High Court refuses garden radar scan for McKay remains

A High Court judge has ruled that the family of a woman, who was kidnapped and murdered 56 years ago, cannot scan a back garden where they now believe she is buried.

Muriel McKay was kidnapped in 1969 and held at a farm in Hertfordshire for a £1m ransom, after being mistaken for the then-wife of tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Her family wanted an injunction to conduct a “ground-penetrating radar survey” at the shared garden of two properties on Bethnal Green Road in east London, after new information came to light, but one homeowner refused saying the family had harassed her.

Mr Justice Richard Smith described the family’s conduct as “appalling”, saying it amounted to “bullying, lies and harassment”.

Homeowner Madeleine Higson told an earlier hearing that the family had caused “significant distress” after numerous people visited her property in an effort to gain access.

The court heard these included a man claiming he wanted photos for a “sentimental montage” for his grandfather, and a woman saying she was buying a nearby property and needed a drainage survey.

Visits also took place from a “solicitor or consultant” connected to the McKay family, who did not disclose their position and said they would visit “every day”, the High Court heard.

Callum Reid-Hutchings, for Ms Higson, said in written submissions that while his client has “considerable sympathy” for Ms McKay’s family, there was no “proper legal foundation” for the injunction.

He continued that the family “cannot be said to come to the court with clean hands”, citing a “bombardment” of requests to enter Ms Higson’s property.

Muriel McKay, the wife of newspaper executive Alick McKay, was kidnapped after she was mistaken for Anna Murdoch, the then wife of Rupert Murdoch.

She was held at Rooks Farm in Stocking Pelham by brothers Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein, who were later convicted of her kidnap and murder in 1970.

Arthur died in prison, but Nizamodeen told Mrs McKay’s daughter Dianne that he had buried her body at Rooks Farm.

Last year, police spent several days digging up the grounds of the farm in a failed attempt to locate her remains.

In Tuesday’s ruling, Mr Justice Smith said that while Mrs McKay’s murder was an “abhorrent crime”, his role was to consider the case “objectively and dispassionately”.

“The claimants have not established that such relief is needed now, or why the usual pre-trial procedures should not be observed,” he said.

“I was not persuaded that even if a survey was carried out, that it would be conclusive one way or the other, that it would produce incontrovertible data.”

He said that he would have also refused the injunction on the basis of “egregious conduct” towards Ms Higson from Mrs McKay’s family, including her grandson, Mark Dyer, adding that this included “threats, deception, dishonesty, lies, bullying and harassment”.

Benjamin Wood, barrister for two of Mrs McKay’s children, Ian McKay and Dianne Levinson, said the family “offer their sincere apologies for the distress and inconvenience caused in relation to this deeply personal and sensitive matter”.