Family of murdered Rachel Nickell brand Scotland Yard’s top cop ‘very cold’ after snubbing compensation & meeting plea
THE family of murdered Rachel Nickell yesterday branded Scotland Yard’s top cop Mark Rowley “very cold” after he snubbed their request for compensation and a meeting.
Alex Hanscombe — who witnessed his mother’s brutal death on Wimbledon Common a month before his third birthday — and his dad André had called for talks with the Met Police chief last month.
In a terse letter Sir Mark offered an “unreserved apology” for police failings but refused to consider compensation or a meeting.
He referred them to one of his deputies and suggested they consider legal action over the botched investigation into the 1992 killing. Rachel, 23, had taken Alex to walk their dog when crazed Robert Napper emerged from bushes to stab her 49 times.
Alex was left clinging to his mother’s body, begging: “Wake up, Mummy.”
The case horrified Britain but the investigation rapidly descended into chaos.
Wrongly-accused suspect Colin Stagg received a £706,000 payout and undercover cop Lizzie James, used to “honeytrap” him, got around £150,000. Napper confessed 14 years after the attack while in Broadmoor Hospital following the murder of a mother and her four-year-old daughter.
Alex and André — who received no money — decided to approach the Met after new chief Sir Mark publicly pledged to overhaul the force’s toxic culture.
In his letter, Sir Mark said the Met “remains consistent” with its previous refusal to pay compensation and refers them to Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward for “support and encouragement”.
Alex, 33, told The Sun on Sunday: “We can’t help feeling the talk about ‘changing culture’ is just a PR job.
“We’ve given Sir Mark and his team a chance to do something about how we have been treated. But it feels like evil is triumphing.
“We’ll never give up on putting things right.”
He added: “As a black or brown person, it’s hard not to think, ‘How would this play out if someone else was in our shoes?’
“It feels like they felt it correct to compensate others in this case, yet something changed when it came to us.
“We have pledged the majority of any compensation would be used for charitable causes in my mother’s name.
“We really appreciate the apology but do not think saying sorry is sufficient. This is about honour, about honouring someone’s life.”
André, 60 — who lives with Alex in Barcelona — said: “This is a matter of right and wrong.”
Mr Stagg was cleared in 1994, having spent 13 months in custody, after his trial heard he was the victim of police entrapment.
Napper confessed in 2008.
It emerged his mother had told police in 1989 that he had said he had raped a woman in Plumstead, South East London — but he was left free to prey on more.
Last night Mr Ward said: “It is not appropriate for us to comment on private correspondence the Met has with victims.”
- Additional reporting: Ben Griffiths