THE woman who investigated the police’s handling of the 1998 Omagh bombing is to head up the Hillsborough-style investigation into the notorious axe murder of a Cwmbran private investigator.

Baroness Nuala O’Loan, who was Northern Ireland’s first police ombudsman from 2000 to 2007, has been announced as the chairwoman of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel by the home secretary Theresa May.

The previous chairman, Sir Stanley Burnton, stood down in November 2013 for personal reasons.

Baroness O’Loan said: “It is more than 27 years since Daniel Morgan was horrifically killed and his family have endured an agonising wait for the truth to be established. There is a great deal of work to be done.

“I will do everything in my power to ensure that the panel works effectively, engaging fully with all the members of Mr Morgan’s family, to produce a report which will shine a light on what happened to Mr Morgan, and how his case has been handled since 1987.”

Baroness O’Loan investigated thousands of cases when she was Northern Ireland’s first police ombudsman, including the police’s handling of the Omagh bombing and police collusion with loyalist paramilitaries engages in serious crimes between 1990 and 2002.

Ms May said: “Serious allegations of police corruption have surrounded the investigations into the murder of Daniel Morgan .I have previously said that the Independent Panel should leave no stone unturned in pursuing the truth.

“Baroness O’Loan has a wealth of experience in dealing with serious and sensitive cases of alleged police misconduct and corruption. I am delighted she has accepted the responsibility of chairing the panel.”

Mr Morgan was killed in south-east London in March 1987. Despite five police investigations no one has been successfully prosecuted for the murder.

The Metropolitan Police previously acknowledged its own “repeated failure” to tackle corruption within the force which helped protect those responsible for the murder from being brought to justice.