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Western Isles detective led the hunt for the Black Panther      19/12/11

A Gaelic-speaking Western Isles detective led the hunt for ruthless serial killer Donald Neilson whose death was announced today.

The 75-year-old murderer, known as the Black Panther, was one of only a handful of prisoners whose crimes were so heinous they were never to be freed and knew they would die in jail. Neilson died on Sunday after being taken to hospital with breathing problems.

John Morrison of 4 North Tolsta, Lewis, was chief superintendent at Scotland Yard and led the inquiry for the savage criminal who was dubbed the Black Panther because of his sprightly build and habit of wearing a black balaclava and dark clothing to hide in the shadows during his killing spree during armed post office burglaries.

As the Met’s commander of the murder squad, John Morrison spent much of 1975 in Staffordshire after Neilson kidnapped and subsequently murdered 17-year-old transport heiress Lesley Whittle.

The high profile case involved over 250 police officers and was extensively reported in the media.

Morrison was called in after a series of bungles and little progress in the case tarnished the reputation of the police and sparked conflict between different constabularies.

Neilson was caught after being overpowered by two police constables he abducted.

He confessed Lesley Whittle’s killing to the Hebridean detective whose detailed questioning over a total of nine hours elicited a drawn-out 18-page statement  with each answer, phrase and sentence carefully double checked by the murderer.

Neilson was later convicted after trial and sentenced to four life sentences in 1976.

John Morrison died in October 2008 aged 88. The crofter’s son had left North Tolsta primary school aged 14. He worked as fisherman on a family herring drifter and later signed up as a rating for the Royal Naval Reserve.

He spent the war at sea and left the Navy in 1946. The following year he joined the Metropolitan Police after being rejected by the Glasgow force for being too short.

His wife Annie, known locally as Nandag, hailed from North Dell in Ness, Lewis.

During the Black Panther trial he was promoted to deputy assistant commissioner at Scotland Yard. He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in 1976 and later made an OBE. During his police career he had also been sent to Bermuda to investigate the murder of the island’s governor.