Police leave empty-handed after visit to home of 'hitman' they wrongly thought was dead

This 1967 file photo shows then Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe. Police say they will reopen an investigation into one of Britain's most notorious scandals. Photo / AP file

British police officers today visited the home of the man who allegedly attempted to murder the gay lover of Jeremy Thorpe, a former Liberal party leader, and who was until recently assumed to be dead.

One detective in plain-clothes and one uniformed officer from Gwent police arrived at the semi-detached house in Dorking, Surrey, which is believed to be occupied by Andrew Newton, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The men arrived in a Surrey Police car, knocked on the door where Newton - who is thought to have been using the alias Hann Redwin - has been staying with his partner, then left after appearing to receive no response.

The appearance of police officers from South Wales in the quiet suburb followed fresh claims that 'Redwin' is the man who in 1975 was hired on behalf of Thorpe to assassinate his ex-boyfriend, Norman Scott.

Newton, a former airline pilot, was claimed to have agreed to shoot the former stable boy, whom Thorpe befriended in the 1960, when homosexuality was illegal, at a meeting in a west London cafe attended by Dennis Meighan and David Holmes, a close friend of old-Etonian Thorpe.

Meighan, himself a small-time firearms dealer, later claimed to have given a full account of the conspiracy, including the £13,500 (equivalent to £140,000 today) Newton was allegedly promised in return for carrying out the killing, to Scotland Yard in 1978.

In the statement, which despite subsequent efforts to retrieve it has never been found, Meighan said Newton was given a converted Mauser pistol, which he used to shoot Scott's Great Dane Rinka before allegedly turning the weapon on her owner.

Allegedly, the gun jammed, allowing Scott to escape.

Two years after Meighan's 2014 'confession', Gwent Police launched Operation Velum to investigate his claims.

In 1979, #BBCPanorama reporter Tom Mangold investigated the alleged conspiracy to kill Jeremy Thorpe's former lover Norman Scott.

A special programme that was scrapped when all defendants were found not guilty is now being seen for the first time in 40 years on @BBCFour. pic.twitter.com/JTkeY6qBXm

— Panorama 🌐 (@BBCPanorama) June 1, 2018

However the probe was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2017, after information supplied by the force suggested a number of key witnesses - Newton included - had passed away.

The discovery that Newton, now 71, has been living a double life in Surrey reopens old wounds - not least for Norman Scott, still alive and still demanding to know why neither Meighan or Newton were ever brought to justice.

It has also led officers from Gwent to reopen Operation Velum, although a spokesman for the force was not available for comment.

Neighbours of Newton's partner, a retired nurse, spoke of their dismay and shock at the discovery, and insisted: "He seemed normal to me. Just that, normal."

A second neighbour said Newton's partner, "the sweetest, loveliest person or neighbour you could ask for", had lived at the house for some years, and that he had started to visit her within the last two years.

How much of the new Thorpe drama is true? Researching this, even though already very familiar with the tale, I spent most of my time with my jaw on the desk. As I do every time I encounter the story.https://t.co/MZjn5M5EVO

— Daniel Finkelstein (@Dannythefink) May 28, 2018

Hugh Grant's transformation into 1960s politician Jeremy Thorpe is incredible. #AVES pic.twitter.com/a8jfy4xIBT

— BBC One (@BBCOne) May 30, 2018

EARLIER #JeremyThorpe And Private Eye: virulent homophobia, obsessive pursuit and a bizarre perfume advert .. THOSE WERE THE DAYS https://t.co/O9MicMvk61 pic.twitter.com/diEN2JtbAL

— Tim Fenton (@zelo_street) June 3, 2018