Kidnap victim died 'as police delayed'

Three police forces are being investigated after the body of a 72-year-old man was discovered more than two days after detectives were first alerted about his suspected kidnap.

Three police forces are being investigated after the body of a 72-year-old man was discovered more than two days after detectives were first alerted about his suspected kidnap.

An inquiry will investigate possible delays by police in finding the pensioner after he was abducted on Monday from his home in St Leonards, East Sussex.

Officers from Scotland Yard were called in on Wednesday and found the body of the man at an address in Islington, north London, later on the same day. Three men were arrested and a murder inquiry was opened.

Surrey Police are believed to have been alerted to the suspected kidnap by two people who saw an elderly man signalling from a car while travelling on the M25 .

It is unclear how the alleged owners of the car and the body were traced, but Surrey Police might have been given the registration number of the alleged kidnappers' vehicle.

An inquiry, which will be overseen by the Police Complaints Authority, will investigation whether the elderly man should have been traced by police far sooner.

The inquiry into the actions of Surrey, Sussex and the Metropolitan police forces, will be carried out by West Midlands Police, headed by its Assistant Chief Constable Paul Blewitt.