THE MURDER THAT CHANGED BRITAIN

An innocent man called Colin Stagg was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. The real killer, Robert Napper roamed free to kill another young mother called Samantha Bisset and her daughter Jasmine. The fallout that followed would see the case branded as The Murder That Changed Britain. 

For three decades the man who has squarely shouldered the blame for these catastrophic failings, was the country's leading forensic psychologist, Professor Paul Britton. In the intervening years his detractors have variously described him as a witch doctor who used pseudo science to jail an innocent man and a Svengali like figure to whom detectives were in thrall of. These accusations were recently re-enforced by the Channel 4 / NETFLIX drama about the case called Deceit. In it Britton was portrayed as the central protagonist -  responsible for orchestrating the many errors in the police investigation.

To date, Britton has maintained a dignified silence on the matter and never granted any press on the subject. Now however, he finally breaks that silence. In a series of no holds barred interviews, he describes the exact nature of his involvement in the so called honey trap operation: a police operation codenamed Edzel, that saw an undercover officer attempt to seduce a confession out of Colin Stagg. Was he the mastermind behind this covert sting? Was he the architect of the graphic letters exchanged between the undercover officer and Colin Stagg? Did he tell the police Colin Stagg was the killer of Rachel Nickell? For the first time Britton answers these questions and many more.

What emerges is a far more complex story than anyone could ever imagine. Despite Britton being caught up in the maelstrom of scandal, he went on to assist police in catching the real killer - Robert Napper. But not before lives had been destroyed, reputations ruined and the Metropolitan Police’s authority, seriously undermined.

Alongside Paul Britton, granting his first ever interview is retired Metropolitan Police Commander Gary Copson. He tells the story of how the Operation Edzel unfolded and crumbled. And also reveals the devastating repercussions that followed: including the lessons learned and the safeguards put in place that still stand today.

And in the most dramatic twist of all, the documentary secures one of the most anticipated meetings in recent years. Colin Stagg has agreed to sit down with Paul Britton – the man he has always blamed for sending him to prison as an innocent man. As they face each other, will Colin believe Paul’s side of the story and finally get the closure he has been seeking for the past thirty years? Or will he continue to see Paul Britton as the man who ruined his life?