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Police have also launched a fresh appeal with a £30,000 reward for information about the death of Detective Constable Jim Morrison.

Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe (left) stands next to Victoria Morrison the widow of DC Jim Morrison and his brothers Donald (centre) and Angus as they listen to DI Will Reynolds (right) lead murder investigator

The brother of a policeman who was knifed to death as he tried to stop a thief a quarter of a century ago has made an emotional plea for his killer to be brought to justice.

Police have launched a fresh appeal with a £30,000 reward for information about the death of Detective Constable Jim Morrison, who was murdered outside the Indian High Commission in central London in 1991.

The off-duty officer had been walking through Covent Garden to meet his wife, Victoria, when he spotted a handbag thief on December 13.

He chased the suspect - who had threatened him with a blade - ending in a struggle which left the 26-year-old fatally injured, stabbed three times. The case has never been solved.

His tearful brother Donald, 50, said on the 25th anniversary of the killing of his "best pal" that the lack of answers has deprived of him of closure.

His words came as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe spearheaded a renewed bid to catch the officer's attacker.

Mr Morrison told the Press Association: "It's been horrendous, there has just been a big hole there, it never gets any easier.

"Not a day goes by when you don't think about him at some point during the day; we are probably all in the same boat, everybody thinks the same - friends, family, colleagues - I'm sure they're all the same.

He added: "Closure, people say closure, I don't know what closure is - but we definitely want it."

The killer is said to have been a medium-built man of Algerian or North African descent with collar-length dark hair which curled at the front. He was around 5ft 10in and in his late 20s at the time, police said.

He was wearing a waist-length tan or brown leather jacket.

Speaking at the site of the stabbing in India Place - now home to a commemorative headstone bearing the officer's name - Sir Bernard said: "Even though it is a long time ago - 25 years - we are fairly certain someone in the community will know.

"This was a North African community, we think, who will still be in the north of London. We are offering a reward of £30,000 for an arrest and prosecution and we are hoping that might stimulate people to come forward.

"This was a man who was only 26 years old, he's got a wife, he's got a family who are all here today, he was off-duty and he had no hope of help, but he got stuck in on behalf of London."

It is thought the suspect might have evaded capture because he was in the country using false documents - and has potentially left the UK since.

A string of people have been arrested over the killing over the years, but no-one has ever been charged.

On Tuesday, Sir Bernard and DC Morrison's family retraced the final route taken by the officer on that night, which began at the Transport Museum and ended in India Place.

At the site of the attack, a brief memorial service was held, attended by his family, former colleagues and serving officers, during which Sir Bernard and DC Morrison's brother, Angus, gave readings.

As rain poured overhead, wreaths were then laid at the foot of the headstone.

 

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