Documents relating to an investigation into the murder of Welsh private investigator Daniel Morgan have been found in a locked cabinet by the Metropolitan Police. No-one has been brought to justice for his killing.
The body of father-of-two Mr Morgan was found in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in south-east London at around 9.40pm on March 10, 1987. The 37-year-old was found with an axe buried in his head.
Along with his business partner Jonathan Rees, Mr Morgan ran private investigations company Southern Investigations. Following his murder a police investigation was set up but ran into problems after it was revealed one of the officers working on the investigation was found to have been moonlighting for Southern Investigations.
Read more: The full story of Daniel Morgan's murder and the cover up that followed
A total of five police investigations have been carried out over the past 36 years but there was a complete failure by the Metropolitan Police to bring the killer to justice. An independent panel was set up as a result of Mr Morgan’s family’s work to bring about answers as to what happened to him.
A report published by the panel in 2021 accused the Metropolitan Police of “institutional corruption” for concealing or denying failings over Mr Morgan’s unsolved murder. It was said the force’s first objective was to “protect itself” rather than acknowledge its serious failings.
There has now been a further development after it emerged relevant documents to the investigation were found in a locked cabinet in New Scotland Yard in January 2023. An assessment was carried out to determine the significance of the documents, which should have been disclosed to the independent panel.
The assessment concluded thirty seven documents containing 95 pages of material should have been disclosed to the independent panel and an additional 23 documents across 71 pages should have been provided to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire Rescue Services (HMICFRS) as part of their subsequent investigation. The force stated there were no evidential documents that relate to criminal investigations into Mr Morgan’s murder.
In a statement released on Wednesday Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Barbara Gray said: “We fully acknowledge how unacceptable and deeply regrettable this situation is. We are working to understand what has taken place and any impact. We apologise to the family of Daniel Morgan and to the panel.”
The Met has written to the family of Mr Morgan and the independent panel chair Baroness Nuala O’Loan. Material will be disclosed to both parties and reviewed by the Police Inspectorate.
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