Stalker, top policeman turned TV pundit, dies

JOHN Stalker, the police chief at the heart of one of the most incendiary inquiries during the Northern Ireland Troubles, has died at the age of 79.

Mr Stalker was the deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester Police when he was brought in to investigate the shooting of six suspected IRA members, allegedly by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

But, in a hugely controversial move, he was taken off the case in 1986 at the moment he believed he was about to obtain an MI5 tape of one of the killings.

Mr Stalker, pictured, who was suspended over allegations of associating with criminals, was later cleared of any wrongdoing and reinstated to his job in Manchester. But his Ulster report was never published. Born in Manchester, he began his career in the city on the beat but he quickly rose through the ranks. As a junior detective, one of his roles included developing the photographs and listening to the notorious tape recording made by Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley as ten-year-old Lesley Ann Downey begged for her life as she was sexually tortured and murdered.

Mr Stalker, who was then a detective sergeant, said later: ‘Nothing in criminal behaviour before or since has penetrated my heart with quite the same paralysing intensity.’

At one time the youngest CID chief in Britain, Mr Stalker was an old school detective greatly admired by colleagues, feared by criminals and respected by the public as a dedicated police officer.

After his retirement in 1987, he carved out a career in the media as an expert on policing, appeared on crime-related TV shows, including Crimestalker, and wrote his autobiography. He also appeared in several TV adverts.

His death was announced yesterday by his family. His eldest daughter, Colette Cartwright, said: ‘We, as a family, will always be immensely proud of his accomplishments.’

Mr Stalker also held posts within the Serious Crime Squad and the Bomb Squad. He married his wife Stella in 1961. He is survived by his two daughters, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.