Daniel Morgan: Met apologises and agrees to pay damages to family of murdered private investigator
The Metropolitan Police has admitted liability for a botched investigation into the murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan and agreed to pay substantial damages to his family.
Morgan, who co-founded PI firm Southern Investigations, was found dead in March 1987 in a south London pub car park with an axe through his head. His family alleged the police investigation was hampered by corruption.
Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley admitted it “prioritised its reputation at the expense of transparency and effectiveness” while apologising “unequivocally and unreservedly” for failing to bring the killers to justice.
“This case has been marred by a cycle of corruption, professional incompetence, and defensiveness that has repeated itself over and over again.
“Daniel Morgan’s family were given empty promises and false hope as successive investigations failed and the Metropolitan Police prioritised its reputation at the expense of transparency and effectiveness,” the statement read.
“No words can do justice to the pain and suffering that has been a feature of the family’s lives for more than three decades as they have fought for justice, a fight which no family should have to endure. Their tenacious campaigning has exposed multiple and systemic failings in this organisation.”
The UK’s largest police force agreed to pay a sum of £2m, one of the biggest in policing history, which covers family legal fees and avoids the need for civil proceedings, The Times reported earlier this week.
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