London police (MPS) apologizes to Rachel Nickell’s family

Rachel Nickell was murdered in July 1992. In 2008 Robert Napper admitted killing Rachel and was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.

A complaint was made by Rachel’s partner André Hanscombe, which was investigated by the IPCC. The MPS has received the IPCC’s report into the complaint and accepts its single recommendation.

Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick will be writing to Rachel Nickell’s partner André Hanscombe and her son Alex to reiterate how sorry the MPS is for mistakes that were made during the investigation and in police contact with Napper.

A private apology was made to Mr Hanscombe in 2008 by Assistant Commissioner John Yates and the MPS has no hesitation in repeating that apology today. AC Dick has also offered to meet Mr Hanscombe again for a face-to-face meeting.

The MPS has accepted that more could, and should have been done, and had more been done we could have been in a better position to have prevented very serious attacks by Napper.

We have made it clear to other victims and the family and friends of those who Napper attacked that we deeply regret the fact he was able to carry out these dreadful acts.

The report points to a number of failings between 1989 and 1992, which have previously been identified and acknowledged by the MPS.