Free Gangland UK: The Inside Story of Britain's Most Evil Gangsters by Christopher Berry-Dee Page A

company, which demanded the return of its money – today believe that the gluing-up of the night safe, and the attack on Rees, was a sham.
    For his part, although he alleges he was a victim, Rees agreed to repay the money on the proviso that it came from the Southern Investigations company account. Morgan smelled a rat. He refused the offer, arguing, diplomatically, that the loss had been down to Rees alone.
    Rees was now in a fix. Desperate to take control of the company and its finances, he tried on several occasions to have Morgan arrested for drink-driving, knowing that if he lost his licence he would have to give up working at the agency, but to no avail.
    At the inquest, Kevin Lennon, the company’s bookkeeper, stated that Rees told him, ‘I’ve got the perfect solution for Daniel’s murder. My mates at Catford [CID] are going to arrange it… when he is gone, Sid Fillery will replace him.’ Fillery was, at that time, a serving DS, and a ‘friend’ of Kenny Noye.
    In the hours following Morgan’s death, a murder inquiry was launched, headed by DS Douglas Campbell. One of the lead detectives assigned to the case was none other than DS Fillery.
    In 2004, Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, told the House of Commons that a full judicial inquiry was ‘the only way of obtaining a fresh and independent scrutiny of the murder and the circumstances in which successive investigations into it have come to nothing’.
    Roger Williams told the House of Commons, ‘Not only was Sid Fillery among the officers, but he played a key role in the initial murder inquiry during the first four so-called ‘golden’ days before he was required to withdraw from the murder squad for reasons of personal involvement with the primary suspect, Jonathan Rees. During those four days, Fillery was given the opportunity to manage the first interview under caution with Rees, and to take possession of key incriminating files from the premises of Southern Investigations Ltd, including Daniel’s diary, which has never since been found.’
    Rees, Fillery and two other police officers were subsequently arrested in connection with the murder, but no charges were ever brought. Fillery went on to take up joint ownership of Southern Investigations Ltd.
• George Francis
    Francis was the ninth man linked to the Brinks Mat gold bullion heist to be murdered. He had survived a previous attempt on his life when he was shot at in a pub he owned in Kent in 1985. 18 years later, he was executed by a hooded gunman at 5.00am on 14 May 2003.
    A career criminal, the 63-year-old, who had homes in Beckenham and Kent, was shot four times in the face, back, arm and finger as he opened his business in Lynton Road, Bermondsey. He was at the gates of his haulage company Signed, Sealed & Delivered, and was gunned down as he leant into his car to get a newspaper. His body was found slumped in the front seat with his legs hanging out of the front passenger door.
    Francis was killed after he tried to collect a £ 70,000 debt from a business contact. After the shooting, it wasfound that a CCTV camera at the yard had been repositioned so that it did not capture any footage of Francis’s death.
    54-year-old Terence Conaghan from Glasgow, and John O’Fynn, 53, from Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, were found guilty of murder. Harold Richardson, aged 59, of Towncourt Lane, Petts Wood, was found not guilty.
    Francis, who had served a jail term in 1997, knew Richardson through a number of business deals. Richardson, in turn, knew O’Flynn in the same way, while O’Flynn had known Conaghan for a number of years.
    A cigarette butt was found in a drain at the scene of the shooting. DNA linked it to O’Flynn. A pair of glasses were found on the ground, which were later found to have a one-in-a-billion DNA link to Terence Conaghan. A 9mm Luger bullet, of the same type used to kill Francis, was also found near the building. CCTV images also captured Conaghan trying to shift the