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| Untold podcast – the book: new details revealed about Daniel Morgan murder | Untold podcast – the book: new details revealed about Daniel Morgan murder |
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| The murder of a small-time private investigator in a south London car park generated few headlines at the time. But 30 years on, the killing of Daniel Morgan has reverberated from the New York headquarters of Rupert Murdoch’s empire to 10 Downing Street. | The murder of a small-time private investigator in a south London car park generated few headlines at the time. But 30 years on, the killing of Daniel Morgan has reverberated from the New York headquarters of Rupert Murdoch’s empire to 10 Downing Street. |
| Now a new book, Untold: the Daniel Morgan Murder Exposed, jointly written by Morgan’s brother Alastair and author, journalist and playwright Peter Jukes, lays out the tortuous story of alleged police and media corruption in unremitting detail. Daniel, who was 37 when he died in 1987, was felled by two blows of an axe to the back of his head in Sydenham. His Rolex watch was taken, but he was found with £1,000 in his back pocket. Southern Investigations, the detective agency he set up with a business partner, was known to be working with the police and journalists at the now-defunct Murdoch tabloid newspaper the News of the World. | Now a new book, Untold: the Daniel Morgan Murder Exposed, jointly written by Morgan’s brother Alastair and author, journalist and playwright Peter Jukes, lays out the tortuous story of alleged police and media corruption in unremitting detail. Daniel, who was 37 when he died in 1987, was felled by two blows of an axe to the back of his head in Sydenham. His Rolex watch was taken, but he was found with £1,000 in his back pocket. Southern Investigations, the detective agency he set up with a business partner, was known to be working with the police and journalists at the now-defunct Murdoch tabloid newspaper the News of the World. |
| In 2007, the Met announced that the motive for the murder was probably that Daniel “was about to expose a south London drugs network possibly involving corrupt police officers”; in February this year, the high court heard that one of the alleged killers said that the private investigator “knew too much”. | In 2007, the Met announced that the motive for the murder was probably that Daniel “was about to expose a south London drugs network possibly involving corrupt police officers”; in February this year, the high court heard that one of the alleged killers said that the private investigator “knew too much”. |
| Due in no small part to his brother Alastair Morgan’s indefatigable efforts, five inquiries into the case have been launched, costing a total of £50m – but none of them have reached any conclusion. The final one, in 2011, saw the three men originally charged with the murder cleared; in February, they lost their case that police had maliciously tried to get them convicted. | Due in no small part to his brother Alastair Morgan’s indefatigable efforts, five inquiries into the case have been launched, costing a total of £50m – but none of them have reached any conclusion. The final one, in 2011, saw the three men originally charged with the murder cleared; in February, they lost their case that police had maliciously tried to get them convicted. |
| In 2013, an independent inquiry was ordered by the then home secretary Theresa May. Morgan and Jukes originally planned to publish their book at the same time as the panel, chaired by Baroness Nuala O’Loan, announced its findings – but that has now been delayed, until 2018. | In 2013, an independent inquiry was ordered by the then home secretary Theresa May. Morgan and Jukes originally planned to publish their book at the same time as the panel, chaired by Baroness Nuala O’Loan, announced its findings – but that has now been delayed, until 2018. |
| In the wake of Serial and In the Dark, public appetite for true crime podcasts was growing, so Morgan and Jukes successfully crowdfunded their own: Untold, a 10-episode series that explored the links between Daniel’s murder, the police and the British tabloid press. With £10,000 of public donations, Untold was immediately dubbed the “British Serial” and shot to the top of the charts with more than 200,000 downloads in the UK and five million in the US. | |
| So why a book as well? Morgan says new information has been revealed since the podcast came out. “The whole package has never been presented,” he says. “Elements of it have been presented here and there. I found it absolutely debilitating going over it all again, but now, having done it, it’s an enormous relief.” | So why a book as well? Morgan says new information has been revealed since the podcast came out. “The whole package has never been presented,” he says. “Elements of it have been presented here and there. I found it absolutely debilitating going over it all again, but now, having done it, it’s an enormous relief.” |
| Jukes and Morgan make an odd couple: Morgan is softly spoken but steely, while Jukes’s sonorous tone and obvious confidence reveal his background in theatre and radio. He became aware of Daniel’s case while he was covering the phone hacking trials at the Old Bailey and, as a dramatist, saw the potential for an adaptation. But their relationship was not initially all plain sailing: when Jukes first got in touch, about four years ago, with ideas for a TV show, Alastair turned him away. “I got a phone call from Peter out of the blue and he said ‘I’m interested in your story’,” Morgan says. “I said ‘Peter, I just can’t do this any more’ and the conversation stopped there. But then we met face-to-face and we got to know each other.” | Jukes and Morgan make an odd couple: Morgan is softly spoken but steely, while Jukes’s sonorous tone and obvious confidence reveal his background in theatre and radio. He became aware of Daniel’s case while he was covering the phone hacking trials at the Old Bailey and, as a dramatist, saw the potential for an adaptation. But their relationship was not initially all plain sailing: when Jukes first got in touch, about four years ago, with ideas for a TV show, Alastair turned him away. “I got a phone call from Peter out of the blue and he said ‘I’m interested in your story’,” Morgan says. “I said ‘Peter, I just can’t do this any more’ and the conversation stopped there. But then we met face-to-face and we got to know each other.” |
| As a freelance journalist, Jukes brought his knowledge of the synergy between the police and the tabloid press to both the podcast, which he narrates, and the book. “How do you tell what he doesn’t know? I’m an objective voice. I am like the third eye,” Jukes says. “Alastair’s story is so intense it helps to at some points take the story away from him. I was living in Greenwich, around the corner from where Daniel was murdered, when it happened, and I was just amazed I’d never heard of it. It still staggers me.” | As a freelance journalist, Jukes brought his knowledge of the synergy between the police and the tabloid press to both the podcast, which he narrates, and the book. “How do you tell what he doesn’t know? I’m an objective voice. I am like the third eye,” Jukes says. “Alastair’s story is so intense it helps to at some points take the story away from him. I was living in Greenwich, around the corner from where Daniel was murdered, when it happened, and I was just amazed I’d never heard of it. It still staggers me.” |
| The book contains a raft of revelations not in the podcast, including new details about how the initial investigation was compromised, while the 2016 trial of the “fake sheikh” undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood revealed more about the relationship between Morgan’s company Southern Investigations and the News of the World. | The book contains a raft of revelations not in the podcast, including new details about how the initial investigation was compromised, while the 2016 trial of the “fake sheikh” undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood revealed more about the relationship between Morgan’s company Southern Investigations and the News of the World. |
| These days, Alastair has a new target: former News of the World owner Rupert Murdoch’s multibillion-pound bid to gain control of Sky. He has written to Theresa May to ask her to delay making a decision on the media mogul’s attempt to take over the 61% of Sky that his company doesn’t already own, until the murder inquiry publishes its findings in 2018. “I received a bland assurance that the panel will fulfil its remit. But we can’t just say ‘lessons learned, move on’,” Alastair says. “I’ve gone through this 30-year journey and at the end of it I see a prime minister, who knows what the issues are, holding a private meeting with Murdoch in New York.” He is sending her a copy of the book. | These days, Alastair has a new target: former News of the World owner Rupert Murdoch’s multibillion-pound bid to gain control of Sky. He has written to Theresa May to ask her to delay making a decision on the media mogul’s attempt to take over the 61% of Sky that his company doesn’t already own, until the murder inquiry publishes its findings in 2018. “I received a bland assurance that the panel will fulfil its remit. But we can’t just say ‘lessons learned, move on’,” Alastair says. “I’ve gone through this 30-year journey and at the end of it I see a prime minister, who knows what the issues are, holding a private meeting with Murdoch in New York.” He is sending her a copy of the book. |
| Jukes and Morgan are now working on a new series of podcasts, which will feature highlights of the book, while a revised, second edition will be published after the inquiry announces its conclusions. But whatever the outcome is, Morgan says he is glad he has not waited to publish the book. “My mother is 89 and before she dies I wanted to put this out as a marker,” he says. “I promised her the Metropolitan Police will never ever forget Daniel Morgan.” | Jukes and Morgan are now working on a new series of podcasts, which will feature highlights of the book, while a revised, second edition will be published after the inquiry announces its conclusions. But whatever the outcome is, Morgan says he is glad he has not waited to publish the book. “My mother is 89 and before she dies I wanted to put this out as a marker,” he says. “I promised her the Metropolitan Police will never ever forget Daniel Morgan.” |
| Untold: the Daniel Morgan Murder Exposed is published by Blink at £14.99 and is available from the Guardian Bookshop at £12.74 | Untold: the Daniel Morgan Murder Exposed is published by Blink at £14.99 and is available from the Guardian Bookshop at £12.74 |