Britain's Most Wanted: Cop killer arrested in Holland after 13 years on the run

One of Scotland Yard's "Most Wanted", armed robber James Hurley murdered a policeman in 1988.

He went on the run in 1994 after escaping while being transferred to Wandsworth Prison.

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The 45-year-old had a bounty of up to £30,000 on his head for information leading to his arrest and re-imprisonment.

Hurley made his getaway during the prison transfer after threatening a prison officer with a knife and slashing his face.

He had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1989, convicted of murder, armed robbery and firearm offences.

He was involved in an armed robbery on April 14 1988, alongside two other men, of a security van outside Barclays Bank, Bank Court, in Hemel Hempstead.

Hurley was the getaway driver - but the plan began to go tragically wrong when off duty Herfordshire Police Constable Frank Mason, a former local newspaper reporter, tried to intervene and was shot at point blank range.

PC Mason, 27, died of his injuries and was posthumously awarded the Queens Gallantry Medal for his bravery.

His widow, Jill, said: "I am really pleased to hear the news that Hurley has been caught.

"It doesn't bring Francis back, but Hurley needs to serve time for the crime he committed."

Hurley was arrested by Dutch police investigating a suspected drugs factory in The Hague on November 9.

He was reportedly found with another man at an address where officers are said to have also recovered a large quantity of Class A drugs.

Hurley will eventually be brought back to the UK to continue his life sentence.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary and other enforcement agencies have struggled to trace Hurley since his escape.

In 2004 Scotland Yard issued a digitally-aged picture of Hurley, and offered a reward for information leading to his capture.

He was known to have friends and contacts in the UK and Europe as well as the Republic of Ireland, particularly the area of Roscommon.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Maghie, from Hertfordshire Constabulary, said: "The force still feels the loss of PC Francis Mason, who selflessly gave his life intervening during this robbery.

"We have been ruthlessly pursuing Hurley for many years and would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere gratitude to the Dutch police."

At the time of the escape, the Prisons Service came in for heavy criticism for using a private company to transport dangerous prisoners.