Stephen Port: Murdered man's friend told police who killed him

Anthony Walgate, pictured with his friend China Dunning

A friend of the first victim of the serial killer Stephen Port told the police she knew he was responsible, an inquest has heard.

China Dunning, who went to college with Anthony Walgate, said: "I was convinced it was the actions of Stephen Port, who I knew at the time as Joe Dean."

Mr Walgate was found outside Port's flat in Barking, dead from an overdose of the "date rape" drug GHB.

Port went on to kill a further three young men.

Ms Dunning told the inquest at Barking Town Hall that she raised her concerns with police but felt that because Mr Walgate was young, gay and sometimes worked as an escort, officers might not be convinced.

"I think they probably assume 'Yeah, he takes drugs as well'. I just wanted to convince them that they shouldn't hold that stereotype. That wasn't what his character was."

Mr Walgate was found dead by medics outside Stephen Port's flat in Cooke Street

She said that nine months after Anthony's death she went to Snaresbrook Crown Court to see Stephen Port being sentenced for lying to the police.

"I knew this person was responsible for my friend's death and I wanted to see who it was and what was going to happen."

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Ms Dunning told the jury she met Det Sgt Martin O'Donnell - one of the officers in charge of investigating the death - and told him Stephen Port's account of what happened was still untrue and that police needed to look at Port's computer.

She said that Det Sgt O'Donnell told her there were only two people who knew what happened that night and that it was a long and expensive process to seize and analyse a computer.

She alleges he told her: "You need to let it go. You are not going to find out".

The jury has already heard that by this time the police had had Stephen Port's computer for nearly a year - and they could have seen Stephen Port's browser history, including searches for raping and drugging boys.

After killing Mr Walgate, Port went on to kill Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth, and Jack Taylor.

Following a trial at the Old Bailey in 2016, Port was found guilty of all four murders and sentenced to a whole-life term.

The inquest at Barking Town Hall is examining whether police mistakes cost the lives of some of the victims by failing to stop Port sooner.