The Report of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel
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The Report of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel The Report of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel June 2021 Volume 1 HC 11-I Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 15th June 2021 for The Report of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel Volume 1 Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 15th June 2021 HC 11-I © Crown copyright 2021 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at www.gov.uk/official-documents. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at [email protected]. ISBN 978-1-5286-2479-4 Volume 1 of 3 CCS0220047602 06/21 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum Printed in the UK by the APS Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office Daniel Morgan Independent Panel Daniel Morgan Independent Panel Home Office 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF Rt Hon Priti Patel MP Home Secretary Home Office 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF May 2021 Dear Home Secretary On behalf of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel, I am pleased to present you with our Report for publication in Parliament. The establishment of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel was announced by the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Theresa May MP, on 10 May 2013 in a written statement to the House of Commons. The remit given to the Panel was to shine a light on the circumstances of the murder of Daniel Morgan, its background and the handling of the case over the period since 1987 and in so doing to address questions arising, in particular those relating to police involvement in Daniel Morgan’s murder; the role played by police corruption in protecting those responsible for the murder from being brought to justice and the failure to confront that corruption; and the incidence of connections between private investigators, police officers and journalists at the News of the World and other parts of the media, and alleged corruption involved in the linkages between them. The Panel has always acknowledged and respected the fact that, at the heart of its work, there is a bereaved family. The murder of Daniel Morgan on 10 March 1987 left a widow, Iris, and two young children, Sarah and Dan, without a father; it left bereft his mother, Isobel Hülsmann and his siblings, Alastair and Jane Morgan. Isobel Hülsmann sadly died in 2017 before the Panel’s Report could be published, which was a further cause of immense distress to her family. Nobody has been convicted in connection with the murder. The Report provides an account of the impact on the family of all that has happened since 10 March 1987. The Panel hopes this Report will help the family iii The Report of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel members by providing a detailed and thorough examination of the investigations and key issues in the handling of the case since the murder occurred. The Daniel Morgan Independent Panel commenced work formally on 17 September 2013. The Terms of Reference stated that ‘It is envisaged that the Panel will aim to complete its work within 12 months of the documentation being made available.’ This created an expectation that the Panel’s work would be done within a year. There was, however, no anticipation of the very significant difficulties and delays which would be encountered in accessing and bringing order to the documentation, in all its forms, nor of the large volume of material (in excess of a million pages) which would have to be considered. Indeed, the final documents were not received from the Metropolitan Police until March 2021. The Panel has always been acutely aware of the distress caused to the family of Daniel Morgan by the length of time which has been necessary for the Panel to complete its Report. No statutory powers were conferred on the Panel and this resulted in ongoing problems. It is to be hoped that lessons will be learned from our experience, for the benefit of future inquiries and panels. The Panel has made a number of recommendations, as a consequence of what it has identified in the course of its work. They relate to important areas, where there continue to be serious shortcomings in current policy and practice in policing and the Criminal Justice System. They include ensuring that the necessary resources are allocated to the task of tackling corrupt behaviour among police officers, and the creation of a statutory duty of candour to be owed by all law enforcement agencies to those whom they serve, subject to the protection of national security and relevant data protection legislation. It is essential the recommendations are followed up and that action led by the Home Office is taken. The vast majority of police officers act honourably and do not break their rules or engage in corrupt activity, and they do very difficult and, at times, dangerous work. However, the Metropolitan Police owe the members of Daniel Morgan’s family, and the public, an apology for not confronting its systemic failings, for the failings of individual officers and for its lack of candour to the members of the family. In failing to acknowledge its many failings over the 34 years since the murder of Daniel Morgan, the Metropolitan Police placed the reputation of the organisation above the need for accountability and transparency. In so doing it compounded the suffering and trauma of the family. The Panel expects that its findings and recommendations will be treated with the utmost seriousness. Real change is necessary to enable effective efficient policing in which the public and police officers can have trust and confidence. Yours sincerely Baroness O’Loan DBE MRIA Chair, The Daniel Morgan Independent Panel iv Contents Volume 1 Letter to the Home Secretary iii Introduction 3 Chapter 1: The Morgan One Investigation 17 Chapter 2: The Inquest 267 Chapter 3: The Hampshire/Police Complaints Authority Investigation 301 Chapter 4: Operation Nigeria/Two Bridges 419 Volume 2 Chapter 5: The 2000 Murder Review: The Cold Case Review of the Investigation into Daniel Morgan’s Murder 443 Chapter 6: Abelard One/Morgan Two Investigation 475 Chapter 7: The 2006 Report from the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service to the Metropolitan Police Authority (‘the 2006 Report’) 603 Chapter 8: The Abelard Two Investigation 647 Volume 3 Chapter 9: Post-Abelard Two: Events after the acquittal of the Defendants in March 2011 855 Chapter 10: Corruption: Venality to lack of candour 1015 Chapter 11: The challenges of securing cooperation and lessons for future Panels 1117 Chapter 12: The Treatment of the Family 1141 Chapter 13: The Morgan Family’s Experience: A selection of personal perspectives from the family of Daniel Morgan 1223 Annex A: Methodology: The Panel’s approach to preparing the Report 1233 Annex B: Timeline of key events and investigations since the murder of Daniel Morgan 1245 Annex C: Glossary of Terms 1247 1 Introduction 1. The murder of Daniel Morgan on 10 March 1987 left his wife, Iris, without her husband, and their two young children, Sarah and Dan, without their father. It left bereft his mother, Isobel Hülsmann and his siblings, Alastair and Jane Morgan. Daniel Morgan’s mother, Isobel Hülsmann, very sadly died in 2017 during the preparation of this report. 2. For more than three decades the failure to prosecute those responsible for Daniel Morgan’s murder has caused great distress and concern to his family, generated a great deal of public disquiet, and affected the reputations of organisations and individuals. 3. The family of Daniel Morgan have told the Panel what a devastating impact these events have had and continue to have upon them. That impact has been compounded by the thought that police officers – the very people supposed to protect them – were involved in covering up the murder or in the murder itself. The love which his family had for Daniel Morgan and their desire for accountability has made them unwavering in seeking to bring his murderer(s) to justice. While they have not seen convictions, members of the family have kept the issue of the murder and the serious failures of the Metropolitan Police and others involved in his case in the public eye. 4. There was ongoing public concern about the allegations of police involvement in the murder and corrupt police activity during the investigations. In March 2011 after the acquittal of those accused in connection with the murder, the Metropolitan Police publicly acknowledged ‘the repeated failure of the Metropolitan Police to confront the role played by police corruption in protecting those responsible for the murder from being brought to justice’. In 2013 the Home Secretary, Theresa May MP, established the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel. The Terms of Reference for the Panel state that “The purpose and remit of the Independent Panel is to shine a light on the circumstances of Daniel Morgan’s murder, its background and the handling of the case over the whole period since March 1987. In doing so, the Panel will seek to address the questions arising, including those relating to: • police involvement in the murder; • the role played by police corruption in protecting those responsible for the murder from being brought to justice and the failure to confront that corruption; and • the incidence of connections between private investigators, police officers and journalists at the News of the World and other parts of the media and alleged corruption involved in the linkages between them.” 5.