SENSATIONAL
BY ANDY LINES & AMY-CLARE MARTIN POLICE knocked on the door of the Jeremy Thorpe “hitman” yesterday – after it was dramatically revealed that he is still alive.
Detectives had apparently believed Andrew “Gino” Newton, 71, died years ago. But in a sensational development, which is likely to reignite one of Britain’s biggest ever political scandals, Newton has now been found living under an assumed name in Surrey.
Police want to quiz him over claims he hired old school friend Dennis Meighan to kill Liberal leader Thorpe’s gay ex-lover Norman Scott in 1975.
When the pal changed his mind, Newton stepped in. He shot Scott’s great dane Rinka on Exmoor.
He was convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger Norman Scott’s life and jailed for two years.
In 1979, Thorpe and three other men stood trial but were cleared of conspiracy to kill Scott.
But in 2014, Meighan, now 71, told a newspaper he had been offered £13,500 – equal to £140,000 today – by Newton and a “representative” of Thorpe to get rid of the male model.
He said they believed Scott was threatening to publicly reveal details of their affair, at a time when homosexuality was still illegal. Meighan says he confessed to the police, mentioning Thorpe.
But he insisted detectives cleared him and prepared a statement for him to sign which didn’t mention Thorpe.
Meighan now faces possible prosecution for conspiring to murder Scott.
The breakthrough has stunned Scott, who said: “I always thought justice would prevail in the end.
“Even now I still believe justice will finally be done.”
Yesterday at 2.15pm a plain-clothed detective from Gwent Police, the force leading the inquiry, and a uniformed Surrey officer knocked on ■■In February, Margaret Thatcher became the leader of the Conservative party after beating Edward Heath in a ballot. ■■Monty Python and the Holy Grail was released. ■■Pint of beer cost 15p. ■■Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe
POWER Thatcher beat Heath started his horrific killing campaign, murdering Wilma McCann. ■■Formula One racing ace Graham Hill died in a plane crash. ■■Footballer David Beckham was born on May 2. ■■The Spaghetti House siege took place in London with nine people taken hostage. ■■Average weekly wage was £32 and the average house price was £11,787. ■■Loaf of bread cost 9p. the door of the detached home in Dorking, where Newton has been staying. They left after no one answered the door. Last week viewers of the three-part TV drama A Very English Scandal saw Blake Harrison, playing Newton, try to kill Scott, played by Ben Whishaw. Gwent Police re-opened JUSTICE Scott in April