Hoogstraten may face death probe

Convicted tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten should be investigated for a fire at a flat in which five people died, relatives of the victims say.

They want a fresh investigation into the deaths to see if van Hoogstraten was linked to the property.

Van Hoogstraten, 57, has always denied any involvement with the flats in Hove after the fire in 1992 but possible ownership links surfaced during his trial at the Old Bailey in which he was found guilty of the manslaughter of a former business associate.

Dennis Johns, father of victim Adrian Johns, said: "I would be delighted to see it re-opened and find out what really happened, because no one at the moment, the families included, knows what did happen."

A verdict of unlawful killing was returned after the fire and another inquiry which took place a few years later failed to uncover new evidence. A spokesman for Sussex police said: "We have no plans to carry out a new investigation but that is not to say that if there was new evidence or witnesses we would not look at it again."

Van Hoogstraten, who is awaiting sentence for manslaughter, is also the subject of other allegations. These include claims that a man who once duped him is buried in concrete beneath a Brighton marina.

A solicitor who helped a tenant in Kensington in a dealing with van Hoogstraten said: "I'm petrified by him and will not be named. He's a rich man and can afford to have people shot whether in prison or not."