Stephen Port: Inquests 'key step' for victims' families

Stephen Port's victims (L-R): Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor

Inquests into the deaths of the victims of serial killer Stephen Port will be a key step in their families' "quest for accountability", their lawyer has said.

Between June 2014 and September 2015, Port murdered Anthony Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Jack Taylor, 25.

In 2016, he was jailed for life after he was convicted of giving lethal doses of date rape drug GHB.

The Met Police has apologised for how it initially responded to the deaths.

The inquests will open later at Barking Town Hall, just yards from where the victims were given fatal overdoses.

Port met his victims online, including through the dating app Grindr, before luring them to his flat where they were drugged and raped.

The first victim, Anthony Walgate, was found outside Port's flat and the other three either in or next to a nearby churchyard.

Port, from Barking in east London, was sentenced to a full life term in November 2016

The families' lawyer Neil Hudgell said: "Their families have felt every single day of their absence. They have waited with great patience and conducted themselves with real dignity.

"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."

Following the court case, the Met Police offered an apology to the victims' families and highlighted changes the force had made, which included a written protocol for minimum standards of investigation for unexplained deaths.

It said the force had also given extra training to officers on how drugs could be used as a weapon by offenders to facilitate rape and sexual assault, as well as on issues that impact on the confidence of LGBT+ communities.

'Full examination'

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."

Mr Savell added: "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."