Fresh questions raised over 1984 murder of 78-year-old activist in S4C documentary

For many years, suspicions have surrounded the murder of anti-nuclear campaigner Hilda Murrell, with some suspecting that the secret services were involved in her death.

In Pwy laddodd Hilda Murrell? (Who Killed Hilda Murrell?), a two-part documentary airing on S4C on 28 and 29 October at 21.00, Hilda’s family reveal new information about her murder.

Former MP Tam Dalyell claimed that the secret services were involved in Hilda’s death, and her family now say that one of Mr Dalyell’s sources was a well-known high-profile experienced former MI6 agent.

Could this latest revelation shed new light on a case that has remained the subject of mystery and intrigue for years?

Hilda Murrell’s body was discovered in woodland on the outskirts of Shrewsbury on 24 March 1984, three days after she was last seen.

Case review

Following a case review nearly 20 years after the murder, and with the help of advancements in DNA technology, Andrew George was sentenced in 2005 to a minimum of 13 years in prison, where he remains to this day.

George was 16 years old at the time of Hilda’s murder, and some, including Hilda’s family, have questioned his guilt.

The documentary explores several theories linked to Hilda’s murder, including that she may have come across confidential details about the sinking of the Belgrano during the Falklands War.

Her nephew, Commander Robert Green, served in the Navy, and some have claimed he played a key role in the sinking of the Belgrano, though Mr Green insists he was not involved in that decision.

In 1983, a year before Hilda’s murder, the Ministry of Defence established a specialist MI5 unit, Defence Secretariat 19, to disrupt anti-nuclear disarmament campaigns and movements opposing the expansion of the nuclear energy industry.

Doubts

The programme also investigates the possibility that the secret services were monitoring Hilda as a prominent anti-nuclear campaigner, as she was in the process of writing a paper for a public inquiry into the development of the Sizewell B nuclear power station.

In the documentary, Hilda’s nephew, Robert Green, recalls the day he heard about his aunt’s death: “I got a phone call that Hilda was missing and then the police got in touch with me later that day and said that they had found her car and that they had found a body, and we were taken into a mortuary that afternoon where I identified Hilda’s body.  I had no idea how hard it would be and it always will be.”

Suspecting that Andrew George was not responsible for Hilda’s murder, Mr Green and his wife Dr Kate Dewes started investigating the case themselves after court proceedings had concluded.

Dr Dewes said: “There were no witness statements to say that there were young boys walking around, lurking around the street, knocking on doors trying to burgle them, who would match Andrew George’s description.”

And according to David Williams, one of the journalists who followed the story at the time, questions remain about what exactly happened to Hilda Murrell.

“I feel, after all this time, that I’m still unclear in my mind about what the truth is.  I think that one person knows what the truth is, and that person is Andrew George.  He knows.  He knows who was in the house then, doesn’t he?  And if someone was in the house apart from him, those are the people who know the truth.”

The documentary, which forms part of S4C’s Trosedd (Crime) programming, will also be available to stream on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer, with Welsh and English subtitles.