Stephen Port: Police watchdog interviewing officers over failings in capturing twisted serial killer

Life sentence: Port was convicted of murdering four young men but only after 'police blunders'
Metropolitan Police
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Seventeen police officers will be quizzed over the next few weeks about the blunders that let serial killer Stephen Port to murder four men.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said the interviews would be an "important milestone" in its investigation into how the Metropolitan Police handled their initial inquiries into the deaths.

Last November, Port, 41, was handed a whole life term for murdering Anthony Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Jack Taylor, 25.

He met his victims through gay dating websites, gave them fatal doses of the date rape drug GHB, and then dumped their bodies within metres of his flat in Barking, east London, the Old Bailey trial heard.

But the Metropolitan Police has admitted "missed opportunities" to catch the killer sooner and is re-examining another 58 GHB-related deaths over four years in London to rule out foul play.

Officers are accused of “fobbing off” concerned friends and relatives of the dead men who suspected foul play, insisting for months that the strikingly similar deaths were not suspicious.

The IPCC has now analysed more than 700 documents and received about 200 statements ahead of preparing its final report that will follow the interviews with Barking and Dagenham officers.

IPCC Commissioner Cindy Butts said: “These interviews are an important milestone in the investigation as we continue to build the picture of the police response to the deaths. Misconduct notices are not judgemental in any way.

“We are grateful for the information provided to us by the family and friends of Anthony, Daniel, Gabriel, and Jack, as well as members the LGBT community and the wider public, and MPS officers.

“In an investigation of this magnitude, centred upon the tragic murders of four dearly missed young men, every piece of information counts and we continue to wish to hear from anyone who can assist this important work.

“My thoughts remain with everyone affected by Port’s horrific crimes, and they can be assured that we are committed to providing them with thorough conclusions as soon as we are able.”

 Detectives belatedly found CCTV of Port with a victim after families demanded 'rethink' 
Metropolitan Police

Port was caught out lying about knowing the first victim, fashion student Mr Walgate, and was locked up for perverting the course of justice.

But it was not until the fourth victim, Mr Taylor, had died that police finally realised they had a serial killer on their hands.

Initially, though, they still dismissed his death as unexplained. But when Mr Taylor’s family investigated themselves and demanded a rethink, detectives belatedly found CCTV of Port with the victim.

Found dead in churchyard: Jack Taylor
Metropolitan Police

As well as they the murder verdicts, Port was also found guilty of a string of others charges that he drugged, sexually abused, and raped men at his flat.

He was cleared of a further three counts of rape.

The watchdog’s probe follows Mr Taylor's family announcement that they plan to sue the Met over its handling of the case, saying: "We do believe Jack would still be here if they had done their job.

"The police should be held accountable for Jack's death. We do understand it's not them who took Jack's life, but Stephen Port would have been stopped."

The interview process follows the Met referring itself to the IPCC, saying 17 officers are being investigated for misconduct.

Ms Butts added: “Following the interview process, which will take a number of weeks, investigators will be in a position to complete the analysis of the evidence at hand, and begin preparing the IPCC’s final report.”

Anyone with information should contact the IPCC on 0800 151 0021 or email barking&dagenham@ipcc.gsi.gov.uk

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in