Gunman who shot the dog of Jeremy Thorpe's male lover is still alive and living under an alias
The latest drama from BBC about the life of Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe just got a whole lot more complicated after the Daily Mail did an extensive investigation into the real-life events. With its final part out of three airing on June 3 evening, the story is about how a man shot and killed a dog while he was attempting to assassinate Norman Scott, Thorpe's lover.
Police in the original case had said that the gunman, Andre Newton, had died soon after. There was an investigation into the cover-up by the police in the 1970s and that had closed after some time.
Detectives now, however, have reopened the case into the attempted murder for former male model Scott after the publication found out that Newton was still alive. He is allegedly living in Londer under a false name.
The police in Gwent said that they were under the impression that Newton had passes away even though no death certificate that could support this claim was found. This issue has also been discussed in a Panorama documentary that will air on BBC Four on June 3 night.
The Daily Mail confirmed with a couple of their sources that Newton is under the name of Hann Redwin at the moment. They also found out that he was living in London and that the police would be re-opening the case.
According to the sources used by the Gwent police, in spite of previous inquiries that have taken place which made them think that Newton had died earlier, there was new evidence that surfaced that he was still alive. They are actively looking for him. One of the police source's said: "We hope he can assist with the investigation."
One of the neighbors, who wants to remain anonymous, said that Newton signed his mortgage papers as a witness. He said: "We all knew about his past. He was very popular with people in the street. He was very fond of going dancing and popular with the ladies."
Newton still maintains an active interest in flying and has been seen in Reigate, Surrey, at an airport often with his friend, Patricia Frankham. She confirmed with the publication that the police had gotten it wrong before and that Newton was still alive.
She said: "It was all so long ago. He doesn’t want to say anything more. He says the truth will never come out. If it was, it would have at the trial (of Thorpe)." Newton had chosen to not speak about the incident of the dead dog ever and he will also not talk about who made him do it.
Operation Velum has been set up by the Gwent police to look into the claims that were made in 2016 that crucial evidence from the investigation had been buried right before the trial. They looked to Scott himself to look for information after thinking Newton had died.
The death was also reported in the newspapers at the time and New ton had never come forward saying that it was false. Police are now looking for the man to see if he can give them any information on the police cover-up that took place. Both the police and the secret service are said to be in on hiding evidence into the murder of Scott's dog. The male model was lucky enough to escape the gunman.
Newton, who is a former pilot, spent two years in jail previously after he was convicted of killing Scott's dog. Norman Scott is the homosexual male model lover of Thorpe who was the former leader of the Liberal Party. Newton was the one who claimed that he had been paid to kill Scott after Thorpe had asked him to. This ended up leading to the leader and three other men at the centre of the "Trial of the Century" after being charged with conspiracy to murder.
The four men were found not guilty of the charges of conspiracy to murder at the trial which took place at the Old Bailey in 1979. Newton has been consistently described as a "decent man"who has been portrayed in a wrong light all these years.
This claim was made the most by his friend Rosalieve Dooley, who has known the man for more than 30 years. She told the Daily Mail that she was still in touch with him.
She said: "Andrew is a very decent man and a highly intelligent man. It is very wrong how people see him and he has always been very reluctant to speak up for himself. He has been portrayed wrongly in the past and I think this has hurt him."
68-year-old Dooley is a former property developer from Heston, London. She said that she doesn't think Newton has seen the three-part BBC drama starring Hugh Grant as Jeremy Thorpe, "A Very British Scandal".
Blake Harrison, the former star of the Inbetweeners, is the one who plays the role of Newton in the series. The drama that is siring this weekend is the BBC's take on the entire scandal that took place many years ago.
The drama shows in the second episode that Newton shoots a Great Dane called Rinka after his gun jams while he's trying to kill Scott. The incident takes place in Exmoor National Park, Devon, in 1975. The park is deserted at the time of the incident.
