The families of the victims murdered by serial killer Stephen Port have made a public plea for information through their solicitors. Port was given a life sentence in November 2016 for the murders of four men – Anthony Walgate, Jack Taylor, Daniel Whitworth and Gabriel Kovari – whom he drugged and raped before leaving their bodies near is flat in Barking.
A statement from the families’ legal team:
Neil Hudgell, of Hudgell Solicitors, said: “The Metropolitan Police have publically acknowledged that the evidence heard at Stephen Port’s trial identified potentially missed opportunities to catch Port sooner.
“There are many serious questions which the families of these young men need answering through the on-going IPCC investigation and any future inquests. It is essential that we establish whether the police response to the deaths of these young men was thorough and appropriate, including whether discrimination played any part in their actions.
“The families expect the IPCC to fully scrutinise the investigative work undertaken by the police and examine how any potential similarities between the cases were considered.
“The families rightly want the police to be held to account but it is too early at this stage to say what form any legal action may take, the emphasis right now is on information gathering.
“We urge anyone with information they believe could be relevant to the IPCC investigation to contact the IPCC directly on 0800 151 0021. Alternatively, the legal team can be contacted directly on portenquiry@hudgellsolicitors.co.uk”
The plea for information has been reported extensively in the press, including by the Evening Standard, The Guardian, the BBC, the Kent News and the Hull Daily Mail.
The families of Anthony Walgate, 23, Jack Taylor, 25, and Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Gabriel Kovari, 22, have instructed civil liberties and police action specialists Neil Hudgell and Andrew Petherbridge of Hudgell Solicitors and Leslie Thomas QC, Emma Favata and Paul Clark of the Garden Court Chambers Civil Liberties and Claims Against the Police and Public Authorities Teams.
