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Expert predicts police corruption find in UK’s most investigated unsolved murder

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A report into the murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan is likely to lift the lid on institutionalised police corruption, an expert into the case has suggested.

Peter Jukes thinks the panel's report could be police corruption's version of the Macpherson report, the public inquiry which uncovered widespread institutional police racism in the wake of Stephen Lawrence's murder.

The Daniel Morgan Independent Panel is set to report its findings on Tuesday, and Mr Jukes, who has produced a podcast on Daniel's murder and written a book with the victim's brother Alastair, believes it will make uncomfortable reading for a lot of people.

He said: "My strong intuition is that it will be quite damning on police corruption but it depends how far it goes.

"The police corruption element is going to be the explosive bit. It could be police corruption's version of the Macpherson report, which lifted the lid on institutional racism within the Met.

"It could led to hundreds of cases collapsing. The fallout could be dramatic.

"This is another chapter in a long-running saga, but this time it will be an official one."

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The publication of the report has been a long time coming for the family of Daniel, who was discovered with an axe embedded in his head in a pub car park in Sydenham, south-east London, on March 10, 1987.

There have been many theories put forward for why the 37-year-old private investigator was murdered but despite five police inquiries and an inquest, no-one has ever been convicted of a crime in relation to his death.

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The Met has previously admitted that police corruption hampered the initial investigation.

Daniel's brother Alastair and Mr Jukes are hopeful the report from the panel, set up by then-Home Secretary Theresa May in 2013, will show the corruption ran deeper than that.

Mr Jukes said: "For so many years this story has been ignored. People wouldn't touch it but now it's all going to be out there.

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"People will now be able to report on it freely without fearing the repercussions.

"Why has it taken 34 years to get to this stage?

"Why did the police not cooperate straight away? There will be a lot of people who are not looking forward to the report being published."

Daniel's brother Alastair said he also expects the report, with publication delayed by a month over "national security" concerns, to contain a "sizeable chapter" on police corruption.

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It is seen as the last chance for Britain's most-investigated, unsolved murder.

But Mr Jukes, whose podcast Untold: The Daniel Morgan Murder was number one in the UK iTunes chart in 2016, is concerned the report will find a "scapegoat" for police corruption.

Detective Chief Superintendent David Cook supervised the fifth and final investigation into Daniel's murder.

But a trial of suspects in 2011 collapsed around claims of the senior officer's handling of 'supergrass' witnesses and undisclosed evidence.

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Three of the murder suspects, Daniel's business partner Jonathan Rees and brothers Garry and Glenn Vian, were later awarded damages totalling £414,000 after suing the Met over a "malicious prosecution".

The judge awarded the sum to "highlight and condemn the egregious and shameful behaviour of a senior and experienced police office," referring to Det Ch Insp Cook.

Mr Jukes added: "There's a chance the report could be a damp squib, which would be devastating for the family.

"It would be a travesty to pin it all on David Cook."

The panel’s remit was to address questions relating to the murder including police handling of the case, the role corruption played in protecting Daniel's killer, and the links between private investigators, police and journalists connected to the case.

  • Murder
  • Police
  • MET Police

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