Murder on the Common: The Secret Story of the Murder That Shocked a Nation (Blake's True Crime Library)

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The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. The Guardian has established that the CIB investigation into Keith Pedder was problematic in two key aspects. As another reviewer has mentioned, it's highly insightful to see where they went wrong and how emotion, coupled with the old "policeman's hunch", led to the destruction of Colin Stagg's life.

The jury would also have heard allegations of corruption concerning two of the principal prosecution witnesses, who are themselves under investigation by CIB for alleged corruption. These cases of undercover officers having emotional, physical relationships and children with their targets simply can’t be repeated.

The book also describes Paul Britton's (Britains leading offender profiler) involvement in the case. That’s part of the reason I wanted this drama to be made, as well for people to know about everything that happened to me. He lived on a housing estate near where Rachel was killed and came to police attention when neighbours put his name forward after a Crimewatch appeal.

Mr Pedder claims that Detective Superintendent Brian Tomkins asked him if he was writing a book about the Nickell case and said that if he was he could lose his pension for contravening the official secrets act. Known in the Met for speaking his mind, Mr Pedder said: "There must be great concern at New Scotland Yard with regard to what I may have written. In February 1998 Mr Pedder started working as a private investigator for an Iranian businessman living in London.DC Blackman was instructed by CIB to insist on a meeting with Mr Pedder and told to pass him the microfiche. The Guardian has also established that DCI Brian Battye, one of the senior investigating officers in the Pedder case, is under investigation by CIB. Keith Pedder reveals information that has hitherto been withheld, and prints letters from the police involved in the operation to the chief suspect. The Nickell investigation was struggling with the backlog of information and missed two key messages from one source which should have led to the immediate identification of a prime suspect.