£100,000 to trap Dunne murderers

Scotland Yard has announced a £100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killers of the community beat bobby Patrick Dunne who was shot dead in Clapham eight years ago.

Detectives hope the reward and new DNA techniques can provide a breakthrough in the inquiry. Today they formally reopened the investigation into the double murder in 1993 of Pc Dunne and William Danso. Both were shot dead in Clapham by a suspected Yardie gang. Pc Dunne, 44, was shot as he confronted three men who had just left a house in Cato Road where they had murdered Mr Danso.

Detective Chief Inspector Barry Richardson, leading the new inquiry, said today: "We are looking for witnesses to the shooting who did not come forward at the time and we are appealing to people who, because of their allegiance to the suspects involved, did not come forward then to contact us now." Police are also urging anyone in the criminal fraternity who has information about the suspects or the guns used in the killings to contact them.

A number of items have been resubmitted to the Met's forensic laboratory for analysis. Police said they had preliminary results but refused to disclose what they were. The £100,000 reward includes £50,000 from a Sunday newspaper with the remainder coming from the Met.

A reconstruction of the murder, to be screened on BBC Crimewatch UK tomorrow night, will show the gunmen leaving the scene of 31 Cato Road where they had murdered Mr Danso and then walking down the street and firing a celebratory salute in the air.

Pc Dunne had been called to a minor domestic disturbance at a house across the road when he heard the sound of gunfire and went to investigate. Several months after the murder police received an anonymous call which led them to Wandsworth Cemetery where police found the two guns that were used in the double murder. The site had been marked with lipstick suggesting the informant was a woman. Three men were charged with Pc Dunne's murder but the case was dropped by the CPS in February 1994 on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

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