The son of kidnapped and murdered Muriel McKay has accused the Metropolitan Police of obstructing his efforts to search for her remains in a former East London shop linked to the Kray twins.
Muriel, who was married to newspaper executive Alick McKay, was kidnapped on 29 December 1969 in a £1million ransom plot. She was mistakenly targeted by brothers Nizamodeen and Arthur Hosein, who demanded the ransom believing she was Rupert Murdoch’s wife, Anna. Muriel was never seen again. The Hosein brothers were jailed for life in 1970 for kidnap and murder but refused to disclose her whereabouts.
Deathbed Revelation Leads to Search
Family members of tailor Percy Chaplin revealed that he allegedly suspected, on his deathbed, that Muriel had been buried in the yard of his former shop in Bethnal Green.
Ian McKay, 55, claims the Metropolitan Police have told the property’s current owners that the information is “flimsy and should not be taken seriously.” In a video statement, he said:
“Publicly the police say they are not involved, yet privately they undermine our efforts at every turn.”
He added that a search could “highlight the ineptitude of the current Metropolitan Police kidnap department in solving a 56-year-old crime.”
High Court Refuses Search Permission
Ian McKay and his sister, Dianne Levinson, had sought permission from the High Court to carry out a ground-penetrating radar survey of the shared backyard. However, Mr Justice Richard Smith last month refused the injunction bid, effectively blocking the proposed search.
The case has reignited interest in one of Britain’s most infamous unsolved kidnappings and continues to fuel questions about the handling of historic investigations by law enforcement.
