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The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has yesterday called on the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to publicly apologise to André Hanscombe, whose partner Rachel Nickell was killed by Robert Napper in 1992.

On 16 November 2009, the IPCC received a complaint from Mr Hanscombe about the police investigation into Rachel Nickell’s death. An independent investigation into the complaint has concluded that there was a catalogue of bad decisions and errors made by the Metropolitan Police Service, which included:

- failing to sufficiently investigate after Napper’s mother called police to report that he had confessed that he had raped a woman on Plumstead Common in 1989;

- eliminating Napper from enquiries into an earlier series of rapes because he was over 6ft tall and therefore outside the parameters set for the investigation;

IPCC Commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: "The circumstances of Rachel’s death absolutely horrified the general public both here and around the world. It will remain one of the most shocking cases this country has ever seen. I cannot even begin to image how it affected Mr Hanscombe and their son Alex.

"It is clear that a catalogue of bad decisions and errors made by the Metropolitan Police Service led to missed opportunities to take Robert Napper off the streets before he killed Rachel Nickell and the Bissets, and before numerous women suffered violent sexual attacks at his hands.

"Thankfully the Met of 20 years ago is not the Met of today. I have been heartened to see the dedications and determination shown by those officers currently working to establish whether Napper is responsible for any other crimes. I know that the overwhelming sense that our investigators got from speaking to Met officers during this assessment was that they are as angry as we are at the mistakes that were made in the past. Policy, practice and technical ability have all improved vastly since Rachel Nickell’s death and I certainly do believe that things have changed beyond recognition.

"The MPS publicly apologised to Colin Stagg when Robert Napper was convicted in 2008. However, nobody has ever stood up in public and offered an apology to the other people whose lives were so terribly affected by this case. For that reason, I believe the Metropolitan Police Service should publicly issue an unreserved apology to André Hanscombe and Alex for the numerous mistakes made during the investigations into Rachel Nickell’s death and the police contact with Robert Napper.”

Notes for editors:

The full Commissioner’s Report into this complaint is available at www.ipcc.gov.uk/hanscombe_complaint.pdf

PLEASE NOTE, THIS COMPLAINT IS FROM ANDRE HANSCOMBE AND NOT ON BEHALF OF ANYONE ELSE AFFECTED BY THIS CASE.

Media contact:

Patricia Keville: IPCC Press Officer  for London and the South East

0207 166 3130