A MURDER of a Torfaen private detective - which remains unsolved 34 years on - was referred to in the latest episode of the BBC's hit crime drama Line of Duty.

The death of Daniel Morgan, from Cwmbran in 1987, was referenced during Sunday night's episode of wildly popular drama, which involves an investigation into the murder of a journalist, and how it may have been linked to police corruption.

Mr Morgan, 37, was found dead in a car park at the Golden Lion in Sydenham, south-east London in March 1987 after receiving four or five blows to the head with an axe, which was left embedded in his face.

It was alleged that he had been investigating claims of corruption within the Metropolitan Police – which is similar to the story in the current season of Line of Duty.

In last night's episode viewers saw DI Steve Arnott and DC Chloe Bishop interview a colleague of murdered journalist Gail Vella, who mentioned she had been interested in podcasts on the topic of alleged police corruption - including one involving Mr Morgan's murder - and had been planning on developing her own.

Although the podcast Ms Vella had been listening to is not named, Mr Morgan's brother Alistair and journalist Peter Jukes have produced a series on the topic, named Untold: The Daniel Morgan Murder.

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Despite a number of investigations into Mr Morgan's death and a tireless campaign by the family of the father-of-two, there has not been a successful conviction for his murder.

Three men were arrested and charged in April 2008, but in March 2011, the proceedings were discontinued and not guilty verdicts were entered. The men received payouts of more than £100,000 each in 2019 after a malicious prosecution case against the Metropolitan Police.

In May 2013 then-home secretary Theresa May launched an independent inquiry into the case - which is yet to release its findings.

Last year a three-part documentary on Mr Morgan's murder, Murder in the Car Park, was broadcast on Channel 4.