Families hope to learn why Met Police failed to catch serial killer before he killed four victims
Met Police’s ‘competence and adequacy’ will be investigated at inquests into gay serial killer Stephen Port’s four victims, coroner promises
Inquests into deaths of the four young gay men have begun today in east LondonThey come six years after Port’s 16-month killing spree was brought to an endJack Taylor, Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari and Daniel Whitworth were killedFamilies have campaigned for answers as to why Port was not stopped sooner
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The families of four victims killed by Stephen Port hope to learn why the Met Police failed to catch him before he carried out the murders as long-awaited inquests into their deaths get under way today.
Over the next 10 weeks, an inquest jury will hear details of how four young gay men died at the hands of the serial killer between June 2014 and September 2015.
Coroner Sarah Munro QC said the victims were killed by an overdose of the date rape drug GHB at Port’s flat in Barking, London, and their bodies dumped nearby.
She said: ‘He (Port) will not play any part in these inquests but you will hear a great deal about him and his lifestyle.’
The hearings at Barking Town Hall come six years after Port’s 16-month killing spree was brought to an end, following the death of his final victim, 25-year-old Jack Taylor.
In 2016, 46-year-old Port, from Barking, was found guilty of the murders of Mr Taylor, Anthony Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, and 21-year-old Daniel Whitworth.
Since then, the victims’ families have continued to campaign for answers as to why Port was not stopped sooner.
Over the next 10 weeks, an inquest jury will hear details of how four young gay men died at the hands of Stephen Port (pictured), 46, between June 2014 and September 2015
Ms Munro, assistant coroner for the East London area, told the jury that there is a ‘very simple, very tragic reason’ that the inquests into the deaths of the four men are being heard together, in that they were all murdered by Port.
She said the ‘competence and adequacy’ of the police investigations into the deaths will be a focus of much of the evidence heard during the inquests.
Ms Munro added that the function of the inquests was not to attribute criminal or civil liability but to make findings and reach conclusions about the four deaths.
She said the inquests was necessary to look at whether ‘opportunities were missed’ that might have stopped Port earlier.
She said: ‘The trial did not answer the important question of whether the deaths of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor might have been prevented.’
The coroner also told the jury: ‘If there appear to have been shortcomings in the way in which the police investigated these deaths, we must consider those shortcomings dispassionately and resist the temptation to look for scapegoats.’
Ms Munro stressed that the ultimate responsibility for the four men’s murders lies with Stephen Port.
She told the jury to ‘beware the wisdom of hindsight’ when considering what the police knew at the time of each of the deaths.
Yesterday, the families’ lawyer Neil Hudgell, of Hudgell Solicitors, said: ‘It has been seven years and three months since Anthony Walgate was murdered; seven years and one month since Gabriel Kovari was murdered; just over seven years since Daniel Whitworth was murdered; and just over six years since Jack Taylor was murdered.
‘Their families have felt every single day of their absence. They have waited with great patience and conducted themselves with real dignity.
Two of Port’s four victims were Jack Taylor (left), 25, and Daniel Whitworth (right), 21. Inquests into their deaths are due to begin today at Barking Town Hall in East London
Anthony Walgate (left) and Gabriel Kovari (right) were also victims of Port. The victims’ families have since campaigned for answers as to why the serial killer was not stopped sooner
‘Yet, they’ve always wondered about whether there would have been a different outcome if the police had investigated Port properly and taken their concerns seriously, and if their boys hadn’t been gay.
‘For them, the inquests mark a key step in their quest for accountability.’
A senior Met officer offered an apology to the victims’ families and highlighted changes the force had made since the Port case.
Sarah Munro (pictured above) said the ‘competence and adequacy’ of the police investigations into the deaths will be a focus of much of the evidence heard
Commander Jon Savell said: ‘Our thoughts are firstly with the family and friends of those murdered by Stephen Port.
‘We know this will be a painful and difficult time for them, hearing details once more of what happened to their loved ones.’
He said the Met was offering ‘every assistance’ to the coroner and welcomed a ‘full examination of all the facts surrounding the tragic deaths’.
He said: ‘At the time of Port’s conviction, we apologised to the victims’ families and Daniel Whitworth’s partner for how we initially responded to the deaths, and I would like to apologise again.
‘Since Port’s offences came to light we have worked hard within the Met to improve both our processes and our wider knowledge across the organisation of a range of issues associated with the murders.
‘We will not prejudge the findings of the inquests but we will review any more improvements the jury and coroner identify that we need to make.
‘It is extremely important to us that members of the LGBT+ communities trust the police and feel confident they are being provided with the best possible service.’
In 2016, Port (pictured), from Barking, was found guilty of the murders of the four men. The inquests come six years after Port’s 16-month killing spree was brought to an end
On Friday, Ms Munro told jurors to focus on the evidence in court as they were sworn in to hear the inquests.
She told them: ‘On Tuesday… we will commence hearing inquests into the deaths of four young men who were murdered by a man called Stephen Port in 2014 and 2015.
‘They were killed by him with overdoses of a date rape drug called GHB and their bodies were discarded by him yards from where we are sitting now.’
The families of the victims, who are represented in court, were expected to attend the inquests.
