THE PANEL probing the police’s handling of the murder of Cwmbran man Daniel Morgan has been expanded.

The Home secretary, Theresa May today announced that Professor Rodney Morgan and Samuel Pollock OBE have joined the ongoing review of how police corruption affected the handling of the murder of Mr Morgan.

Mr Morgan from Llanfrechfa, Cwmbran, was found outside a London pub in March 1987 with an axe in his head.

The Daniel Morgan Independent Panel, which has been chaired by Baroness O’Loan since July 2014, is also looking into how Mr Morgan’s family were treated by the police and criminal justice system.

Today Mrs May, said: “Serious allegations of police corruption have surrounded the investigations into the murder of Daniel Morgan. I have been clear that the Independent Panel should leave no stone unturned in its pursuit of the truth.

“On the advice of Baroness O’Loan, I have appointed Professor Rodney Morgan and Samuel Pollock OBE to the Panel.

“It is vital that the panel continues its important work,” she said.

In 2011, the Metropolitan Police acknowledged its “repeated failure” to tackle corruption within the force, which helped protect those responsible for the murder from being brought to justice.

No one has been successfully prosecuted for Mr Morgan’s murder, despite five police investigations.

Professor Morgan is Emeritus Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Bristol. He was chair of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales from 2004-7 and HM Chief Inspector of Probation for England and Wales from 2001-4.

Mr Pollock, who is the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, was previously chief executive in the Office of the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland for 11 years.

Professor Morgan and Mr Pollock join Baroness O’Loan, Silvia Casale and Mike Kellett on the Independent Panel.

Under its terms of reference, the Panel is addressing alleged connections between police officers, private investigators and journalists at the News of the World and other media involved in the case.

It is also examining documents from a number of government and non-government organisations, including the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.