Assassins hold key to greatest political cover-up of 20th Century
THEY were two school friends from West London: one a former airline pilot, the other a petty crook with a ‘hard man’ reputation.
Andrew Newton and Dennis Meighan hold the key to the cover- up of the most sensational political scandal in a generation – and yet it is they, rather than the British Establishment, now facing investigation.
Both men were allegedly hired to kill Norman Scott – Jeremy Thorpe’s former lover – more than 30 years ago. Out of the blue, Newton contacted his old pal in 1975. Meighan recalls that Newton asked if he could supply him with a gun. ‘He knew I had a collection of antique firearms and knew I could get hold of a working gun.’
They arranged to meet at an Italian restaurant in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, and Newton brought along a man who ‘introduced himself as a representative of Jeremy Thorpe’.
Meighan said: ‘They spoke about Scott, said he was a horrible piece of work, and how he was squealing and being a nuisance and had to be silenced.
‘I didn’t believe it at first, but eventually they convinced me. They wanted me to get rid of him and offered me £13,500.
‘That was a lot of money then and I agreed. I don’t know why I said yes and I really don’t know if I’d have gone through with it.’
At the time Meighan was in his late 20s. He said: ‘I got in fights and did a bit of thieving, but nothing heavy. I’d never killed anyone before.’
A few days later he went to the pub where Scott was living near Barnstaple, Devon. ‘I went to have a look more than anything, but the gun was in the car. As soon as I opened my mouth and everyone heard my London accent they turned and looked at me. Scott had been saying London gangsters were after him. I knew then I wouldn’t be able to get away with it so I drove back to London.
‘I told Newton I was pulling out and he panicked because he was going to have to do it himself.’
On October 23, 1975, Newton lured Scott out to Exmoor by pretending to be a minder hired to protect him from a hitman. After shooting Scott’s dog Rinka, Newton then allegedly tried to shoot Scott, only for the gun to jam. ‘Newton was arrested and I was visited by three policemen – at least that’s what they said they were,’ said Meighan.
‘They knew about me from Newton so I admitted it all in a statement, mentioning Jeremy Thorpe and how I was hired by his representative. I thought they’d nick me, but they just said they’d be in touch.
‘Then I got a call saying I needed to go to Brentford police station where I would be given an envelope containing a statement. He said if I liked it I should sign it and go. I couldn’t believe it.’
The false statement, half as long as his original confession, exonerated Meighan – and this time made no mention of Thorpe.
Yesterday Meighan said of the BBC dramatisation of the scandal: ‘It is a load of cobblers. They make Andrew out to be an idiot. He wasn’t an idiot, he was just greedy. He is a clever boy, actually.
‘The last time I saw him was a few years ago when I popped down to Chiswick where he was living. He was building a plane in his house. He was a bit odd and had been brought up on his own by an Italian mum – he wasn’t like the rest of the boys.’
‘The case just won’t stop haunting me’
After the Thorpe trial, Newton melted away – but resurfaced in 1994 when he was caught up in another court hearing. This time an inquest into the death of his then girlfriend in a mysterious Swiss climbing accident. Newton was alone on the Eiger with Caroline Mayorcas when she fell to her death. Police ruled out foul play, however.
With the announcement that Gwent Police are now reopening their investigation into the conspiracy to murder Norman Scott, Newton and Meighan must revisit a chapter of their lives they thought had long been buried.
‘It has caused me so much grief,’ said Meighan. ‘And it won’t stop haunting me.’