Jeremy Thorpe scandal: Police had no proof of suspect death

No police officer re-examining the case of the suspected hit man in the Jeremy Thorpe scandal saw confirmation he was dead, despite thinking he was.

Gwent Police mistakenly thought Andrew Newton was dead for almost three years, but never saw a death certificate.

He allegedly tried to shoot Norman Scott, the former lover of ex-Liberal leader Mr Thorpe, on Exmoor in 1975.

Gwent Police referred to a statement from June, saying it had "reasonable grounds" to think he was dead.

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Responding to a freedom of information (FOI) request by BBC Wales, the force said officers thought Mr Newton was dead as "this information was documented in the original handover between Avon and Somerset and Gwent Police... supported by some supplementary intelligence checks".

Despite these checks, no officer saw a death certificate to prove this.

Gwent Police did not respond to questions asking them to elaborate on what information led them to believe Mr Newton was dead.

A spokesman for the force said: "Avon and Somerset Police supplied all relevant material to Gwent Police to assist them with the review."

What was the Jeremy Thorpe scandal?

• Jeremy Thorpe was the MP for North Devon for 20 years and leader of the Liberal Party between 1967-76. He died in 2014

• He was offered a cabinet post after the February 1974 election by then-Prime Minister Edward Heath

• In late 1960 or early 1961 he met Norman Scott, who worked for one of Mr Thorpe's friends in Oxfordshire. Mr Scott said the two were lovers, at a time when homosexuality was illegal

• Mr Scott spent years attempting to reveal the pair's relationship to the public, then claimed Mr Thorpe conspired with colleagues to have him killed

• In 1975, Andrew Newton shot Mr Scott's Great Dane, Rinka, on a rural road in Exmoor, but failed to kill Mr Scott after his gun jammed

• Newspapers began reporting Mr Scott's claims after he spoke about the relationship in court, meaning they were protected from libel laws

• Mr Thorpe resigned as leader of the Liberal Party in 1976 over the reports, but denied Mr Scott's allegations. He lost his seat in 1979

• Mr Thorpe, along with three co-defendants, stood trial. Ex-Liberal MP Peter Bessell, and the failed assassin Newton, gave details of the alleged plot. A jury acquitted all four in 1979

Officers thought Mr Newton, who also goes by the name Hann Redwin, was dead from September 2015 until May 2018 when "refreshed intelligence checks" identified a new line of inquiry but, again, did not respond to questions asking what these were.

Avon and Somerset Police investigated the original case but, in 2015, asked Gwent Police to look into claims of police corruption made by Dennis Meighan.

He claimed he was originally approached to carry out the murder, but said his police statement was doctored to remove incriminating references to the Liberal Party and Mr Thorpe.

Having found out he was actually alive, Mr Redwin spoke to Gwent Police on 4 June, but was "unable to provide any additional evidence to that which has already been obtained in the original enquiry".

As a result, the investigation into the alleged attempted murder of Mr Scott remains closed.

Norman Scott's dog Rinka was shot dead on Exmoor in 1975

Speaking in a BBC Four documentary earlier this year, Mr Scott, 78, said he thought police were continuing a "cover-up".

He added: "I just don't think anyone's tried hard enough to look for him. I really don't. There must be people who knew him and there would surely be a record of him dying."

Following the BBC's revelations, the Mail on Sunday said it tracked down Mr Newton in Surrey.