Charlie Jones
BBC Local Live

A former Scotland Yard detective says officers have a tough task ahead solving the murder of notorious criminal John Palmer, who is believed to have been killed in a professional hit. 

The case is being featured on the BBC's Crimewatch tonight, and a reconstruction (pictured) has been filmed.

Image source, BBC Crimewatch

Roy Ramm, a former Commander of Special Operations at New Scotland Yard, says it will be difficult to solve, but the appeal could lead to new information.

"There's no love lost between lots of these criminal gangs, and if there's some revenge to be had or a debt to be paid it could be that someone decides to quietly blow a whistle for Essex Police tonight."

Ben Fryer
BBC Essex Sport

Colchester United midfielder Sammie Szmodics has been ruled out for the rest of the season because he requires ankle surgery.

Image source, Getty Images

The 20-year-old has made 51 appearances for the U's since coming through their youth ranks but has been restricted by injury this season.

He had a three-game loan at Braintree earlier this term, but has only played twice since his return in November.

Elizabeth Rizzini
BBC Look East weather

It will be a rather cloudy start with perhaps with the odd spot of rain in the west. It will brighten up through the day however, with sunny spells developing. 

You can find more details on the BBC Weather website or see my full forecast below...  

Charlie Jones
BBC Local Live

A former Commander of Special Operations at New Scotland Yard, who testified against John Palmer during a trial in 2001, described him as "quite an arrogant man".

Image source, BBC Crimewatch

Pictured above with his son James, Mr Palmer, 65, died last June after being shot dead in the back garden of his home.

"He probably felt he was quite safe out in South Weald while he was at home, but clearly he wasn't," said Roy Ramm, who added the shooting would be hard to crack due to fear of "grassing up". 

BBC Travel

There are long delays on the anticlockwise M25 between junction 27 for the M11 and junction 26 for Waltham Abbey because of an overturned lorry and a spillage of sand.

Two lanes are closed. You can check the latest situation here.

Image source, Highways England

Sonia Watson
BBC Essex

Here are the stories we're looking at this morning:

• Essex Police detectives say they believe the murder of notorious criminal John "Goldfinger" Palmer at his home in South Weald last June was a professional hit
• A man, arrested following a four vehicle crash on the M11 yesterday, has been released on police bail
• A 70-year-old woman's been hurt following an unprovoked attack near Chelmsford

Interviews with John "Goldfinger" Palmer's partner and son will feature in tonight's BBC Crimewatch appeal about his murder.

Christina Ketley says she was "incredibly proud" of the way Mr Palmer had "readjusted to a very very normal life" before his death.

His son James said his father was "never serious about anything", and the pair used to spend "quality time" together.

Laura Devlin
BBC News

There are rumours Jon "Goldfinger" Palmer was a police informant at the time of his death, but Essex Police refused to comment ahead of an appeal on BBC Crimewatch this evening.

Officers said the crime scene had been "professionally" stripped of evidence. No shots were heard in the house and his body laid undiscovered until it was found by his son's girlfriend an hour later.

Image source, BBC Crimewatch

His son James Ketley (pictured) who was in the house at the time, told BBC Crimewatch: "There was never a day that went past that I spent with him where he wasn't laughing or joking around. 

"He was never serious about anything. The time I did spend with him was quality time."

Laura Devlin
BBC News

A man was spotted near the house in South Weald at 17:50 on 24 June - 20 minutes after Mr Palmer was found dead.

Detectives are also looking to trace two or three men seen digging a hole in the woodland surrounding his home at about 11:50 on 23 June. 

Crimewatch is on BBC One tonight at 21:00.

Laura Devlin
BBC News

Police will appeal for information on the murder of John 'Goldfinger' Palmer on Crimewatch this evening.

Det Ch Insp Stephen Jennings from Essex Police said the force was following two "very significant main lines of inquiry at the moment", including that Mr Palmer was due to stand trial in mainland Spain relating to accusations of real estate fraud.

"The second is a combination of factors throughout 2015 which included a number of significant crimes in the UK, significant law enforcement intervention into organised crime in the UK and significant arrests of people in organised crime groups."  

BBC Essex

• Brought up in Olton, near Birmingham, Palmer was a serial truant who left school unable to read or write
• But he made his fortune by going into the gold and jewellery business with a friend
• He was arrested for his alleged role in helping smelt gold stolen from a warehouse at Heathrow in 1983 - hence his nickname - but was cleared of any wrongdoing

• Palmer's most lucrative enterprise was a timeshare scam based in Tenerife, in which he conned at least 16,000 victims until was jailed for eight years in 2001
• A year later, he was ordered to hand over £35m, but the ruling was overturned on a technicality
• In 2005, he was declared bankrupt with debts of £3.9m, despite a reputed wealth of £300m  
• He was due to stand trial on these charges at the time of his death

Laura Devlin
BBC News

Police say convicted fraudster John Palmer, who was shot dead at his home near Brentwood last June,   managed to walk a short distance towards his house before collapsing.

Officers found CCTV footage of him using a vehicle to transfer rubbish to another area in the garden - not covered by cameras - where the killer ambushed him.

Image source, PA

It was initially thought Palmer had suffered a cardiac arrest after recent surgery - it took a week for a post-mortem examination to reveal he had been shot.

Laura Devlin
BBC News

The shooting of a notorious criminal in his garden "bears all the hallmarks of a professional hit", police have said.

Image source, PA

John "Goldfinger" Palmer, 65, who allegedly amassed a huge fortune in a time-share scam, was shot six times in the chest at his home in South Weald in June. 

Speaking ahead of a BBC Crimewatch appeal, officers said they believe his killer climbed over a fence and shot Palmer in an area not covered by CCTV. 

Charlie Jones
BBC Local Live

Good morning - hope you're well this morning. 

For the first few hours, we're going to bring you all the latest developments on the John "Goldfinger" Palmer case, which police say was a "professional hit".

Feel free to get in touch at any time, you can email, tweet, external, or visit our Facebook page, external.