John 'Goldfinger' Palmer: New leads in murder inquiry

John "Goldfinger" Palmer was shot six times in his garden

New leads are being investigated into the "professional" killing of a notorious conman after his family put up a £100,000 reward.

John "Goldfinger" Palmer, 65, was shot six times outside his Essex home in 2015 in what police said had "all the hallmarks" of a professional hit.

The initial £50,000 reward was doubled to coincide with the anniversary of his death in June.

Officers say they have received "a number of calls" since the appeal.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said: "Mr Palmer's family, with the support of Crimestoppers, offered a reward of up to £100,000 for information leading to arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for Mr Palmer's murder.

"Since our appeal we have received a number of calls with information which have instigated further lines of inquiry."

John "Goldfinger" Palmer: A life of crime

• Born near Birmingham, his nickname derives from his connection to the 1983 £25m Brink's-Mat gold bullion robbery at Heathrow Airport. He was acquitted, but his associate Kenneth Noye was convicted

• Palmer was jailed in the UK for eight years in 2001 for a £20m Spanish timeshare fraud involving 16,000 victims. He served half his sentence and a confiscation order for £33m was overturned at the Court of Appeal

• In 2005, he was declared bankrupt with debts of £3.9m, despite a reputed wealth of £300m

• Two years later, he was arrested by Spanish police and charged with fraud, firearm possession and money laundering

• He was due to stand trial on these charges at the time of his death

It was first thought Palmer had died of natural causes after being shot at his home on Sandpits Lane in South Weald near Brentwood.

A week later, a post-mortem examination found he had been shot in the chest six times.

Despite an arrest being made, no-one has ever been charged over his death.

Detectives believe Mr Palmer's killer may have used this hole in the fence to spy on his movements in the days before his death

Christina Ketley said her partner John Palmer had "without doubt made mistakes in his life", but had led a "normal" life prior to his death

Earlier this year, police said Palmer may have been watched by his killer through a spyhole in a fence before his death.

In June, his partner Christina Ketley said: "It haunts us every day to think that whoever was responsible was clearly watching John, stalking him like an animal before brutally and callously ending his life."

At the time of his death, he was due to stand trial in Spain on charges of fraud, possession of a firearm and money-laundering.

Police found five of the bullets used to kill Palmer. A ballistics expert said the killer used a .32 calibre silenced revolver