Award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright talks to top detectives, lawyers, victims and relatives to take an in-depth look at crimes that have shocked Britain (and the world), as well as revisiting some of his landmark stories and campaigns. From serial murderers to child killers, ruthless gangsters to corrupt police, psychopaths to paedophiles, celebrity criminals to audacious conmen, he untangles the mysteries and the secrets behind the headlines.
For 17 years serial rapist and burglar Delroy Grant – who became known as the ‘Night Stalker' - terrorised elderly people in south London, cutting phone lines before breaking into homes and carrying out horrific sex attacks on victims as old as 93. Award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright speaks to ex Metropolitan Police DCI Colin Sutton, whose battle to capture Grant is now an ITV drama starring Martin Clunes, on the near-miss that left Grant free to attack more victims, and how his team finally tracked down the monster and saw him jailed for 27 years for a string of rapes, sex assaults and burglaries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With her murdered husband's powerful last statement still echoing in her ears, Marina Litvinenko has fought a long and lonely battle to bring two justice the two ‘businessmen' thought to have poisoned her husband with radioactive Polonium-210 - former bodyguard Andrey Luguvoy and former KGB agent Dmitry Kovtun. Marina speaks to award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright on her long quest for justice, whether she fears she might be targeted by assassins, and why she still loves Russia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fifteen years ago, Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko, who had fled Russia to safety in Britain, was hospitalised with a mystery illness after a business meeting with two Russians in a London hotel. A haunting photo of Litvinenko shocked the world, and three days later he was dead, poisoned by radioactive Polonium-210. Award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright talks to his widow Marina Litvinenko in Part One of a two-part podcast about the moment she realised that her husband had been poisoned, her 15-year quest for justice, and her husband's powerful deathbed message to Vladimir Putin, ‘You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate in your ears for the rest of your life.' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This Monday, in a New York courtroom, a pre-trial hearing began. The complainant was Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the defendant was Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. She alleges that when aged 17, she was introduced to the Prince by paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein - and forced to have sex with him. Award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright digs into this remarkable case with the help of a panel of experts including Nazir Afzal, a former Chief Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service and expert on historical sex abuse cases, Dai Davies, ex head of the Metropolitan Police's Royalty Protection Squad and Mail journalist Daniel Bates who is based in New York - and reported on the pre-trial hearing this week. What dangers lay ahead for the Duke, who denies any wrongdoing, and for how much longer can Scotland Yard delay launching a formal probe into Ms Giuffre's allegations? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In a grand house in South London, a group of seven remarkable people gathered together for the first time - all victims of or witnesses to gross injustices at the hands of the police. Award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright spoke to victims of bungled cases, corruption and the inept investigation of false abuse claims - from Baroness Doreen Lawrence, whose son Stephen was brutally killed by racist thugs in 1993, to Lady Brittan, whose late husband Leon (an ex Tory Home Secretary) was hounded by police over ludicrous false sex abuse allegations, and Alastair Morgan, whose brother, private eye Daniel Morgan, was the victim of an infamous (and still unsolved) axe murder in 1987. All had one thing in common - they felt they had been failed by the Metropolitan Police, and were to sign a letter calling for Dame Cressida Dick's tenure as Commissioner to not be extended and a shake up of the police watchdog. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs was sentenced to 30 years for his part in the biggest robbery in British history, it wasn't the end of his story - he disappeared over the wall of Wandsworth Prison and fled abroad, becoming one of the 20th century's most infamous wanted men. Award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright talks to Colin Mackenzie, the intrepid reporter who tracked Biggs down in Brazil in 1974 about how he found him, why he found himself charmed by the notorious criminal… and what happened next. Brace yourself for a heavy dose of Fleet Street and Scotland Yard nostalgia from a different era. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What lead to the conspiracy theories that swirled in the aftermath of Diana's death - and what role did BBC journalist Martin Bashir play in the final years of Diana's life? In the final of our seven-part series, Stephen Wright talks to Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner who led Operation Paget, about the people who spread the conspiracy theories about Diana's death, and why some are still not convinced to this day that her death was an accident. Produced by Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The inquests into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales officially began on 2 October 2007, ten years after her death - but would the findings of Operation Paget satisfy those who still believed she had been murdered? In the sixth of our seven-part series, Stephen Wright talks exclusively to Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner who led Operation Paget, about the evidence he gave to the inquest. And Michael Cole, Mohammed al Fayed's press secretary explains why his former boss was unhappy with the outcome. Produced by Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Central to the conspiracy theories around Princess Diana's death was an accusation that Princes Charles and Prince Philip had been involved in a plot to kill her in a staged car crash - fears voiced by Diana herself in a letter to butler Paul Burrell. In the fifth of our seven-part series, award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright talks exclusively to Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner who led Operation Paget, about the moment he had to ask Prince Charles whether he had a hand in murdering his wife... and about a mysterious sum of money found in chauffeur Henri Paul's bank account. Produced by Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mysteries still remained after Diana's death - was the Princess pregnant? Why did it take so long for emergency services to get her to hospital... and could she have been saved? In the fourth of our seven-part series, award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright talks exclusively to Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner who led Operation Paget, the ground-breaking three-year inquiry into Diana's death. Lord Stevens reveals how he began to put the conspiracy theories to rest - while leading forensic pathologist Dr Dick Shepherd explains the real reason why there were ‘gaps' in the notes from the autopsy on chauffeur Henri Paul. Produced by Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Princess Diana's tragic death would prompt a three-year investigation by Scotland Yard - but what crime had been committed… and who was really to blame? In the third episode of a new seven-part Beyond Reasonable Doubt podcast from Mail+, award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright speaks to the people who knew Princess Diana to unravel the conspiracy theories around her death - as a bombshell note from the Princess suggested that someone was plotting to kill her, and that person was, ‘My husband'. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The death of Princess Diana in a car crash in a tunnel in Paris sent shockwaves around the world, with mourners taking to the streets in Britain and in Paris - and photographers surrounding the French hospital where the Princess lay dead. In the second episode of a new seven-part Beyond Reasonable Doubt podcast from Mail+, award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright speaks to the people who were there that day - including Father Yves-Marie Clochard-Bossuet, the priest who attended her, and driver Colin Tebbutt, who secured the room where Diana lay in bed - and whose own children thought he had died in the crash. Produced by Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On August 31, 1997, a Mercedes carrying Diana, Princess of Wales crashed into a pillar in a tunnel in Paris, and the world would never be the same again. A new seven-part Beyond Reasonable Doubt podcast from Mail+ finally reveals what really happened that night - in the words of the people who were there, including an exclusive first interview with surgeon Monsef Dahman, who fought to save Diana's life that night. Presented by award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright, the podcast offers a minute-by-minute breakdown of the events of 1997 - and how it changed the Royal family forever. Produced by Rosie Gillott. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On August 31, 1997, a Mercedes carrying Diana, Princess of Wales crashed into the wall of a tunnel in Paris, and the world would never be the same again. A new six-part Beyond Reasonable Doubt podcast from Mail+ finally reveals what really happened that night - in the words of the people who were there. Presented by award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright, the podcast includes an in-depth interview with Lord Stevens, who ran the public inquiry into Diana's death - and a minute-by-minute breakdown of the events of 1997.From Dai Davies, then head of royalty protection to Colin Tebbut, Diana's Driver, and one of the first people who arrived in France to identify her body, ‘Last Days of Diana' explores the tragedy - and how it changed the Royal family forever. The six-part podcast also includes exclusive interviews with medical staff who have not spoken to the media for decades.‘Last Days of Diana' launches on Monday 21st at 11pm, only on Mail Plus. Tune in every Monday for a new episode of ‘Last Days of Diana', available first via mailplus.co.uk/diana. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In March 1987, private investigator Daniel Morgan was brutally killed in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, with an axe embedded in his skull - but more than three decades later, no one has ever faced justice for his death. Award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright talks to Daniel's campaigning brother, Alastair, about how the Metropolitan Police repeatedly failed Daniel, and why current Met Chief Cressida Dick should resign ‘as a matter of honour' over a murky investigation mired in allegations of police corruption. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mary Bastholm vanished from a Gloucester bus stop in January 1968, while en route to visit her boyfriend. She was just 15 years old and her disappearance was completely out of character. Within months, police shelved the investigation after running out of leads – despite detectives believing she had been abducted. A police file on her case was gathering dust for a quarter of a century until 1994, when Fred and Rose West were arrested over the brutal murders of 12 girls and young women. Psychopath Fred West was quickly linked with Mary's disappearance but repeatedly denied being responsible before killing himself. In this exclusive interview, Stephen Wright speaks to ex Det Supt John Bennett, who led the Cromwell Street investigation in the 1990s (and who as a young detective worked on Mary's disappearance in the late 1960s) to discuss her case and the recent police dig at the site of a former Gloucester cafe in a new bid to find her remains. Why is Bennett convinced Fred West abducted and murdered Mary, and will her body ever be located? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On Boxing Day 1994, 27-year-old gynaecologist Dr Joan Francisco was found strangled in her London flat - but her family faced an agonising five-year legal battle before her volatile ex-boyfriend was finally brought to justice. Did police and prosecutors treat them differently because they were black? Award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright talks to Joan's sister Margaret about how the Stephen Lawrence case inspired the family to pursue a landmark civil case, their joy at finally getting ‘Justice for Joan', and the lessons that the case offers for the Black Lives Matter movement. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When police raided the homes of VIPs Lord Brittan, Field Marshal Lord Bramall and Harvey Proctor on the basis of ludicrous false child abuse allegations from ‘Nick' - aka paedophile Carl Beech - one brave detective stood up against the ‘witch-hunt'. Award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright speaks to former Detective Chief Inspector Paul Settle on how he was hounded to the brink of suicide by senior officers, leading to his early retirement (the Met denies this). Settle talks about the Met's ‘cover-up culture' relating to the VIP abuse scandal, how the force he loved became ‘like the Gestapo' and why he is prepared to testify against them in any new inquiry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ten years after former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath died, he was smeared with vile and bizarre false claims of satanism, child abuse and murder, including using a bear-claw glove to disembowel children. Why did police believe the claims against him - and was it to do with Heath's sexuality? Award-winning crime-writer Stephen Wright talks to Heath's godson, Lincoln Seligman (who knew him as ‘Uncle Teddy'), and his former political secretary and biographer, Michael McMannus about how - unlike other establishment figures falsely accused of similar crimes - Heath had no children to defend him, and why police chose to believe the ‘wicked and cruel' allegations against him. And they explain why Home Secretary Priti Patel should ensure officers are held to account over their shocking blunders. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When dashing Swiss banker (and secret MI6 agent) Mark Conway walked into the Gloucestershire shop she worked in, divorcee Carolyn Woods fell head over heels and they began planning a life together. There was just one problem, she tells award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright: ‘Conway' was actually notorious conman Mark Acklom, who span a web of lies including taking fake calls from the King of Spain, and slowly tore Carolyn's life apart, isolating her from her friends and robbing her of £850,000. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Police marksman Tony Long was dubbed ‘the Met's very own serial killer' by a senior officer after shooting three men dead, including two security van robbers gunned down in seconds in a hail of bullets. In the second part of an interview with award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright, Long describes how he shot gangster Azelle Rodney dead in a car, wrongly believing Rodney was reaching for a Mac-10 submachine gun - and faced trial for alleged murder at the Old Bailey over the killing. Long also explains why he had little doubt he would be acquitted. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For 25 years, police ‘top shot' Tony Long served in Scotland Yard's elite specialist firearms unit, becoming Britain's most lethal police marksman (and at one point facing trial for murder over a split-second decision to shoot). In Part One of a no-holds-barred interview with Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright, Long gives an insider's view of what led up to the moment two colleagues shot innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes seven times in the head in the wake of the July 2005 terror attacks (and why although the Met was fined over the catastrophic operation, the officers who gunned him down never faced any criminal charges). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The night the Krays moved into my house (after shooting dead a rival gangster) After shooting dead a rival gangster in full view of drinkers in an East End pub, the Kray twins took over a young man's family home for two weeks as they hid from the law. Award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright talks to David Teale, whose new book, ‘Surviving the Krays', tells the story of how he met the notorious gangsters aged 17, suffered a brutal sex attack by Ronnie, was then jailed for three years after being ‘fitted up', and how his testimony helped to ensure the Kray twins were themselves locked up for murder in 1969 (but not before the brothers sowed the seeds of unimaginable tragedy in Teale's own life). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Twenty years ago, former Conservative Minister Neil Hamilton and his TV personality wife Christine were arrested over false rape allegations - with documentary maker Louis Theroux filming it all. Their accuser was a woman with a long history of false allegations but Scotland Yard took her seriously. Award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright, who covered the damaging fallout of their high-profile arrests in 2001, talks to the Hamiltons about a case which embarrassed Britain's biggest police force - and whether detectives failed to learn lessons from it . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
John Thaw's hard-drinking, rule-bending detective Jack Regan was a 70s TV icon - and amazingly, he was inspired by a real policeman. Acclaimed scriptwriter Ian Kennedy Martin gives Stephen Wright the inside story on The Sweeney, the legendary ITV series he created. The cop show pioneer also tells all about his other hits including Juliet Bravo, why filming car chases was easier in the 70s (the cars were all dirt cheap) - and how he had the original idea for iconic Michael Caine crime caper The Italian Job (but sold it to his script-writing brother Troy Kennedy Martin, who wrote the BBC's long-running Z-Cars). Strap in for half an hour of TV crime drama nostalgia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
To this day, no individual or organisation has been truly held to account over the disastrous errors of judgement that led to a 'witch hunt' against powerful figures including Lord Brittan, accused of being part of a gang of murdering paedophiles. Award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright talks to his widow Lady Brittan, who says, ‘There were monumental errors in this case, but no one said that they got it horribly, horribly wrong.' Lady Brittan says she now believes that the Metropolitan Police prefers its own ambitions to a strong moral compass. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In an extraordinary press conference, former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor tackled the absurd allegations of VIP paedophile liar Carl Beech, saying, 'I am a homosexual - not a murderer or a paedophile.' The moment marked a turning point in the VIP child abuse 'witch hunt' against senior military figures and politicians including Lord Brittan, says his widow Lady Brittan, in an exclusive interview with award-winning crime-writer Stephen Wright. The spotlight began to turn onto the behaviour of the police themselves - and of supposed abuse victim Carl Beech, unmasked as being a paedophile himself. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Police showed up with a search warrant at the former home of distinguished ex-Home Secretary Leon Brittan, just weeks after his death from cancer - and officers took away diaries, computers and phones to investigate the baseless accusations of paedophile Carl Beech. His widow, Lady Brittan, tells award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright that the ‘extraordinary' search warrant given to officers that day raises troubling questions for several senior police officers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Just days after Lord Brittan succumbed to terminal cancer, Tom Watson wrote a column repeating the vile lies of paedophile Carl Beech in a Sunday newspaper, claiming that Lord Brittan was part of a ring of VIP child abusers. It was, says his widow Lady Brittan, a ‘despicable act of cowardice', published days after his death to avoid the threat of being sued. In conversation with award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright, Lady Brittan reveals how the false allegations turned into a terrifying ‘witch hunt' where police arrived at her door with a search warrant. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Painfully thin and wasted after weeks in an intensive care unit, former Home Secretary Lord Brittan had just weeks to live when Detective Superintendent Kenny McDonald said that his team had spoken to the victim of a supposed VIP child abuse ring - and that the outrageous lies of paedophile Carl Beech were ‘credible and true'. Award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright talks to his widow, Lady Brittan, on how Labour politician Tom Watson became a ‘crusader' for delusional alleged child sex abuse victims - and the BBC amplified the lies of the false accusers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Lord Brittan had led a long and distinguished public life, including serving as Home Secretary under Margaret Thatcher - but as he lay desperately ill in hospital with terminal cancer, he was swept up in a witch hunt based on foul and baseless allegations of child abuse from a deluded liar and paedophile, and cheered on by senior politicians including Tom Watson. Award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright talks to his widow, Lady Brittan, on the devastating effect the allegations had in her husband's final weeks - and the questions it raises on how the police treat famous people falsely accused of the worst crimes imaginable. Producer: Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It was billed as the 'Trial of the Decade', with Rosemary West's husband Fred 'returning from the grave' in sickening police interviews as the mother-of-eight stood trial for the torture and murder of ten defenceless young women and children. Defence solicitor Leo Goatley tells acclaimed Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright that disturbing questions remain about his ‘Satanic' ex-client Rosemary, why he is certain there are more undiscovered victims of the Wests – and how the murderess is happy in prison. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
No matter how vile your crimes, everyone is entitled to a defence - but there are few more evil criminals than Gloucester mother-of-eight Rosemary West, who butchered ten young women and children. Acclaimed Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright interviews West's former solicitor Leo Goatley, who reveals the horrifying secrets he learned in hundreds of hours with the psychopathic sex killer - including her sordid relationship with her husband and partner in crime Fred, how she was a ‘spitting serpent' with police and her affair in prison with fellow murderess Myra Hindley. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery saw thieves make off with £26 million in gold bullion and diamonds in the ‘crime of the century' - and a number of suspects linked to the heist turned to defence solicitor, Henry Milner, later dubbed the ‘Mr Big of Criminal Briefs'. Award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright talks to the man who has defended some of Britain's most notorious underworld figures over four decades, including police and 'road rage' killer Kenneth Noye (pictured), former Kray Twins enforcer Freddie Foreman (aka ‘Brown Bread Fred') and ruthless villain John ‘Goldfinger' Palmer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Peter Sutcliffe was locked up for life in 1981 for the brutal murders of 13 women, but one mystery still remained - who WAS the cruel hoaxer behind the 'Wearside Jack' tape, which derailed the police investigation and led to three more women dying at the Yorkshire Ripper's hands? Award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright speaks to retired Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Gregg, whose team unearthed a crucial clue more than two decades on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
By the summer of 1979, Peter Sutcliffe had already killed ten women, but the investigation into his brutal crimes was about to take a fateful wrong turn, as police went public with letters and a tape sent by a man claiming to be the Yorkshire Ripper. Award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright speaks to retired Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Gregg, who joined the Ripper investigation as a young policeman, and who had serious doubts about the credibility of the so-called 'Wearside Jack' tape. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For five years, Peter Sutcliffe, known as the Yorkshire Ripper, hunted and killed defenceless women, mutilating their bodies with hammers and screwdrivers. But could his murder spree have been stopped earlier? In the wake of the Ripper's death this month, award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright talks to retired Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Gregg, who joined the Ripper investigation as a rookie policeman in the late 1970s - and witnessed the cruel hoaxes and fatal police errors that allowed Sutcliffe to remain at large. In powerful and poignant testimony, the respected ex head of CID at West Yorkshire Police discusses the ‘Life on Mars' culture in the force at the time of the Ripper murders, and the harrowing stories of Sutcliffe's victims. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
He was a D-Day hero and distinguished ex-head of the Armed Forces, who ended up being treated as a ‘common criminal' by bungling Metropolitan Police officers. Field Marshal Lord Bramall was 91 and caring for his dying wife when detectives raided his home over ludicrous sex abuse allegations, made by the notorious liar known as 'Nick', real name Carl Beech. On the first anniversary of his death, Lord Bramall's son Nicolas tells award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright of his father's outstanding military career, his shocking ordeal at the hands of Scotland Yard and asks why no police have yet been held to account. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Legendary BBC Radio presenter and 'Professor of Pop' Paul Gambaccini was shunned by friends and organisations he had supported, including the Labour Party, after he was arrested over false child sex allegations by officers from the Metropolitan Police's controversial Operation Yewtree. He was even taken off air for a year by the BBC. As he secures a £250,000 payout from the Met for breaching his privacy by allowing him to be identified, he tells award-winning crime writer Stephen Wright about his seven-year battle for justice - and the “catastrophic” effects of the bogus accusations against him. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With two of Stephen Lawrence's attackers belatedly jailed for life, what is Stephen's legacy? Could there be more convictions? And in the year Black Lives Matter protests swept the globe, has Scotland Yard really dealt with its problem of 'institutional racism' and learned the lessons of the case? Acclaimed Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright talks to police, politicians, lawyers and the young French au pair who witnessed Stephen's senseless killing, and whose life was forever changed as a result. ---- Producer: Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nearly 19 years after Stephen Lawrence was 'swallowed up' by a gang of white youths who shouted racist abuse at him before stabbing him to death, two of the original prime suspects stood in the dock at the Old Bailey. But would the new DNA evidence hold up almost two decades on - and would guilty verdicts really deliver justice for the Stephen's long-suffering family? Acclaimed crime writer Stephen Wright talks to police, forensic scientists and the French eyewitness who gave evidence at the landmark trial. --- Producer: Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After a top-secret investigation into Stephen Lawrence's murder (using 'James Bond' tactics including ‘bugged' golf buggies, a spy helicopter and a daring undercover operation) failed to bring justice for the teenager, police reassessed the forensic evidence from the first weeks after Stephen was murdered, and found a crucial clue: a tiny flake of dried blood. Acclaimed crime writer Stephen Wright talks to police, politicians, and the forensic scientist whose team also found a breakthrough blood trace on a jacket. --- Producer: Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In February1997, the Daily Mail's front page accused five men of the murder of Stephen Lawrence. It piled more pressure on Metropolitan Police for its failure to convict anyone over the teenager's senseless death. An official report into the case was about to expose the full extent of Scotland Yard's failings - and conclude the force was 'institutionally racist'. Acclaimed crime writer Stephen Wright talks to politicians, lawyers, and police who were working in the Met as the bombshell report hit home. --- Producer: Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The collapse of a private prosecution over the senseless racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, and the swaggering behaviour of the five prime suspects at an inquest felt like 'two fingers up at justice', says ex top prosecution lawyer Nazir Afzal. Widespread anger in Britain, and a sense of justice failing to be done, paved the way for a very tense night in the Daily Mail newsroom. Acclaimed crime writer Stephen Wright was there as the paper prepared its famous 'Murderers' front page. --- Producer: Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death in cold blood by a gang of white, racist thugs, just because of the colour of his skin. In August, the Met Police closed its investigation into his murder after 27 years. In this six-part podcast, acclaimed Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright revisits a case he has covered for almost three decades, speaking to eyewitnesses, politicians and the police who investigated the case. Could there be more convictions? And in a year of Black Lives Matter protests, have we learned the lessons of Stephen's murder? --- Producer: Rosie Gillott See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the last of three interviews about his new book, ex-High Court Judge Sir Richard Henriques QC speaks to award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright about the Met's bungled Operation Midland inquiry into 'Nick', real name Carl Beech, whose claims of a sinister VIP child sex ring led to raids on the homes of former Home Secretary Lord Brittan and ex Armed Forces chief Lord Bramall. Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, also falsely accused, reveals his anger at the police raid on his home and the role of ex Labour deputy leader Tom Watson in the scandal. So how DID detectives fall for the implausible stories of vicar's son ‘Nick', a conman and paedophile? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the second of a series of interviews based on his new book, From Crime to Crime, ex-High Court Judge Sir Richard Henriques QC tells award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright about prosecuting a case that shook Britain, the brutal and senseless murder of two-year-old James Bulger by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thomson and Jon Venables. It was a case so horrific that jurors were left in tears, and still poses important questions. How could children so young commit such a crime? And most importantly, how should the law treat children who kill? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the first of a series of interviews based on his forthcoming book, From Crime to Crime, ex-High Court Judge Sir Richard Henriques QC tells award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright about coming face to face with unassuming GP Harold Shipman in the court, and how he was unmasked as a remorseless serial killer who had slaughtered 250 of his own patients in a 20-year killing spree. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the second of a two-part True Crime story exclusive to Mail+, award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright asks a disturbing question about the case of Levi Bellfield, a London wheel clamper and nightclub bouncer in his 30s who was unmasked as a misogynistic serial killer behind a series of brutal hammer attacks on young, blonde women. Did police miss opportunities to stop Bellfield - and save the lives of his innocent young victims? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the first of a two-part True Crime story exclusive to Mail+, award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright revisits the case of Levi Bellfield, a London wheel clamper and nightclub bouncer in his 30s who was unmasked as a misogynistic serial killer behind a series of brutal hammer attacks on young, blonde women. Mail+ talks to Bellfield's biographer and the police who investigated the case to ask, could the killer have been stopped earlier... and did he escape justice over other murders? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the second of a two-part True Crime story exclusive to Mail+, award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright revisits one of his first and most horrifying cases, the 'House of Horrors' in Cromwell Street, Gloucester, which led police to the dismembered remains of nine young women. On the 25th anniversary of Fred West's death, Mail+ talks to biographers, experts and police involved in the case to ask, how could a seemingly normal family perpetrate such evil... and could it happen again? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.