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Rachel Nickell's partner complains about police failures
18 Nov 2009The partner of murder victim Rachel Nickell complained to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) over police failure to take actions which might have prevented her death.
Andre Hanscombe submitted the complaints on Monday and has been told that the IPCC has already begun "scoping the case" and considering its mode of investigation, said his solicitor Kate Maynard.
Miss Nickell, 23, was killed in a frenzied knife attack in front of her and Mr Hanscombe's two-year-old son Alex on Wimbledon Common in 1992.
Last year Robert Napper, 42, finally admitted the crime, and pleaded guilty to her manslaughter on the grounds of his diminished responsibility. He was ordered to be detained in Broadmoor indefinitely.
Police apologised to relatives of Miss Nickell and Samantha and Jazmine Bassett, also killed by him, for missed opportunities to catch Napper which could have saved their lives.
In November 1993, Napper killed Miss Bissett, 27 and her daughter Jazmine, four, after climbing into their basement flat near his home in Plumstead, south east London.
He was arrested in May 1994 and sent to Broadmoor for their manslaughter a year later.
Ms Maynard said Mr Hanscombe was seeking acknowledgement of, and explanation for, the serious failures of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), and to bring officers to account for those failings, including disciplinary proceedings where appropriate.
He said: "When Robert Napper was convicted of killing Rachel, although the intolerable waiting had come to an end, the glaring question why the investigation had taken so long and had been handled so badly remained largely unanswered.
"To have found out as I did in December 2008 that Rachel's death may have been prevented, initially left me numb.
"Now that I have had time to come to terms with it, I feel determined to bring all of the issues and events and mistakes out into the light.
"My hope is that the police complaint is acted on promptly and that everything is done, with transparency and rigour, to account for what went wrong and make sure that a similar chain of circumstances is never allowed to develop again. I feel that it is my duty to all those touched by the flawed investigations, and to the public in general, to seek this justice."
Ms Maynard said: "On Robert Napper's conviction, Assistant Commissioner John Yates called Rachel's murder 'a case that shocked the nation and one that has remained in the public conscience ever since'.
"Given the gravity of these complaints, the tragic consequences of the failures and the enormous public concern about the matters raised, my client trusts that they will be investigated independently by the Independent Police Complaints Commission and/or the Metropolitan Police Authority."
The IPCC has jurisdiction over complaints only up to the rank of chief superintendent, she said, and the MPA has jurisdiction over complaints made about more senior officers.
An IPCC spokesman said: "We received the complaint via his solicitor (on Monday afternoon).
"Under the Police Reform Act, which governs police complaints, we have to send it initially to the appropriate authority for recording.
"In this case the appropriate authority is the Metropolitan Police Service.
"In their letter of complaint, Mr Hanscombe's solicitors acknowledge this, and give their consent for us to do that.
"We expect the complaint to be referred back to the IPCC.
"In the meantime, we have assigned two of our most experienced investigators to initially scope the case and that work has begun."
A spokesman for the MPA said: "The MPA can confirm we have received a copy of the complaint as the appropriate authority for considering complaints against senior MPS officers.
"It will be referred to the Authority's professional standards cases sub-committee for consideration. It would be inappropriate to make any further comment at this stage."
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Service said: "The IPCC has sent us the complaint they received. It is only right this complaint will be properly dealt with and we will now consider what the appropriate next step is."
