Seven unsolved murders linked to bent detectives should be re-investigated after a damning report branded Scotland Yard institutionally corrupt, an ex-officer says.
Former detective chief inspector David McKelvey claims senior bosses covered up criminality and dishonesty in the ranks.
He was speaking after an independent panel concluded the Met hid its failings over the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.
Today the Mirror examines seven other cold-case killings also allegedly compromised by officers.
Mr McKelvey said: “In light of the Daniel Morgan report, all of these cases should be re-investigated.
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“I believe the corruption surrounding these murders is appalling and at a very senior level, and has all been covered up by the senior management and department of professional standards to protect their reputation.
"The DPS [Directorate of Professional Standards], whose job should be to catch and convict corrupt cops, have spent years covering up crime, dishonesty and corruption.”
The murders, committed between 1989 and 2002, include four mentioned in an explosive report compiled in 2002 by anti-corruption detectives.
Called Operation Tiberius, it quotes an unnamed senior Met officer as saying: “I feel I cannot carry out an ethical murder investigation without the fear of it being compromised.”
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The Daniel Morgan Independent Panel criticised senior detective David Cook for sending the “highly confidential” report to his personal email address.
Mr Cook, who led the most recent probe into Mr Morgan’s murder, which collapsed at trial in 2011, was found by the panel to have “acted improperly” and coached, pressured or prompted key witnesses.
It was “quite extraordinary” that DPS officers probing him for alleged misconduct did not try to learn how he obtained Tiberius or who leaked it in 2013 to a journalist, the panel found.
Mr Cook was arrested but not charged. He would have faced misconduct proceedings if he had not left the force, the police watchdog said in 2015.
The Mirror revealed in April a high-level informant, known as “Richard”, is suing the Met for allegedly failing to protect him when his identity was exposed in the report.
He claims the force showed no concern for his safety, even though Tiberius said his police handlers allegedly helped gangsters.
Though Tiberius has been put on the internet, the Met has not even reported the breach to the Office of the Information Commissioner.
The original investigation into Mr Morgan’s 1987 murder was also tainted by corruption.
According to Baroness O’Loan, who chaired the £16million inquiry, the force failed to be honest with his family and obstructed her work.
Met chief Dame Cressida Dick was singled out for blocking access to information while assistant commissioner.
Mr Morgan was found with an axe embedded in his head in a pub car park in Sydenham, South London. Despite five probes, costing an estimated £30m, no one has been brought to justice.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “We are not prepared to discuss publicly the details of the Operation Tiberius report.”
1. Kenneth Beagle killed in 2000
The 55-year-old hitman was shot dead in a car park in Romford, Essex, over a “failed drug import-ation”, the Tiberius report says.
Beagle used his status as a police informant as a cover to commit crime.
Detectives were suspected of helping the drugs gang who ordered his murder.
2. Michael Olymbious killed in 1995
Shot dead in Walworth, South East London, after police seized ecstasy worth £1.5million owned by a notorious crime syndicate.
A former Flying Squad detective was bugged at the gang’s HQ discussing how he and three other officers were helping the crooks to evade justice.
3. Brynmor Lindop killed in 2002
East End doorman ran a yard in Dagenham. He was a gun nut, enforcer and armourer to the underworld. He was also a police informant and was shot dead on his doorstep.
4. Richard Raynor killed in 2001
The 43-year-old plumber was shot dead in an East End café by a gunman wearing a motorcycle helmet.
The prime suspect was tipped off he was in the frame after illegal checks were made on him on the police national computer by his criminal network, the Tiberius report states.
5. Patrick Pasipanodya
The actor, 29, was executed in Edmonton, North London.
It is believed his killers were heroin traffickers known for gruesome assaults with garden shears.
An ex-cop whose son was a suspect is said to have infiltrated the probe.
6/7. Maxine Arnold and Terry Gooderham
Couple were shot dead in Epping Forest.
The case is being reviewed after a former detective told the Mirror in 2019 he believed the original investigation was corrupted.
A “missing log” and officers’ alleged links to a gang are being probed.
