Lord Lucan: the theories - Telegraph How about that? Lord Lucan: the theories Richard John Bingham, the seventh Earl of Lucan, disappeared in the early hours of November 8 1974 following the murder of Sandra Rivett, his children's nanny. What happened to him next is one of Britain's biggest crime mysteries. Lord Lucan at a West End club in London back in 1973 Photo: REX Follow Suicide Lucan's blood-soaked car was found three days after the murder at Newhaven, East Sussex. Many friends believed he had "fallen on his sword" after the murder of his children's nanny, Some say he scuttled his boat in the English channel. His wife, Lady Lucan, believes he stepped off a ferry and into the sea. "He knew a lot about boats, he would have jumped off close to the propellers that would cut up his body so he could never be found," she said this weekend. 09 Sep 2003 Since 1974 Lucan has been "spotted" in Australia, Ireland, South African, Mozambique and the Netherlands.

There have been persistent claims that Lucan escaped to Africa with the help of his wealthy friends Sir James Goldsmith and the casino owner, John Aspinall. His personal assistant told the BBC last week that shortly after Lucan's disappearance in 1974 she arranged for his children to fly out and see him in on second passports Gabon, west Africa. “Instructions were to make arrangements for John Bingham, also known as Lord Lucan to see his children and to do that I had to book his two eldest children on flights to Africa,” she said. But Lady Lucan said: "He was not the sort of Englishman to cope abroad. He likes England, he couldn't speak foreign languages and he preferred English food. It's so obvious he's dead." John Stonehouse On Christmas Eve, 1974, Australian police arrested a man in Melbourne whom they believed was Lord Lucan. But it turned out to be John Stonehouse - the former government minister and Labour MP who had faked his own death two years earlier by leaving a pile of clothes on a Miami beach before marrying his secretary. He had left behind him a string of failed fraudulent businesses.

Jungly Barry In 2003 a former Scotland Yard detective, Ducan MacLaughlin, claimed an aging bearded hippy by the name of Jungly Barry was Lucan. Barry, who died in 1996 in Goa, India, was said to speak with a refined accent and excelled at Lucan's pasttime of backgammon. But other travellers said Barry Halpin had a broad Lancashire accent. Lord Lucan is officially declared dead | Daily Mail Online comments The only son of missing peer Lord Lucan has consoled the son of the nanny his father murdered in 1974 - saying they 'both lost parents' that night. Lord George Bingham has finally been granted a death certificate 42 years after his father vanished following the murder of Sandra Rivett, nanny to Lord Lucan's three children. He applied for the certificate under the Presumption of Death Act, which came into effect in 2014, so he can inherit the title as 8th Earl. Lord Lucan disappeared after Ms Rivett was found murdered at the family home at 46 Lower Belgrave Street in central London on November 7, 1974.

His disappearance has come to be one of the greatest mysteries of the past 50 years, attracting an endless series of conspiracy theories. Scroll down for video Lord Lucan, who went missing in 1974, has been declared dead by the High Court today. His son George Bingham (right, with wife Anne-Sofie Foghsgaard) has been granted a death certificate today Lord George Bingham applied for the certificate under the Presumption of Death Act, which came into effect in 2014, so he can inherit the title as 8th Earl Today, High Court judge Mrs Justice Asplin granted the death certificate at a hearing. Speaking immediately afterwards Lord Bingham said: 'I am very happy with the judgement of the court in this matter. It has been a very long time coming.' But he added: 'We must not forget a person died and I have sympathy for Neil and his family. 'It is still a mystery what happened. We do not know how this lovely lady died in 1974, but Neil lost a mother and I lost a father. We still do not know how he met his end.

Lord Lucan vanished after Sandra Rivett, nanny to his three children, was found murdered at the family home in, 1974. At a hearing in December, Miss Rivett's son Neil Berriman (pictured) was given permission to intervene in the case The new Earl of Lucan then told the press to look for 'another Loch Ness Monster' now that his father has been certified dead. Speaking outside of the High Court, he said: 'I am relieved frankly. It is a sensible verdict after 41 years.' 'This doesn't mean any person has escaped prosecution for the murder of Sandra Rivett.' 'The ruling does not mean that he or any other person will escape prosecution. But a person must remain innocent until found guilty in a court of law.' At a hearing in December, Miss Rivett's son Neil Berriman was given permission to intervene in the case. Both he and Lord Bingham were seven when Ms Rivett was killed. Mr Berriman was born Gary Roger Hensby (Sandra Rivett’s maiden name) in Southsea, Hampshire, in 1967 and was immediately put up for adoption.

Aged six months, he was placed with Audrey and Ivan Berriman, and grew up in Petersfield, Hampshire, only learning of his real identity after his adoptive mother had died. But today Mr Berriman said he was 'very pleased' Mr Bingham would be inheriting the title, praising him for his 'passion for closure.' Mr Berriman confirmed he withdrew the objection he made last year to Lord Lucan being officially recognised as dead, but said he would continue to seek justice for his mother. 'I made my decision to withdraw the objection because I feel my life for the last five years has been a roller coaster ride of depression and stress, opening one door to find another shut in my face,' he said. 'The truth may be harder to get to than we think.' The judge made the declaration that Lord Lucan is presumed dead on the basis that she was satisfied that he had not been known to be alive for a period of at least seven years. The new Lord Lucan, a former merchant banker who got married in London last month was represented in court by his brother in law Michael Bloch QC who is married to his sister Lady Camilla.

Even though Lord Lucan was officially declared dead by the High Court in 1999, there have been reported sightings in Australia, Ireland, Africa and New Zealand, and even claims that he fled to India and lived life as a hippy called 'Jungly Barry'. Sandra Rivett, nanny to Lord Lucan's three children, was found murdered at the family home on November 7, 1974 George Bingham, pictured as a young boy with his father, the missing Lord Lucan and his mother Lord Bingham argued that the 1999 declaration had not proved death 'for all purposes' and the new Presumption of Death Act allowed for a 'more complete process'. He said he wanted to praise the efforts of Mr Berriman in seeking justice for his mother. 'To some extent it has been a jaunt, but at other times it has been very difficult and I would be very grateful if we could now move on and look for another Loch Ness Monster,' he said. 'It is time to say farewell to a very distant past. We must not forget a person died... It is still a mystery what happened.

We do not know how this lovely lady died in 1974, but Neil lost a mother and I lost a father Lord Bingham 'There were a few accounts at the time and I personally find it difficult to believe a man who has been married to someone for 12 years could murder them in close quarter combat. 'I would think in the circumstances it is quite possible he saw his life at an end regardless of guilt or otherwise, being dragged through the courts and having his life and career destroyed. 'That may have pushed a man to end his own life.' On the night of the peer's disappearance, the nanny's attacker also turned on Lord Bingham's mother, Lady Lucan, beating her severely before she managed to escape and raise the alarm at a nearby pub. Lord Lucan's car was found abandoned and soaked in blood in Newhaven, East Sussex, and an inquest jury declared him the killer a year later. At a preliminary hearing before Christmas, it was claimed in court that a member of Lucan's gambling set had contacted a private detective to tell him he had evidence that Lucan took his own life soon after the murder. But few further details were forthcoming.

Lord Lucan (left) vanished after the nanny to his children, was found murdered at the family home at 46 Lower Belgrave Street (right) in central London on November 7 1974 Today's hearing was attended by Neil Berriman, the son of Sandra Rivett who was found murdered at Lord Lucan's family home on the night the peer went missing The Daily Mail revealed earlier this month that the information referred to came from Philippe Marcq, who says he was told about the suicide by Stephen Raphael, a close friend of Lucan's. Mr Marcq claimed that Mr Raphael told him that in the early hours of the morning after the murderous attack, Lucan travelled to a private zoo in Kent, where he shot himself and was fed to a tiger. 'I was stunned when Stephen told me this, absolutely stunned,' says 73-year-old Mr Marcq, who now lives in semi-retirement in Wiltshire. 'But I believed what he told me 100 per cent. He was telling me very seriously and him telling me was a sign of considerable trust. 'I felt sworn to secrecy. It was a secret I could not betray — and, until now, I have not.

I want to put the story to rest once and for all.' Lucan may be dead, but the riddle is far from solved: Victim's son believes corrupt police covered up Lord's disappearance and claims he was alive as recently as 2002 After more than 40 years, missing Lord Lucan has been declared officially dead. But the riddle of his disappearance - which has fascinated the public since 1974 - is far from solved. Today, as Lord George Bingham was finally granted a death certificate for his father, Neil Berriman the son of Sandra Rivett, the nanny Lucan brutally murdered has vowed to continue to fight for justice for his mother. Speaking outside court, he accused the Met Police of withholding information about Lord Lucan, who he claims was alive as recently as 2002. Speaking outside court, Neil Berriman accused various parties - including the Met Police - of withholding information about Lord Lucan, who he claims was alive as recently as 2002 Mr Berriman was born Gary Roger Hensby (Sandra Rivett’s maiden name) in Southsea, Hampshire, in 1967 and was immediately put up for adoption.

Aged six months, he was placed with Audrey and Ivan Berriman, and grew up in Petersfield, Hampshire. He believes that he was the result of a love affair between his mother, who already had an older son being brought up by her parents, and a married estate agent. He said the mystery of what happened on the night his mother was killed endured, and he was sure Lord Lucan was 'guilty of something'. 'I do feel and hope that the Lucan mystery will come to a possible end in 12-14 months time, through various new evidence and lines of enquiries. 'I personally, along with other people I worked with on this case, know that the convenient drowning, shooting that night, of Lord Lucan is not true. 'I believe there is a Metropolitan Police internal document that states Lucan was possibly alive in 2002 onwards. This document also confirms the blood contamination - which I am grateful for George Bingham's statement, he has made 'What we have here - and I would like to take the time to express my feelings - is various people withholding evidence and not telling the truth. 'This will not go away. We have one major issue, the Metropolitan Police themselves.

At a time when a firm was in a firm, crimes scenes destroyed.' Adding that one of the 'most corrupt' detectives was linked to the case, he continued: 'Maybe the police know more than they let on. But at the end we have to get to the truth and justice for Sandra. A horrible death, a young woman beaten - my mother. 'There is no getting away from the fact that whatever happened that night, Lord Lucan is guilty of something in my eyes.' When asked what he thought had happened to Lord Lucan, Mr Berriman replied: 'He escaped.' He wished Lord Bingham 'good luck' with his new title, but said that it was a 'bit tainted'. SIGHTINGS OF LUCAN ACROSS THE GLOBE: JUNGLY BARRY, A GOAT CALLED CAMILLA AND THE RIDDLE THAT HAS FASCINATED THE WORLD FOR 40 YEARS A former Scotland Yard detective claimed in 2003 that an ageing hippy living in Goa, India was Lucan.

Instead, it turned out to be Barry Halpin, or Jungly Barry, a well-known musician In the years since he disappeared, Lucan (who would now be 81) has been variously 'spotted' in Africa, India, Australia, Holland and living in a Land Rover in New Zealand with a goat called Camilla. There have been theories that the peer fled to West Africa and — extraordinarily — that his children were flown out there so he could see them. 'Lucky' Lucan's privileged gambling friends were also said to have spirited him out of the country so he could evade justice, and his estranged wife (who was his intended target when he killed the family nanny) has previously claimed that as a gambler he would never have committed suicide 'as gamblers always win the next hand'. In 1974 Australian police arrested a man they believed to be Lucan but it turned out to be Labour MP John Stonehouse who had faked his own death a month before. A former Scotland Yard detective claimed in 2003 that an ageing hippy living in Goa, India was Lucan.

Instead, it turned out to be Barry Halpin, or Jungly Barry, a well-known musician from the 1960s folk music circuit. In 2004 Scotland Yard reopened the Lucan case and produced an image of what he would look like now. That same year it was reported that he had been living in Mozambique and was known by the name of John. An Englishman in New Zealand called Roger Woodgate, who lived in a Land Rover with a goat called Camilla, was accused of being Lucan in 2007. Woodgate admitted he arrived in the country the same year that Lucan went missing from the UK but said he was 10 years younger and five inches shorter. Other sightings include Lucan working as a waiter in San Francisco, at an alcoholics centre in Brisban and at a hotel in Madagascar. There has even been speculation, started by Mr Aspinall, that Lucan committed suicide by scuttling the powerboat he kept at Newhaven. He said Lucan had killed the nanny by mistake and felt ashamed by his actions.

Lord Lucan, New Evidence - David Icke's Official Forums Lord Lucan, New Evidence Likes: 0 (0 Posts) Lord Lucan, New Evidence 'I helped Lord Lucan live a secret life in Africa': Incredible new claims from aide to one of fugitive peer's wealthy friends A woman has revealed Lord Lucan was living a secret life in Africa in the 1980s after he went missing. The theory has been confirmed by a former detective detective who said he received a tip-off from a credible witness that Lucan was living on the continent. The mystery surrounding his disappearance after 38-years has led to more than 70 sightings of him in countries like South Africa, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands. At one point he was also reported to be living in a Land Rover with a goat called Camilla in New Zealand. But now the woman, who worked for one of his gambling acquaintances, the late John Aspinall, has revealed to the BBC she arranged flights for his children to Africa so he could view them 'from a distance'.

Nicknamed 'Lucky Lucan', the Right Honourable Richard John Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan, vanished in 1974 after his children's nanny Sandra Rivett was found dead in his estranged wife's London home. The woman, who asked not to be identified but assumed the name of Jill Findlay for the Inside Out programme, said she was an assistant to Mr Aspinall, the multi-millionaire zoo and casino owner who died in 2000. She said she was often privy to meetings where the missing aristocrat was discussed by her boss and Sir James Goldsmith, the multi-millionaire businessman. 'Instructions were to make arrangements for John Bingham, also known as Lord Lucan, to see his children and to do that I had to book his two eldest children on flights to Africa,' she said. 'I don't know the exact dates but it was between 1979 and 1981 and it was on two occasions I booked flights.' Ms Findlay said the children would have visited Kenya and Gabon but did not meet or speak to their father. She said that at the time, she did not realise how much of a wanted man Lucan was.

Ms Findlay also said her boss told her to expect an announcement of Lucan's death to the press, something he did in 2000. After this she had assumed he had died in Africa. Ms Findlay finally broke her 12 year silence because she had fallen ill and had reflected back on her life. SIGHTINGS OF LORD LUCAN ACROSS THE GLOBE Over the years there have been more than 70 sightings of Lucan on nearly every continent across the globe. In 1974 Australian police arrested a man they believed to be Lucan but it turned out to be Labour MP John Stonehouse who had faked his own death a month before. A former Scotland Yard detective claimed in 2003 that an ageing hippy living in Goa, India was Lucan. Instead, it turned out to be Barry Halpin, or Jungle Barry, a well-known musician from the 1960s folk music circuit. In 2004 Scotland Yard reopened the Lucan case and produced an image, below, of what he would look like now. That same year it was reported that he had been living in Mozambique and was known by the name of John.

An Englishman in New Zealand called Roger Woodgate, who lived in a Land Rover with a goat called Camilla, was accused of being Lucan five years ago. Woodgate admitted he arrived in the country the same year that Lucan went missing from the UK but said he was 10 years younger and five inches shorter. Other sightings include Lucan working as a waiter in San Francisco, at an alcoholics centre in Brisban and at a hotel in Madagascar. There has even been speculation, started by Mr Aspinall, that Lucan committed suicide by scuttling the powerboat he kept at Newhaven. He said Lucan had killed the nanny by mistake and felt ashamed by his actions. She said he felt it was important to reveal this information and said she would be willing to give a statement to Scotland Yard. Ms Findlay said she does not feel guilty because she played no part in helping Lucan disappear. A former detective inspector who worked on the inquiry as a cold case in the 1980s has confirmed he also received evidence that Lucan was in Africa.

Bob Polkinghorne told the BBC that a reliable witness told him that he had seen Lucan with one of his close friends while on holiday in Africa in the early 1980s. Mr Polkinghorne said he believes that those from Lucan's gambling circle helped him disappear. A few days after reporting the sighting to his bosses he was told by the Metropolitan police to discontinue the inquiry. Lucan, 39, also mixed with the late billionaire Sir James and Aspinall. His children's nanny Ms Rivett was found murdered in November 1974 after Lucan allegedly mistook her for his wife. He also attacked Lady Lucan who was savagely beaten but she managed to escape and raise the alarm at a nearby pub. Later that night he is thought to have fled to friends in Sussex and his car was found abandoned at Newhaven, East Sussex. He was never seen in the UK again. There have been various sightings of him all over the world and in 1974 Australian police arrested a man they believed was Lucan. It turned out to be Labour MP John Stonehouse who had faked his own death three months earlier.

And in 2003 a former Scotland Yard detective said Lucan was an aging hippy living in goa, India. The late John Aspinall's assistant is believed to have arranged for Lord Lucan's children to visit Africa Barry Halpin a well-known figure in the British folk music circuit was thought to be Lucan at one point An image of what Lord Lucan might have looked like at the age of 69 It later turned out that it was Barry Halpin, or Jungle Harry, who was a well known figure in the British folk music scene. Five years ago an Englishman living in a Land Rover with a goat in New Zealand called Roger Woodgate was also accused of being Lucan. Woodgate pointed out that he had arrived the same year Lucan went missing from the UK but added that he was 10 years younger and five inches shorter. During his absence Lucan was found guilty of the murder by a coroner's jury in 1975 and was officially declared dead in 1999. Inside Out will be shown on BBC One South East, South and London on Monday, 20 February 7.30pm.

It will also be available nationwide on the BBC iPlayer for seven days. What happened to Lord Lucan? Conspiracy theories and bizarre 'sightings' of Britain's most notorious murder suspect - Mirror Online News What happened to Lord Lucan? Conspiracy theories and bizarre 'sightings' of Britain's most notorious murder suspect The peer has been 'spotted' at an ex-Nazi colony in Paraguay, a sheep station in the Australian outback and backpacking on Mount Etna - and that's just the start Share Notorious: Lord Lucan is Britain's most famous fugitive (Photo: Daily Record) Share Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email Lord Lucan has finally been given a death certificate 42 years after he went missing and became Britain's most notorious murder suspect. The peer's son George Bingham applied under the Presumption of Death Act, which came into effect in 2014, so he can inherit the title as 8th Earl.

Lord Lucan vanished without trace in 1974 after the murder of his children’s nanny Sandra Rivett, who died after being hit with a lead pipe in the basement of the family home in Belgravia, central London. It is suspected Lucan killed his nanny when he mistook her for his wife on the night of the murder. Lady Lucan was herself badly injured in the attack and named her husband as the man who attacked her and killed Sandra Rivett. Theories: Lord Lucan with his wife Veronica before his disappearance The police named the peer as the prime suspect, but could only find a blood-stained car he was seen driving, abandoned at Newhaven, east Sussex. There have been reported sightings in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand, and even claims that he fled to India and lived life as a hippy. Here are just some of the conspiracy theories surrounding his disappearance: Lucan lived as a hippy in India called 'Jungle Barry' Former Scotland Yard detective Duncan MacLaughlin claimed in 2003 that Lord Lucan had lived as a hippy in India until his death in 1996.

He claimed Lord Lucan had lived under the name Barry Halpin and was known as Jungle Barry. 'Sighting': Barry Halpin pictured in India (Photo: Rex) A photograph claiming to show a bearded, dishevelled Lucan in 1991 also bared a strong resemblance to the missing peer. It eventually emerged Halpin was very real - but that he was from St Helens and a well-known figure on the Merseyside folk music scene of the 1960s. He lived in the New Zealand outback with a goat called Camilla Local residents deep in the New Zealand outback claimed in 2007 that a British ex-pat Roger Woodgate could be Lord Lucan. He was said to have an upper-class English accent and a strong resemblance to the fugitive peer - as well as a pet possum and a goat called Camilla. Mystery: Lord lucan with daughter in Mediterranean 1973, shortly before his disappearance Mr Woodgate has continually denied the claims ever since and points out that he is five inches shorter and 10 years younger than Lord Lucan. 'Captured by police'...

but turned out to be Labour MP who faked his own death Australian Police swooped just months after Lord Lucan's disappearance and arrested a man they announced they believed was the missing peer. But the arrest took a more incredible twist when it emerged they'd actually found 'dead' Labour MP John Stonehouse alive and well. Back in Blighty: John Stonehouse, left, accompanied by Scotland Yard's DCS Ken Etheridge on his return to England (Photo: Mirrorpix) Stonehouse had faked his own drowning off the coast of Miami earlier that year because of financial problems. He was deported back to the UK and the search for Lord Lucan continued. And other bizarre one-off sightings... A number of people have reported seeing Lord Lucan in a range of bizarre locations and scenarios. Such sightings include on an ex-Nazi colony in Paraguay, at a sheep station in the Australian outback, backpacking on Mount Etna and working as a waiter in San Francisco. One couple also reported seeing him in a private hospital in Johannesburg in 1995.

He was fed to tigers after shooting himself Just last week, Philippe Marcq - who was part of the same gambling set as the notorious peer - says one of Lord Lucan's best friends confirmed the gruesome story to him 40 years ago. 'Fed to the tigers': John Aspinall with tigers at Howletts Zoo July 1971 He claims the peer was given a shotgun to shoot himself before his body was fed to a tiger owned by friend John Aspinall at his private zoo in Kent. He told the Daily Mail: "I was stunned when Stephen told me this, absolutely stunned. "But I believed what he told me 100 per cent. He was telling me very seriously and him telling me was a sign of considerable trust. "I felt sworn to secrecy.

It was a secret I could not betray — and, until now, I have not." Like us on Facebook How the Lord Lucan Scandal Continues to Haunt His Family | The Huffington Post How the Lord Lucan Scandal Continues to Haunt His Family 17/12/2013 17:13 | Updated 16 February 2014 Bill Coles Author and journalist The real tragedy of the Lord Lucan scandal is the devastating shadow that it has cast over so many lives. Lord Lucan may have disappeared nearly 40 years ago, but both his children and his estranged wife are still absolutely haunted by him - and, with the screening of ITV's latest Lucan drama, continue to be haunted by him even to this day, I doubt that a single day goes by when Lucan's three children are not in some way reminded that their nanny Sandra Rivett was murdered by their father. Ms Rivett's own son Neil Berriman seems to have been equally traumatised.

And as for the intended victim of the murder, the tragic Countess of Lucan, she is now estranged from her three children and appears to have spent the last four decades in this living hell, linked for all time to the man who tried to bludgeon her to death. Even outside the families, there are many, many other people whose lives were blighted by the murder. One of Lucan's closest friends, the artist Dominic Elwes, committed suicide as a direct result of the murder. And even the former Postmaster General, John Stonehouse, found himself unwittingly caught up in the Lucan scandal; the story is so bizarre that it would be farcical if it weren't so inextricably linked to such a horrific crime. Stonehouse was a senior Labour politician who, two weeks after the Lucan murder in November 1974, faked his own drowning in Miami. He then flew to Australia to start up a new life with his secretary Sheila Buckley. A bank-teller happened to notice that this aristocratic Englishman was looking rather uncomfortable and naturally enough thought he was the fugitive Earl. The police were called, only to discover that they'd arrested not Lucan but Stonehouse.

These, then, are the people whose lives have been most affected by the Lord Lucan scandal - and in the last few days, members of Lucan's family, as well as Neil Berriman, have come forward to denounce the latest Lucan drama. His barrister daughter, Camilla Bingham QC, said that "no right-thinking person could regard it as entertainment", while Neil Berriman, who was adopted as a baby, is just as sickened by the whole thing, 'The programme is not entertainment," he said. "They are profiting from my mum's death." It is difficult not to feel immense sympathy for all these people who have been part of the collateral damage inflicted by the Lucan murder. And yet the rather unfortunate fact is that the Lucan scandal has become one of the greatest and most enduring mysteries of the 20th Century. Almost any Briton over the age of 40 is absolutely fascinated by the subject. Young students who hear the tale for the first time are equally enthralled. Though it is not the murder so much that intrigues people, as that one single, imponderable question: what the hell happened to Lord Lucan?

Did he kill himself, or did his rich, unscrupulous friends manage to spirit him out of the country? There is a vast public appetite for this extraordinary story - and it doesn't look like going away any time soon. This means that, at least three or four times a year, Lucan's family are being confronted with some fresh news titbit, or another book or TV programme. I understand that. I realise that it must be very hard for them - and I realise that I personally have not made life any easier for them with my own book on the subject - Lord Lucan: My Story. The movie is already in the pipe-line. Camilla and Neil Berriman can of course portray me and other Lucan writers as mere vultures who are feeding on Sandra Rivett's corpse. But for the most part, we are just people who know a good story when we see one. And the Lord Lucan story has got the lot - sex, power, money and murder, and all mixed up with a blue-blooded aristocrat who disappears off the face of the earth. The Lord Lucan story has now become a part of the very warp and weft of British history.

His very name has entered the English language as a byword for the far-fetched and simply unbelievable. For better or worse, Lucan is a part of our culture. It's unfortunate, but there it is. How ever distasteful it may be for his family, Lord Lucan is now public property, and it would be facile to pretend otherwise. Though Lucan may be their father, we all now have a share in him. Follow Bill Coles on Twitter: More: The lost and the found: a guide to missing persons cases | UK news | The Guardian Share on Messenger Close · Around 600 people go missing every day; which amounts to some 210,000 people a year. Around 99% of missing cases are resolved within one year. · People who go missing for longer periods of time tend to be older men. · Between the ages of 13 and 17, it is more likely for females to go missing. Over the age of 24, it is more common for males to disappear. · Figures from a study by Missing People showed that around two-thirds of missing adults had deliberately chosen to leave.

· Some 20% of those who had gone missing returned to the place they had left, a study from the Missing Persons database suggested in 2003. Around 40% of found adults chose not to contact those who were looking for them. · The main reasons for adults to go missing include a relationship breakdown, to escape from a crisis, and stress or mental health problems such as depression. (Source: Missing People) Famous missing persons cases · In April 2005, a young man was found wandering around Sheerness, in Kent, dressed in a wet suit and tie. Although he did not speak a word, he grabbed international headlines after he gave virtuoso performances of classical music at a piano in the Medway maritime hospital's chapel, earning the nickname "Piano Man". He was later revealed to be Andreas Grassl, a 20-year-old man from Prosford in Germany who was suffering from depression. Gressl was taken back to his home in August of the same year. · Stephen Fry disappeared for 11 days in 1995 after suffering an attack of stage fright. The comic was then starring in a West End play called Cell Mates, which had been badly received by critics.

Fry later said that during the time of his disappearance he contemplated suicide and escaped to Belgium, before returning to the UK a week later to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. · John Stonehouse, a former Labour politician, went missing after he faked his own death in 1974 by leaving a pile of his clothes on a beach in Miami. In actuality, he escaped to Australia under the pseudonym of JD Norman to live with his secretary, Sheila Buckley. He was found on Christmas Eve of the same year by Melbourne police, who had received a tip-off that he was Lord Lucan. Stonehouse was eventually sent back to Britain to face a seven-year jail sentence for fraud, theft and deception. · One of the most famous missing persons stories remains that of Richard Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan. On November 8 1974, the nanny of Lucan's children was found murdered at the family home. Lady Lucan had also been attacked. When the police went to find Lucan at his home, he had disappeared. To this day, he has yet to be found, although there have been claims of sightings around the world.

· The Austrian schoolgirl Natascha Kampusch went missing on March 2 1998 when she was ten years old. Eight years later, she re-emerged, having been kidnapped by IT technician Wolfgang Priklopil and imprisoned in his house during that time. She had managed to escape from him and was later reunited with her parents. Priklopil committed suicide while being chased by police. 'I helped Lord Lucan flee justice', claims personal assistant to late billionaire John Aspinall - Telegraph 'I helped Lord Lucan flee justice', claims personal assistant to late billionaire John Aspinall It is one of the world's most enduring murder mysteries. Lord Lucan at a West End club in London back in 1973 Photo: REX By Richard Alleyne 6:00AM GMT 18 Feb 2012 The disappearance of Lord Lucan has fascinated the public for nearly 40 years and led to him being "spotted" as far afield as Australia, India and the wine bars of the Netherlands. He was even said to be living in a car in New Zealand along with a pet possum called Redfern and a goat named Camilla.

Now the tale of the aristocrat fugitive has taken a new twist after a woman claimed she helped him set up a new life in Africa. The revelations come from an assistant to Lucan's close friend John Aspinall, the multi-millionaire zoo and casino owner. She claims that shortly after his disappearance in November 1974 she arranged for his children to fly out to see him and also help fund his new life. Related Articles 'I helped Lord Lucan live a secret life in Africa' 20 May 2012 Jill Findlay, whose name has been changed to protect her anonymity, tells a BBC documentary that Lord Lucan was alive and living in Gabon, in west Africa, during the 70s and 80s. She tells the Inside Out programme how John Aspinall and Sir James Goldsmith instructed her to send Lord Lucan’s two eldest children to Africa, in secret, on second passports in 1979 and 1980. During his time on the run he was funded by John Aspinall and his close group of friends, she claims.

“Instructions were to make arrangements for John Bingham, also known as Lord Lucan to see his children and to do that I had to book his two eldest children on flights to Africa,” she said. "It was in Gabon from what I understand, their father would observe them and see them which is what he wanted to do just see how they were growing up and look at them from a distance” Also interviewed in the programme is Detective Inspector Robert Polkinghorne of the Metropolitan Police who was in charge of the Lucan case during the 1980s. DI Polkinghorne tells of two very credible sightings of Lucan, one of which was in Africa in the 80s, but explains how he was refused funding for further investigations. Nicknamed "Lucky Lucan", the Right Honourable Richard John Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan, was a keen gambler and the member of a high society set which included Sir James, the late billionaire, and Aspinall. His children's nanny, Sandra Rivett, was found murdered at the London home of the earl's estranged wife in November 1974.

The attacker then turned on Lady Lucan, beating her severely before she managed to escape and raise the alarm at a nearby pub. Later that night Lucan, then 39, fled to the home of friends in Sussex and shortly afterwards disappeared. His car was found abandoned at Newhaven, East Sussex, and he was never seen again. It was believed that the earl was able to flee the country with the help of well-placed Establishment friends. Since his disappearance dozens of people have claimed to have seen or met him at locations around the globe. He has reportedly been sighted in Australia, Ireland, South Africa, Mozambique and the Netherlands. In 1974, Australian police arrested a man they believed might be Lucan, but he turned out to be a Labour MP, John Stonehouse, who had faked his suicide a month before. In 2003 a former Scotland Yard detective claimed that an ageing hippy living in Goa, India, was Lucan. It later emerged that the bearded man — who bore a resemblance to the vanished aristocrat — was Barry Halpin, also known as "Jungly Barry", a well-known figure on the 1960s British folk music circuit.

In 2004, Scotland Yard reopened the Lucan case so they could examine existing police evidence using DNA profiling. They prepared a computer-generated image of how Lucan would look if he were still alive. Finally five years ago, the finger of suspicion pointed to an Englishman in New Zealand called Roger Woodgate, who lived in a 1974 Land Rover with a cat, goat and possum. He admitted that he had arrived in the country in the same year as Lucan disappeared but also pointed out he was 10 years younger and five inches shorter. Other people, including his wife, Veronica, are convinced that he drowned himself in the Channel. In his absence Lucan was found guilty of the murder of Sandra Rivett by a Coroner's Jury in 1975. He was officially declared dead in 1999.

BBC Inside Out South East is on Monday 20th February 2012, BBC One South East, and BBC One London at 7.30pm and can also be viewed via the BBC iPlayer Lord Lucan: Incredible new claims from aide to one of fugitive peer's wealthy friends | Daily Mail Online comments Lord Lucan went missing in 1974 A woman has revealed Lord Lucan was living a secret life in Africa in the 1980s after he went missing. The theory has been confirmed by a former detective detective who said he received a tip-off from a credible witness that Lucan was living on the continent. The mystery surrounding his disappearance after 38-years has led to more than 70 sightings of him in countries like South Africa, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands. At one point he was also reported to be living in a Land Rover with a goat called Camilla in New Zealand. But now the woman, who worked for one of his gambling acquaintances, the late John Aspinall, has revealed to the BBC she arranged flights for his children to Africa so he could view them 'from a distance'.

Nicknamed 'Lucky Lucan', the Right Honourable Richard John Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan, vanished in 1974 after his children's nanny Sandra Rivett was found dead in his estranged wife's London home. The woman, who asked not to be identified but assumed the name of Jill Findlay for the Inside Out programme, said she was an assistant to Mr Aspinall, the multi-millionaire zoo and casino owner who died in 2000. She said she was often privy to meetings where the missing aristocrat was discussed by her boss and Sir James Goldsmith, the multi-millionaire businessman. 'Instructions were to make arrangements for John Bingham, also known as Lord Lucan, to see his children and to do that I had to book his two eldest children on flights to Africa,' she said. 'I don't know the exact dates but it was between 1979 and 1981 and it was on two occasions I booked flights.' Ms Findlay said the children would have visited Kenya and Gabon but did not meet or speak to their father.

Lady Veronica Lucan, left, pictured in London 1994 and right, at the coroner's inquest in 1975 Sandra Rivett who was mudered in November 1974 She said that at the time, she did not realise how much of a wanted man Lucan was. Ms Findlay also said her boss told her to expect an announcement of Lucan's death to the press, something he did in 2000. After this she had assumed he had died in Africa. Ms Findlay finally broke her 12 year silence because she had fallen ill and had reflected back on her life. SIGHTINGS OF LORD LUCAN ACROSS THE GLOBE Over the years there have been more than 70 sightings of Lucan on nearly every continent across the globe. In 1974 Australian police arrested a man they believed to be Lucan but it turned out to be Labour MP John Stonehouse who had faked his own death a month before. A former Scotland Yard detective claimed in 2003 that an ageing hippy living in Goa, India was Lucan.

Instead, it turned out to be Barry Halpin, or Jungle Barry, a well-known musician from the 1960s folk music circuit. In 2004 Scotland Yard reopened the Lucan case and produced an image, below, of what he would look like now. That same year it was reported that he had been living in Mozambique and was known by the name of John. An Englishman in New Zealand called Roger Woodgate, who lived in a Land Rover with a goat called Camilla, was accused of being Lucan five years ago. Woodgate admitted he arrived in the country the same year that Lucan went missing from the UK but said he was 10 years younger and five inches shorter. Other sightings include Lucan working as a waiter in San Francisco, at an alcoholics centre in Brisban and at a hotel in Madagascar. There has even been speculation, started by Mr Aspinall, that Lucan committed suicide by scuttling the powerboat he kept at Newhaven. He said Lucan had killed the nanny by mistake and felt ashamed by his actions. She said he felt it was important to reveal this information and said she would be willing to give a statement to Scotland Yard.

Ms Findlay said she does not feel guilty because she played no part in helping Lucan disappear. A former detective inspector who worked on the inquiry as a cold case in the 1980s has confirmed he also received evidence that Lucan was in Africa. Bob Polkinghorne told the BBC that a reliable witness told him that he had seen Lucan with one of his close friends while on holiday in Africa in the early 1980s. Mr Polkinghorne said he believes that those from Lucan's gambling circle helped him disappear. A few days after reporting the sighting to his bosses he was told by the Metropolitan police to discontinue the inquiry. Lucan, 39, also mixed with the late billionaire Sir James and Aspinall. His children's nanny Ms Rivett was found murdered in November 1974 after Lucan allegedly mistook her for his wife. He also attacked Lady Lucan who was savagely beaten but she managed to escape and raise the alarm at a nearby pub. Later that night he is thought to have fled to friends in Sussex and his car was found abandoned at Newhaven, East Sussex. He was never seen in the UK again.

There have been various sightings of him all over the world and in 1974 Australian police arrested a man they believed was Lucan. It turned out to be Labour MP John Stonehouse who had faked his own death three months earlier. And in 2003 a former Scotland Yard detective said Lucan was an aging hippy living in goa, India. The late John Aspinall's assistant is believed to have arranged for Lord Lucan's children to visit Africa Barry Halpin a well-known figure in the British folk music circuit was thought to be Lucan at one point An image of what Lord Lucan might have looked like at the age of 69 It later turned out that it was Barry Halpin, or Jungle Harry, who was a well known figure in the British folk music scene. Five years ago an Englishman living in a Land Rover with a goat in New Zealand called Roger Woodgate was also accused of being Lucan. Woodgate pointed out that he had arrived the same year Lucan went missing from the UK but added that he was 10 years younger and five inches shorter.

During his absence Lucan was found guilty of the murder by a coroner's jury in 1975 and was officially declared dead in 1999. Inside Out will be shown on BBC One South East, South and London on Monday, 20 February 7.30pm. It will also be available nationwide on the BBC iPlayer for seven days. BBC Inside Out - Lord Lucan Inside Out - South East: Monday March 7, 2005 LORD LUCAN MURDER MYSTERY Dead or alive? The mystery of Lord Lucan rages on. It was the mystery that gripped a nation. In November 1974 Lord Lucan disappeared from his home in London under suspicious circumstances. Lucan was never to be seen again. Inside Out sheds new light on one of Britain's greatest unsolved mysteries in an exclusive investigation of the case. "I'd like him to be found as time's rolling on now - we've come to that point of no return." Derek Wilkinson, former Sussex Police detective. Lord Lucan is a name that still generates fascination and speculation, even though it's over 30 years since the Earl's mysterious disappearance.

Despite numerous investigations and alleged sightings, the trail on Lord Lucan's whereabouts has gone cold - until now. Inside Out has exclusive evidence of mystery phone calls to the Police that could provide new clues to the Lucan case. We retrace the story of Lord Lucan's last hours with the help of eye witnesses and forensic experts. Murder mystery Our mystery starts in a mews house in Belgravia, London at 9.45pm on Thursday November 7, 1974. "Murder, murder, I think my neck has been broken - he tried to kill me." Lady Lucan, 1974 The Lucan's nanny, 29-year-old Sandra Rivett, lay dead in the basement of the family house, having been battered to death with a blunt instrument. Nearby a bloodstained Lady Lucan burst into the Plumber's Arms pub crying out for help. She claimed that her estranged husband had murdered the nanny and had tried to kill her. Lord Lucan was suspected of murder and attempting to bludgeon his own wife to death. He fled Belgravia a wanted man. Behind him, Lucan left a scene of blood and mayhem.

He then disappeared with barely a trace. On the trail of Lucan What we do know is before vanishing off the face of the earth, Lord Lucan drove 45 miles south to seek refuge with friends in Uckfield, East Sussex. Grants Hill House - last sighting of Lucan. Is his body here? Peter and Susan Maxwell-Scott were loyal members of Lord Lucan's inner circle, people he could trust with his life. They lived in Grants Hill House, a large manor house set in acres of gardens, with a swimming pool and several tennis courts. After being let into the house, Lucan was never seen again - he simply vanished into thin air. But Inside Out has discovered a fresh angle on the story and what might have happened in the grounds of Grants Hill House on that fateful night on November 7, 1974. Mystery caller 6.30pm - Lucan at his flat in Elizabeth Street. 8.30pm - Sandra Rivett puts children to bed at 46, Lower Belgrade Street. 8.45pm and 9pm - two reported sightings of Lucan at his club.

9.15pm - Lady Lucan claims she was attacked at this time. 9.45pm - Lady Lucan bursts into the Plumber's Arms crying out that her husband has murdered the family nanny. 10pm - Madeleine Floorman, a friend of the Lucans, is waken by her doorbell ringing, but she does not answer it. She was later disturbed by a phone call from a man sounding like Lucan. He sounded distressed. Later spots of blood were found at her doorstep. Approx 10.30pm - Lucan calls his mother telling her that there had been a catastrophe at the family house. Approx 11.30pm - Lucan arrives at the Maxwell-Scott's house in Uckfield. He looks dischevelled and his flannels look as if they had been sponged down. 12.15 - Lucan rings his mother from Uckfield. 1am - Susan Maxwell-Scott claims Lucan left her house. Next day - two letters written by Lucan posted to close friends. Three days later - Lucan's Ford Corsair found abandoned in Newhaven.

Sources: BBC News and Lord Lucan.com Seven years ago in May 1998 Sussex police received several anonymous phone calls - all were from the same man who repeated the same story. The mystery caller claims that he was in the grounds of Grants Hill House on the night of the murder. He claims that he witnessed three men walking from the house to the bottom of the grounds. Taken by surprise the caller says he retreated into the undergrowth from where he witnessed two gun shots. Moments later he heard the sound of a splash. Two men, not three, returned to the house. That was his story. Inside Out spoke with two police sources who have confirmed the mystery caller existed, although they refused to appear on camera. In January 2005, Inside Out applied, under the Freedom of Information Act, to see Sussex Police's files on the case. Their response was that all the information relating to the calls in 1998 had either been destroyed or passed on up to the Metropolitan Police. So we called Scotland Yard and this is what they had to say: "The Metropolitan Police are aware of this allegation but do not consider it to be a strong line of inquiry.

The Lucan case is currently under review and will be for some months to come". Both Sussex and the Metropolitan Police refused to talk any further, so we decided to do some detective work of our own. Dead and buried? The witness who claims to have seen Lucan being murdered claimed that the body was pushed into a cess pit in the grounds of Grants Hill House. Inside Out decided to check if there was indeed a cess pit on the site of the now-demolished house, using old building plans. A cess pit did exist although it's very hard to know if Lucan's body lies at the bottom of it. Lucy Sideburn is a forensic archaeologist and a specialist in the recovery of human remains. Technology has leapt forward in the last 10 years with advances in underground x-rays and sounding equipment. Lucy finds some evidence of ground disturbance, but it's quite subtle. But to be sure of any body, she'd have to come back and do a much more detailed analysis.

Lucy Sideburn found evidence of some ground disturbance "We'd need to do it accurately with grids and take regular, spaced out readings to get the full picture, but there does seem to be something there." "To do it properly, it would probably take two or three days," says Lucy. "We'd need to pinpoint the location and, then, if it wasn't too large, we could start hand-digging it. "We'd need to find the outskirts of it and start taking it down systematically to see if there's anything inside." However the Police are in a difficult position, because the mystery caller and eyewitness refused to meet with them at the time of the calls. Unless fresh information comes in, then the only digging round here will be the gardener. "If it is suspected that there's something there, chances are that we'd be called in to help the police in a search. "Without any definite evidence, it probably wouldn't get that far," says Lucy. But she believes that it is possible that Lucan could be under the ground at Uckfield, "I would say bodies generally turn up close to where they were last seen". Escape to freedom?

On the night Lucan vanished, Derek Wilkinson was a Sussex police detective on duty at the Port of Newhaven. He has never spoken before. After Sussex police found Lucan's Ford Corsair abandoned in Newhaven, dozens of officers scoured surrounding countryside and checked ferry passenger lists for any trace of Lucan. "I remember there were only three passengers in the foot hall. There was a man and a woman who appeared to be husband and wife. "And there was a man with a long coat and a trilby hat. This man produced a French ID card. Lucan's car was mysteriously dumped in Newhaven "I'm quite aware from the photos that Lord Lucan wasn't the man that passed me on the foot hall," recalls Wilkinson. Derek Wilkinson has his own theory about Lucan's car being dumped at Newhaven. "I feel that someone else brought the car down and left it here. "I think it was a red herring." Dave is not the only detective who thought the car was a decoy. Detective Inspector Roy Ransom, who was in charge of the hunt for Lucan, had this to say to the BBC in 1993: "I don't know who put the car at Newhaven.

I don't think it was Lucan, no I don't." Eye-witness? Roy Blackmore was one of the two Sussex police officers who visited Grants Hill House on the night Lucan vanished. This is the first time he has ever spoken about the murder publicly. 'Anything's possible' says former Police officer Roy Blackmore Six hours after the Maxwell-Scotts claimed that Lucan left Grants Hill, Roy saw something very puzzling. It was a car bearing a striking resemblance to Lucan's Corsair. "We saw that vehicle go through at Uckfield, because there was no by-pass at the time. "We saw that car go through - I think it was a Corsair going towards Newhaven." But was Lord Lucan the man in the car? Roy and his Police colleague later returned to Grants Hill House to interview the Maxwell-Scotts, but they stuck by their story. The police officers did not search the grounds of the house, meaning that any fresh clues to Lucan's disappearance were not uncovered. "Lucky" Lucan? So did Lucan escape or is his body at the bottom of the garden in Uckfield? The 39-year-old Lucan was a professional gambler and member of the aristocracy.

He mixed in rich and powerful circles. His favourite casino was the Clermont Club in Mayfair which was owned by the millionaire John Aspinall. Aspinall was close to Lucan, although Countess Lucan counters this view on her website, saying that "John Aspinall was not one of the late Lord Lucan's best friends". Aspinall - did he help Lucan to escape? However, speaking in 1994, John Aspinall said, "I would have done for him what he asked". Aspinall also said that if Lucan had requested asylum, "he would had got it". It was rumoured that Lucan told Aspinall earlier in 1974 that he wanted to get rid of Lady Lucan to get custody of his children. In another bizarre twist, it turns out that John Aspinall had connections with Uckfield - he grew up only 200 metres from Grants Hill House. So could he have been there on the night of November 7, 1974? Whether he was or not, Aspinall may have taken the secret to his grave. He died of cancer in 2000. Final chapter?

So what did happen to Lucan after he vanished into thin air and was the mystery caller a hoaxer? And what happened to the mystery caller? It is now seven years since his last phone call. Just in case the mystery caller is reading this, we have left out one vital piece of information. Red herring or escape route? Did Lucan escape from Newhaven? That way, we'll know if we are talking to the man who witnessed the death of Lord Lucan or if we're being wound up. One thing only is certain - the mystery of Lord Lucan will continue to rage until new evidence or the mystery caller comes forward. The final chapter has not yet closed on a remarkable story. Contact us with more information about the Lord Lucan case by email at insideout@bbc.co.uk .

Question: Lord Lucan and John Stonehouse disappeared in the same year, which?
Answer: 1974