Jill Dando murder revelation as new witness identifies notorious assassin

A van driver has told how he saw a man running near the scene of Jill Dando's murder - and now says he looks like the man convicted of the high-profile killing

A van driver who witnessed a man running close to the scene of Jill Dando's murder has come forward, suggesting the individual bore a striking resemblance to a notorious hitman.

The crucial witness was driving in the vicinity shortly after the Crimewatch presenter, aged 37, was fatally shot outside her home on April 26, 1999. He reported to the police two days after that he saw a man in a dark suit sprint across Fulham Palace Road in South West London, barely noticing his Ford Transit.

After seeing pictures of the Serbian assassin Milorad Ulemek, he said: "He does look like the man I saw." This revelation follows a statement from a female witness who told the Mirror last year that she was certain she spotted Ulemek running along the same road at a similar time.

Ulemek, 57, commanded a squad of assassins under the tyrannical regime of Slobodan Milosevic, who died in 2006 during his trial for war crimes. The leading barrister in Milosevic's prosecution has said that Ulemek ought to be investigated concerning Jill's murder, in light of the the Mirror's investigation.

Sir Geoffrey Nice KC said: "I would encourage the police to be open minded given there are new pieces of evidence that may not have been considered and it would be helpful if they are considered."

When Jill was shot, the Yugoslav war was raging and UK planes were bombing Serbia. Within hours of her murder, the BBC took a call claiming the death was in response to the attack.

Now, the former van driver said he is "80% sure" it was Ulemek who he came within feet of running over soon after the star was shot on her doorstep, reports the Mirror.

He told the Mirror that the police should investigate twice-convicted murderer Ulemek, who is currently serving 40 years in a Serbian jail. The witness, who is in his 60s and asked not to be named, said he would be happy to talk to detectives, adding: "She was taken from her family in a despicable way. How could someone do something like that to a woman like that?"

The witness said in a statement at the time: "I had to slam my brakes on to stop or I would have crashed into him. He ran out and I managed to stop about two or three meters away from him. I noticed that the man was looking behind him from where he had just run from.

"I shouted 'you arsehole', the man was still running across the road, he didn't look at me when I shouted to him, he just continued to run. I was still not moving and I watched him run into a park."

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The witness contacted police as soon as he heard Jill had been murdered on the doorstep of her Gowan Avenue home around 600 meters away.

"I immediately remembered the man running out in front of me," he said. "I had a good clear look at this male as he was about two or three metres away from me, and was in my sight for about five seconds, I would possibly recognise him again," the man said.

The former van driver told us recently: "Anyone else would have said f*** off or sorry but he didn't say anything, he just wanted to get away and that's what made me suspicious. It looked like he was running from something. If I had known I would have got hold of him."

He told police the suspect was wearing a dark "suit-type jacket" with matching trousers, was 5ft 10 or 11, in his late 20s or early 30s, of medium build, with short black hair that was longer on top. Ulemek was 31, of a similar build, height and hair colour and the description matched that given by a female motorist.

She told the Daily Mirror last year that she is sure that Ulemek was the smartly dressed man that she saw sprinting. In a police statement made a day after the killing, she said the man, wearing a dark suit, had a startled look on his face. And a month later she picked him out as "Man X" caught on CCTV in a nearby tube station, police files reveal.

In a report compiled for the Daily Mirror, facial comparison expert Emi Polito found that the man in the clip - known in police files as N6814 - had a similar mouth, chin and hairline to Ulemek. Mr Polito could find no differences between the two men. N6814 is still wanted for questioning, the Met have confirmed.

The two witnesses were among only four people who had a good enough view of a suspect to produce an e-fit. Police are being urged to investigate after the Met shut the case ten years ago. It came after local man Barry George had his conviction quashed in 2008.

George, who has severe learning difficulties, spent eight years in jail after he was found guilty of the murder in 2001. Jill's case has not been reviewed since 2018 and the Met last year refused to investigate our new evidence without visiting the female motorist, looking at Mr Polito's report or studying the CCTV footage.

Ex-Met Det Chief Supt Barry Webb, who reviewed the murder in 1999, said there was "insufficient nexus to the shooting" for the "running man" to be treated as "high priority." But Mr Webb added: "I believe that any review should take into consideration your research."

Veteran BBC correspondent John Simpson, who was in Belgrade when his friend and colleague was killed, said: "There should, I think, be a full review of the case." Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith and chair of the Commons Justice Committee, said: "It's important there's an investigation because there is a possibility that a suspect has been identified. I think you have done enough to justify a fresh investigation and it's curious that the Met don't want to examine it."

Ben Coleman, Labour MP for Fulham, added: "Given the new information, including eyewitness accounts, that has come to light thanks to the Mirror investigation, I believe there is a strong argument for the case to be reviewed and the recent findings fully investigated." Former Chief Crown Prosecutor Nazir Afzal said: "These findings must be investigated."

Matt Foot, the co-director of the miscarriages of justice organisation Appeal, said of the Met's refusal to probe our findings: "Barry George is being thwarted by the very same people who put him in prison and a system that doesn't want to admit that it got it wrong."

A source with knowledge of the Serbian security services said: "I think that they [the police] need to have a closer look at all of this. There are doubts and questions that are not answered. "Maybe this is just a theory but there is evidence in this moment supporting that theory."

Former French Foreign Legionnaire and gang boss Ulemek is Serbia's most infamous paramilitary soldier whose units were allegedly responsible for some of the worst atrocities in the Yugoslav wars. He was convicted in the murders of Serbian ex-President Ivan Stambolic in 2000 and its first democratically elected PM, Zoran Djindjic in 2003.

Ulemek's lawyer Aleksander Kovacevic last year said the killer did not wish to comment when asked if he murdered Jill. Mr Kovacevic did not respond to repeated requests for a comment this year.

The Met Police said: "In the years since Jill Dando's murder, the investigation has been subject to numerous reviews, aiming to identify whether matters could be progressed with advances in technology and forensics. The investigation is now in an inactive phase, which means that it is not currently subject to routine reviews. However no unsolved murder is ever closed and detectives would consider any new information provided to assess whether it represented a new and realistic line of enquiry."

It was reported that Ulemek has had three escape bids foiled at Zabela high-security jail and he can request early release in 2030. He made a failed bid for freedom last November.