The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Rikki Neave suspect held in Portugal
Detectives are expected to fly out to Portugal in the next few days following the arrest there of a man suspected of the murder of Peterborough schoolboy Rikki Neave.
James Watson (35) was arrested in Lisbon on suspicion of breaching his licence.
The man arrested on suspicion of murdering schoolboy Rikki Neave has been apprehended in Portugal.
James Watson, (35), was arrested under a European Arrest Warrant by local officers in Lisbon at around lunch time on Tuesday on suspicion of breaching his licence.
Watson was first arrest- ed in April over the unsolved murder of Rikki Neave in1 994.
Thesix-year-old schoolboy was found strangled to death on the same Welland estate in Peterborough, where Watson grew up.
Watson, a father-of-one, has remained on bail since his arrest and was living in a hostel until he fled the country with a friend in a campervan last month.
He has posted a number of pictures of himself in Portugal in the last couple of weeks.
It is believed Watson and the friend had fallen out and he has been alone, desperately trying to find a way home.
He said: “I am NOT on THE RUN and I AM coming back.
“I didn’t run. Let’s make that clear.
“It just so happens that at the same time that I am doing this (travelling around Europe) happens to be while I am on bail.
“I always intended to come back for bail.
“Thepolice, probation and MAPPA (Multi-agency public protection arrangements) know this.”
Watson, of Peterborough, is due to answer police bail on September 20.
The arrest follows ongoing work with officers from the Major Crime Unit, national authorities and authorities in Portugal.
Watson will remain in custody in Portugal while ex tradition proceedings begin.
Officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit are expected to travel out to Portugal in the coming days.