Met Police accused of corruption Daniel Morgan murder by panel

Mr Morgan, from Cwmbran, was killed with an axe in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south-east London, on March 10, 1987.

Despite five police inquiries and an inquest, no-one has been brought to justice over the father-of-two’s death, with the Metropolitan Police admitting corruption had hampered the original murder investigation.

READ MORE:

• Christmas trial date set for Gucci bag robbery murder accused.
• Why a police helicopter was circling Newport on Monday.
• Irish travellers family to be evicted from Newport council site.

“By not acknowledging or confronting, over the 34 years since the murder, its systemic failings, or the failings of individual officers, by making incorrect assertions about the quality of investigations, and by its lack of candour…we believe the Metropolitan Police’s first objective was to protect itself,” panel chairman Baroness O’Loan said.

“In so doing it compounded the suffering and trauma of the family.

Alastair Morgan (right) with his partner Kirsteen Knight and family solicitor Raju Bhatt (centre).speaking following the publication of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel report. Picture: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire.

“The Metropolitan Police were not honest in their dealings with Daniel Morgan’s family, or the public.

“The family and the public are owed an apology.

“We believe that concealing or denying failings, for the sake of an organisation’s public image is dishonesty on the part of the organisation for reputational benefit, and constitutes a form of institutional corruption.”

In a statement through their lawyer, the family of Mr Morgan said: “We welcome the recognition that we – and the public at large – have been failed over the decades by a culture of corruption and cover up in the Metropolitan Police, an institutionalised corruption that has permeated successive regimes in the Metropolitan Police and beyond to this day.”

Alastair Morgan, the brother of murdered private investigator Daniel Morgan. Picture: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire.

The Independent Panel’s report, which runs to more than 1,200 pages, expressed concern that within the Met “a culture still exists that inhibits both organisational and individual accountability”.

In a statement, the Met Police said: “We deeply regret our failure to bring those who murdered Daniel Morgan to justice.

“We are considering today’s report and will respond in more detail soon.”

The initial investigation into Mr Morgan’s death was heavily criticised, with the murder scene not searched and left unguarded, and no alibis sought for all the suspects.

A later probe by Hampshire Police, brought in to investigate amid fears of corruption, was compromised when a senior Met officer was appointed to work with the team, the report said.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick who has been criticised in a report into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan. Picture: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire

The current Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, was criticised for her refusal to allow the panel team access to the HOLMES police data system.

Home secretary Priti Patel described the Morgan case as “one of the most devastating episodes in the history of the Metropolitan Police”, and has written to the Metropolitan Police commissioner asking for a detailed response to the report.

The report made a series of recommendations, including calling for police officers to be required to declare membership of organisations like the freemasons when they join the service; vetting processes to be tightened, as well as protections for police whistleblowers; and to ensure police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct is sufficiently resourced to investigate corrupt behaviour among officers.