Is Moors Murderer Brady’s last dark secret about to be revealed?
Priti’s new law could let police open sealed briefcases in hunt for clues leading to Keith Bennett’s body
PRITI Patel will change the law in an attempt to unlock the final secrets of Moors Murderer Ian Brady, the Mail reveals today.
The Home Secretary is to bring in legislation which will force the serial killer’s solicitor to give police access to personal paperwork for the first time.
Detectives have been refused permission to examine the documents contained in two combination-locked briefcases left by the Scot after his death in 2017.
They may contain details which could lead detectives to the body of Keith Bennett, the 12-year-old murdered by sadistic Brady and his lover Myra Hindley in 1964.
Police currently have no powers to obtain access to the Samsonite briefcases which are held in secure storage by Glasgow-born Brady’s solicitor and executor of his will, Robin Makin.
But the forthcoming Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will introduce measures allowing detectives to obtain a
‘The power and desire to change things’
warrant for material that could disclose the location of a murder victim’s remains.
The briefcases are particularly significant because the original 1965 police investigation discovered Brady had stashed sick mementoes of his crimes – including paedophile material of the youngest victim – in suitcases deposited at a Manchester railway station’s left luggage office.
Miss Patel met Keith’s younger brother Alan, now 64, this week to discuss the plans. He has long believed Brady’s paperwork may contain clues about where his brother was buried on Saddleworth Moor.
‘Keith’s story will be known to many, but what may not be known is the struggle which our family has gone through to try to seek closure,’ said Mr Bennett last night.
‘The Bill is large and wide ranging and will change the laws in a major way regarding police investigations.
‘The Home Secretary and her team were very complimentary towards me regarding all I have done in the past and the battles we as a family have faced over so many years. It was nice, on personal level, to hear that directly from someone with the power and the desire to change things.’
He added that he hoped there would be no ‘cold-hearted opposition’ to the legal changes.
The day after Brady’s death a district judge refused to grant police a search warrant to open the cases on the grounds that there was no prospect of an investigation leading to a prosecution.
The new Bill will allow a warrant to be granted if there is a chance it could lead to the detection of human remains outside of criminal proceedings. A Home Office source said the move would close a ‘legislative gap’.
‘One can only imagine the years of pain and turmoil that the Bennett family have faced,’ the source said. ‘Priti is determined to give police the powers they need to access all available evidence and hopefully bring some closure to families in cases like these.’
The new law appears to be tailored to the remarkable circumstances of the Brady briefcases. However, it could assist in other cases.
Brady and Hindley were convicted of three child murders in 1966 and, in 1987, admitted to killing Keith and Pauline Reade, 16. Her remains were found two years later but Keith’s body has never been recovered.
Keith’s mother Winnie Johnson but died in 2012 at 78 without getting the peace she craved.
The Bill is due to be published within weeks.
Mr Makin did not respond to requests for comment last night.