Stephen Port murders: Families of victims receive Met payouts

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

The families of four men murdered by serial killer and rapist Stephen Port say they have been "caught off guard" by the Met Police announcing it has settled payouts with some of them.

Port murdered Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor between 2014-15 in east London.

The killings were not seen by police as suspicious until after the final death.

An inquest jury found a "large number of very serious and very basic investigative failings" by police.

A lawyer representing the families has said throughout the case that they believed the police's actions were "driven by homophobia" and also previously said the Met had "blood on their hands".

Port, 47, was found guilty of the murders and a string of sex assaults against other men in 2016, and is serving whole-life jail term.

On Monday, the Met announced it had settled civil claims with the relatives of Mr Walgate and Mr Kovari, as well as Mr Whitworth's partner.

The relatives of Mr Taylor and Mr Whitworth have yet to settle.

A force spokesperson said: "We have previously apologised to the families for the police failings in this matter and understand the impact these have had and the distress caused. We apologise again now. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the families as always."

'Met's insensitivity'

A spokeswoman for Hudgell Solicitors, representing the families, said: "No permission was sought from either family about making the settlements public, and there remain two families still to settle.

"We perhaps shouldn't be surprised by the Met's insensitivity to these families, but we would have expected far better."

• Stephen Port police failings led to further deaths

• Met failings and the lives of four men

• Death classifications reformed after serial murders

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is reinvestigating the Met over the way it initially handled the deaths of the four men.

The watchdog has previously said new information heard at the inquest last year had found "material flaws" in its own first inquiry into the Met, and so it had decided to re-open its investigation with a new team in place.

In January, a coroner's report on the deaths of Port's victims also said there was a "lack of professional curiosity" about the cases.

Port is serving a whole-life term for the four murders

The report, by Sarah Munro QC, also expressed concern over how deaths were classified as "unexplained" rather than suspicious.

An inquest jury in December found officers in Barking, east London, missed repeated opportunities to catch Port after he plied his first victim, Mr Walgate, with a fatal dose of the date-rape drug GHB and dumped his body.

Port murdered three more times before he was caught, killing each victim in near-identical circumstances, with police failing to link him to the deaths despite detective work carried out by the victims' family and friends that would lead to the culprit.

He killed his final victim, Jack Taylor, after being released early from prison.

Families of the four men believed that homophobia played a part in the failings but officers had denied accusations of prejudice and homophobia, blaming mistakes on being understaffed and lacking resources.

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