A MAN who spent 25 years in jail for a murder he did not commit yesterday pleaded with police to let him have a secret dossier which could bring him justice. Robert Brown, 47, was originally convicted in 1977 of killing spinster Annie Walsh, 51, before the sentence was overturned on appeal in 2002. The decision came after a small section of an 800-page report into police corruption was shown to appeal court judges. Now Mr Brown, from Glasgow, is desperate to see the controversial Topping Report, which details police corruption in the Seventies among a CID squad led by Detective Chief Inspector Jack Butler, after it emerged officials at Greater Manchester Police had shredded their own copy. He is convinced the key to finding the real killer of the Manchester woman lies in the document. Mr Brown said: "No one has been brought to book for what happened to me. Not a single police officer has been punished for helping send me to jail for 25 years for something I didn't do. "I need to get justice and I want to launch a civil action against Butler. He has to answer for what he did. "I'm begging Greater Manchester Police to give me a fair crack of the whip. Give me the Topping Report. "If you shred the last remaining copy then you're destroying vital evidence." The Topping Inquiry investigated DCI Butler, who personally beat a confession out of Robert. The force kept the report's existence a secret and it finally came to light in 2002 when it was the key piece of evidence in quashing the Glaswegian's conviction. Last month, the Scottish Sunday Express requested a copy from GMP but officials revealed it had been shredded. Another copy exists but police refuse to say which agency now has it. The file was written by Detective Superintendent Peter Topping, who led the investigation into the Moors Murders. GMP commissioned him in 1979 and he set up a secret team of officers to delve into at least six years of suspected corruption at Manchester's Platt Lane police station. On the back of the probe, Butler was jailed for four years for corruption in 1983. Mr Brown said: "There is a likely suspect - I know his name and people connected to the case have known the name for a long while now. "I believe that this suspect was one of Butler's informants and I think the Topping Report will confirm this.'' "When this man murdered Annie Walsh in 1977, his police friends had to find someone to take the rap. That was me." Politicians yesterday backed demands for publication of the report. Shadow Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill said: "It should be available for inspection not shredded, discarded or disposed of. Greater Manchester Police must be called to account."