Met chief to publicly admit corruption in Daniel Morgan murder investigation

Daniel Morgan was found dead in London in 1987 with an axe wound in the back of his head

Daniel Morgan was killed in 1987 (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley is set to publicly admit there was corruption in the handling of the Daniel Morgan murder investigation in 1987.

Commissioner Rowley will admit “corruption, incompetence and defensiveness” in the Met’s handling of the case after apologising directly to the family of Daniel Morgan last week, The Times reported.

A £2 million settlement has also been agreed with the family of the murdered private investigator, according to The Times.

Daniel Morgan (PA Media)

Morgan was found dead in Sydenham, London in 1987, slumped beside his car with an axe wound in the back of his head.

Despite an inquest and five previous inquiries his killer has never been brought to justice.

A 2013 report ordered by the then-home-secretary Theresa May accused the Met of “institutional corruption” over their handling of the 37-year-old’s murder.

The Daniel Morgan Independent Panel has also accused the Met of ignoring or concealing corruption and failings in the case for three decades to protect its public image, as well as failing to hand over documents in a timely manner.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (PA Wire)

The Met has rejected accusations of institutional corruption, saying: “We accept that corruption was a major factor in the failings of the first investigation, but we do not accept that we are institutionally corrupt as has been suggested.”

It added that it was working hard to “root out corruption”.

In May, the Met was forced to apologise after potentially key documents relating to the murder investigation were found in a locked cabinet at New Scotland Yard.

The documents in question were found in January and an assessment started in February.

A total of 95 pages of material should have been disclosed to the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel, the Met said.

Meanwhile, a further 71 pages were identified that would have been provided to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) as part of their subsequent inspection.

At the time, Barbara Gray, Met assistant commissioner, 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.”

One of Mr Morgan’s partners in the detective business, the partner’s two brothers and two Met Police officers were arrested on suspicion of murdering Mr Morgan but no one has even been convicted of the killing.

The Met Police declined to comment when contacted by The Independent.