The murders of four young gay men in 2014 and 2015 by the serial killer Stephen Port were nothing new. Nor, sadly, was the catalogue of police failings that followed. The murder of “queers” has been going on for decades, with investigations repeatedly marred by toxic incompetence, negligence, indifference and homophobia.
The mishandling of the Dennis Nilsen investigation is revealed in a damning three-part BBC documentary, which begins on Monday on BBC Two. It tells the grisly tale of mass murder and dismemberment from the point of view of the lives of the victims, and explores what their deaths tell us about society at the time. The missed opportunities to nail Nilsen are meticulously examined, including how police paid scant attention to parents concerned about their missing sons.
