daniel whitworth and ricky waumsley were an ordinary couple, but when daniel was murdered by the serialfused to class his partner as next of kin. we'd been in a relationship for four years. we'd been living together for three. he says it was because they were gay. police have admitted ricky's treatment was wrong. i felt like i was being put to one side and i felt like they were being homophobic towards me. if it was a straight woman who had been found dead and that was my partner, i think i would have been treated very, very differently. a fake suicide note falsely linked daniel to another victim, gabriel kovari. it stated daniel had killed gabriel, but had really been written by their murderer, stephen port. but police wouldn't show ricky the note, meaning he couldn't say what he thought of it, and they ignored an alibi he gave daniel. ijust assumed that being the police they would look into all of this, because that's their job. a friend of gabriel kovari, second to be killed, was ignored by police when he linked the deaths and warned of the threat to gay men. john pape says the port

first, gabriel kovari, and then daniel whitworth.e. detectives just accepted that, when simple checks would have shown that the two had never met. in march 2015, port was jailed for lying to police about moving the first victim's body. for now, the killings stopped. but so did any further investigations. and in september 2015, three months after stephen port was released from prison, the body of jack taylor was found. cctv showed him walking with a stranger, but his sisters had to beg officers to use the pictures in a public appeal. we asked and we were told no. we asked again, we were told no. and then eventually, they listened to us and they did put it out. the sisters' handwritten notes from the time show they had spotted many of the key suspicious factors linking the deaths that the police had missed. they told me they want the incompetent officers involved to be sacked. i don't think they should be in the position any more, i don't think they should theirjob. our whole world tipped upside down, but they get promoted. they get to

first gabriel kovari and then daniel whitworth.taken gabriel's life. detectives just accepted that when simple checks would have shown that the two had never met. in march 2015, stephen port was jailed for lying to police about moving the first victim's body. for now, the killing stopped, but so did any further investigations, and in september 20 15, three months after stephen port was released from prison, body of jack taylor was found. cctv showed him walking with a stranger, but his sisters had to beg officers to use the pictures in a public appeal. we were asked a member told no, we asked _ were asked a member told no, we asked again — were asked a member told no, we asked again and _ were asked a member told no, we asked again and we _ were asked a member told no, we asked again and we were - were asked a member told no, we asked again and we were told i were asked a member told no, we asked again and we were told no, | were asked a member told no, we i asked again and we were told no, and then eventually— asked again and we w

first, gabriel kovari, and then daniel whitworth.he also said he'd taken gabriel's life. detectives just accepted that, when simple checks would have shown that the two had never met. in march 2015, port was jailed for lying to police about moving the first victim's body. for now, the killings stopped. but so did any further investigations. and in september 2015, three months after stephen port was released from prison, the body of jack taylor was found. cctv showed him walking with a stranger, but his sisters had to beg officers to use the pictures in a public appeal. we asked and we were told no. we asked again, we were told no. and then eventually, they listened to us and they did put it out. the sisters' handwritten notes from the time show they had spotted many of the key suspicious factors linking the deaths that the police had missed. they told me they want the incompetent officers involved to be sacked. i don't think they should be in the position any more, i don't think they should theirjob. our whole world tipped upside dow

fashion student anthony walgate from hull, gabriel kovari from slovakia, young chef daniel whitworthkent and forklift driverjack taylor from dagenham. all murdered with the date rape drug ghb. but the police could have stopped the killing. the men's bodies had all been discovered in the same small area of barking in east london over a period of less than a year and a quarter. but detectives simply didn'tjoin the dots. they didn't investigate. they didn't do the smallest of things that you would expect a police officer to do. they didn't do theirjob, as simple as that. it all began injune 2014 when 23—year—old anthony walgate was found dead outside stephen port�*s flat in barking. it was port who had called the ambulance, and almost immediately the police errors started mounting up. the mistakes are too many to list but they went on for 15 months before port was finally arrested for murder. and by that time, three other young men were also dead. after anthony walgate died and port reported the body, detectives missed this record in the police national database of port at barking stati

daniel whitworth and ricky walmsley were an ordinary couple. he was my first boyfriend. e also experienced prejudice from the met. the force ignored john's warnings about the threat to gay men and links between the deaths. i feel strongly that theyjust didn't value those young men. the uk's biggest police force has rarely faced such a challenging year. accused of harbouring corruption, racism and misogyny, with homophobia now added to the list. john, who is himself gay, says the port case resonates with the finding of institutional racism after an earlier scandal — the murder of stephen lawrence in the 1990s. the definition of institutional racism was a collective failure of an institution to provide an appropriate and professional service to a minority group. i think if you co—opt that as a definition of institutional homophobia, this investigation ticks every box. the met accepts failing the victims but denies that prejudice played a role. idon't think the met— is institutionally homophobic, i do think that we need to make a great | deal of change to our investigativej

just over three weeks later, in the same corner of the same graveyard, the body of daniel whitworth wast appeared to be a suicide note around his neck in which he also said that he had taken gabriel's life. detectives just accepted what was written when in fact simple checks would have shown that he was nowhere near barking when gabriel died. it meant that for months police were telling daniel's family that he had killed himself and gabriel when in fact he had been murdered. it killed himself and gabriel when in fact he had been murdered. it makes ou an: fact he had been murdered. it makes you angry and _ fact he had been murdered. it makes you angry and unset. _ fact he had been murdered. it makes you angry and upset, yeah. - fact he had been murdered. it makes you angry and upset, yeah. it - fact he had been murdered. it makes you angry and upset, yeah. it has - you angry and upset, yeah. it has officer had tragic consequences. in officer had tragic consequences. in march 2015, port was jailed for lying to police about moving the first victim's body stop for now the killing stops, but

daniel whitworth is one of four young gay men murdered by stephen port.n died in 2014 and 2015. we are expecting to hear a lot more from some of the families, representatives of the families, of those four young men who died at the hands of stephen port. when that news conference gets under way we will be back there and hear those comments live. we will keep an eye on that. the inquestjury only handed down its decisions in the last hour and a half, there are still a lot of detail to go through for those families, but as soon as they are speaking to the media to give their reaction, we will be back there. much more on that story to come. stephen port serving a whole life tariff in prison for murdering four young men. life tariff in prison for murdering fouryoung men. until life tariff in prison for murdering four young men. until those news briefings get under way, we will look at some of the other main stories. fresh questions for the prime minister. december last year in the run—up to christmas it has a marriage that borisjohnson is director of communica