'll have to call the police.
OK, sure.
OK, do you wanna come through, please, Mr Collet?
Why... Why is my partner still here?
- Ah-ah-ah... - No, I've already explained to you.
It's got nothing to do with him, it was all me.
This way.
OK, we've had a request from a Bishop Street station in London
in connection with another investigation.
They're asking if they could get a swab from you today.
You OK with that?
Yes.
If you'd like to follow me, then, please.
Yeah, it would just be a general chat, really,
just about the events leading up to her dad's disappearance.
Right.
Which, as I say, for a number of reasons,
we would rather do without her mum present.
'Is she...?'
I mean, has Mrs Cooper been arrested?
No. Not yet.
'I'll need to take some advice on this, can I call you right back?'
Yeah. OK. ASAP, please. Bye.
Sorry to disturb, guv.
Juliet Cooper's downstairs, and she wants to speak to you.
Yesterday, my daughter told me
that about a week before her dad went missing,
she'd come home from school
to find a young man who'd worked for Gerry in our flat.
He'd obviously broken in somehow.
I was still at work, Gerry was out at meetings,
meaning Taylor was alone with him.
And did she know him?
Yeah, she'd chatted to him when he worked downstairs,
but she said he was very agitated and very angry.
- About? - Her dad.
Maybe me a bit.
And he told her that he wanted to hurt her dad
like he thought Gerry had hurt him.
- And how old was Taylor? - Eleven.
My God, that must have been terrifying for her.
- It was. - And, so, what happened?
Well, she managed to convince him
that hurting her dad would be a bad idea...
and that it would really upset her.
He said he didn't want to do that.
So then she made him a glass of squash.
They chatted a bit more,
and after about 20 minutes, he just left.
And why...
why has she never told you about this before?
She hadn't wanted to get him into trouble.
She liked him.
She felt sorry for him, as do I.
Hence my slowness in telling you this.
I know he went through a really tough time in the pandemic.
Does she remember his name?
Yes.
It was Marty. Marty Baines.
- Here. - Oh, no.
There's no-one in either of the bedrooms.
Ambulance.
Medical assistance required urgently, please.
Dot? Dot, can you hear me? Dot?
*CREDITS*