Unsolved

A criminal act is a criminal act - and lawyers, politicians, the police and the public get into trouble when they try to grade such acts in terms of "seriousness".   But it is worth remembering that the current momentum behind uncovering phone-hacking and e-mail rustling lies not with outraged celebrities and smug former Fleet Street editors, but in a horrible, unsolved murder, back in 1987.

Daniel Morgan, aged 37, father of two, was murdered in the car park of the Golden Lion in Sydenham. He'd left the pub around 9pm, after having a drink with his business partner, Jonathan Rees.  For three years they had been running Southern Investigations, from offices in Thornton Heath.  Daniel was hit more than once with an axe, which was left embedded in his head. The murderer/s took his £900 watch, but left £1,100 cash in his pocket. There have been five police investigations - ending, as of now, with a £50m trial which collapsed in March this year.  Jonathan Rees and four others walked free.  Mr Morgan's family were told by the police that Met corruption during the 1987 investigation was a "debilitating factor".

Now, according to the latest edition of Private Eye, the trial judge has pointed to police misconduct as one of the reasons for failure. Investigating officer DCS Dave Cook's case was supported by the evidence of three supergrasses, whose testimony was all discredited as the trial stuttered, and, in one case, the judge found that Cook had "improperly prompted" one of the supergrasses.

In this tangled web of crime, police and press, only since the trial halted has the background evidence come out - in two directions.  One, the amounts of money that was changing hands between the News of The World, the Mirror Group and Southern Investigations.  And two, that Dave Cook, whilst investigating the Morgan murder in 2002, had been put under surveillance, apparently at the behest of Jonathan Rees amongst others - and News of the World assistant editor, Alex Marunchak, had provided NOTW photographers and vans to do the watching.   Cook found out, and alongside Dick Fedorcio, Met media man, raised Marunchak's involvement directly with Rebecca Brooks/Wade in November 2002.

Daniel's brother, Alistair, has been campaigning tirelessly for answers about his brother's death for nearly 25 years - and has now written to the Home Secretary to ask for a judicial inquiry.

If you're interested further, try this piece from Channel 4 on July 18.