Muriel McKay's daughter criticises police for searching in wrong place in Hertfordshire farm dig

The family of Muriel McKay say police are digging for her remains in the wrong place and should fly her killer in from Trinidad to help with the search.

This week Metropolitan Police and Hertfordshire Police officers have been searching Stocking Farm, near Bishop's Stortford, for the body of the 1969 kidnapping and murder victim.

One of her two convicted killers, Nizamodeen Hosein, has told police where her body was buried and is ready to travel to the UK to aid the search.

Ms McKay's family, who campaigned for years for a new search to take place, would like Mr Hosein to visit to help, but say police have so far been unwilling to allow his involvement.

They also said the dig was taking place at the wrong part of the Hertfordshire farm and are worried her body will never be found, as police have warned this will be the final search.

The Metropolitan Police said it did not believe bringing Hosein to the UK would be useful, it was searching an area identified from "extensive enquiries", and the family would no longer be allowed to visit the site until remains were found.

In 1969, Muriel McKay, the wealthy wife of newspaper executive Alick McKay, was mistaken for Anna Murdoch, the then-wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

She was kidnapped and held ransom for £1million at Stocking Farm.

On Thursday, her daughter Dianne Levinson visited the farm and told ITV News Anglia the police search had been carried out with a "lack of professionalism".

"This is like ongoing torture for me and I'm not very impressed with how [the police] treat the public," she said.

"They're digging now, but we're not terribly impressed with how they're doing it.

"It's been shocking and unbelievable. We've been told ground-scanning would be beneficial, but they're not using it."

When her mother died, Ms Levinson was 29 years old and had three children, with the tragedy wreaking havoc on her life, including leading to her divorce several years later.

"She was a sensitive, lovely, gentle woman," Ms Levinson said. "It changes your life forever really. How do you tell the grandchildren that their grandmother was there one moment and gone the next?

"I'm hoping and praying that we can find her remains. We won't find my mother, she went a long time ago, but I would like to find her remains."

Ian McKay, Muriel McKay's son, visited the farm for a second time on Thursday and agreed that the remains would not be found unless Nizamodeen Hosein was brought to the UK to help.

Mr McKay said: "The concern at the moment is that we're not conducting the search correctly and that's been a big eye opener for me.

"They haven't target the specific area that Nizamodeen Hosein identified.

"They've been given the information by Nizamodeen Hosein and they tend to discredit him, I guess because he's an ex-criminal.

"Unless they accept him coming here and showing them where he buried her, they haven't even tried to do their job."

In response to the family's criticisms, the Metropolitan Police said: "We are investing significant time and resource in this search and we all share a hope and desire to find Muriel’s remains and bring some closure to her family after all these years.

"The team are searching the area that has been identified from all their extensive enquiries, including speaking to Hosein and Muriel’s family.

"Bringing Hosein to the UK has been carefully considered and we do not believe it would provide us with any further or useful consistent information. Therefore we have not formally approached the Home Office who would be required to grant permission.

"The farm owner will not allow further members of the family or the family’s representatives to visit the site unless remains are found.

"It is private land and a search we are carrying out with their consent, and we need to respect their wishes. Officers are happy to meet the solicitor again to discuss what materials he has."

The search began on Monday and is expected to take around a week, but could be extended.

Brothers Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein were convicted of Ms McKay's kidnap and murder, with Arthur Hosein dying in prison in 2009 and Nizamodeen Hosein deported to Trinidad and Tobago after serving his sentence.

Earlier this year, Ms McKay's family went to meet Mr Hosein, where he told them and police where he buried her body.

The farm was searched at the time of the murder and again in 2022, involving 30 police officers, ground penetrating radar and specialist forensic archaeologists, but nothing new was found.

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