THORPE SCANDAL

Where is Andrew Newton aka Hann Redwin now, is Jeremy Thorpe’s ‘hitman’ still alive and did he shoot Norman Scott’s dog?

ANDREW Newton was suspected of attempting to kill Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe's gay ex-lover four decades ago.

But where is he today and did he try to kill Norman Scott but shot his dog dead instead?

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Andrew Newton was suspected of trying to kill Norman Scott in 1975Credit: PA:Press Association/PA Images

Where is Andrew Newton (aka Hann Redwin) now?

Police initially believed Andrew Newton, the man who allegedly tried to kill Norman Scott in 1975, had been dead for several years.

But the authorities told BBC Four documentary, The Jeremy Thorpe Scandal, that he is in fact still alive.

The Daily Mail  the gunman is alive and living in London under the name Hann Redwin.

Reacting to the news, Scott, 78, told the programme: "I just don't think anyone's tried hard enough to look for him. I really don't.

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Did Newton shoot Norman Scott's dog?

Newton served two years in prison for shooting Scott's dog.

He was jailed for firearms offences over the shooting of the dog, Rinka, on Exmoor in 1975.

Newton claimed he was hired to kill Thorpe's ex-lover.

Documentary The Jeremy Thorpe Scandal, which was shown on BBC Four after the final episode of A Very English Scandal, investigated the alleged plot to murder Scott, who was involved in a relationship with Thorpe in the early 1960s, when homosexuality was illegal.

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suggests it was through a string of "fresh starts and disappointments".

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Describing his toxic relationship with Jeremy Thorpe, Norman Scott claims he was 'raped' and 'groomed' by the charismatic Liberal MP

Did Norman Scott and Jeremy Thorpe have a homosexual relationship?

The two had been lovers after meeting in 1960 when being gay was banned.

Scott, who worked as a model, was said to have had a full blown affair with the politician and even had liaisons in Thorpe’s Commons room.

But after they parted, Thorpe was said to have viewed Scott as a dangerous blackmailer intent on revenge - something that could have wrecked his political ambitions.

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For while homosexuality was legalised in 1967 it was still taboo for people in the public eye.

MORE ON THE JEREMY THORPE SCANDAL

CATCHING UP
From Line of Duty to The Catch - the incredible career of actor Jason Watkins
POLITICAL SCANDAL
All we know about Norman Scott and his relationship with Jeremy Thorpe
BIG BEN
Everything you need to know about Ben Whishaw - This Is Going To Hurt star
Royal Ruckus
Cast of BBC drama A Very British Scandal - from Claire Foy to Miles Jupp

What is A Very English Scandal about?

A Very English Scandal tells the shocking true story of disgraced MP Thorpe, who in 1979 was tried but later acquitted of conspiring to murder ex-lover Scott.

The three-part drama is set in the late 1960s, when Thorpe was the leader of the Liberal Party and his former lover was threatening to out him.

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A BBC statement explains: "The trial of Jeremy Thorpe changed society forever, illuminating the darkest secrets of the Establishment.

"The Thorpe affair revealed such breathtaking deceit and corruption that, at the time, hardly anyone dared believe it could be true."

Large parts of the drama are in fact true, though there are some inaccuracies.

The TV show has Norman Scott and Sue Myers living in the Dorset cottage with their newborn son when, in real life, she had moved out before giving birth.

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Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw clash in dramatic first trailer for A Very English Scandal
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