NoW surveillance 'jeopardised serial murder inquiry'

A former criminal investigator at the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has accused the News of the World of jeopardising the Ipswich serial murder inquiry in 2006 by putting investigators under surveillance.

Dave Harrison, who was part of a SOCA team helping Suffolk Police with their investigation into the deaths of five young women, told the Leveson inquiry he believed the News of the World hired a group of ex-special forces soldiers to monitor his team's movements on the newspaper's behalf.

"If our surveillance had been weakened by having to try and avoid other surveillance teams looking for us, if we had lost the suspect he may have gone on and committed further murders," Harrison said.

Harrison also named the Sunday Mirror, which he said picked up one of the suspects for an interview without police following him.

Harrison said: "If by their actions they'd lost us, if we hadn't been able to follow the suspect, and they'd picked them up and taken them to a hotel and we weren't there, that person is not under control.

"They could easily pick him up, take him to a hotel, lose us, drop him off and he could go and do whatever he wanted. That is a potential risk."

John Twomey, chair of the Crime Reporters Association, told the Leveson inquiry: "If that did happen it's quite shocking. It's quite unbelievable really that a newspaper would go to those lengths.

"I think it would have taken most crime reporters by surprise. I've never heard of surveillance teams being put on surveillance teams."

A jury at Ipswich Crown Court found Steve Wright guilty in 2008 of murdering Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Anneli Alderton, Annette Nicholls and Paula Clennell. He was sentenced to life imprisonment

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