Park killer 'was lover of hospital worker'

The killer who walked out of a mental hospital and stabbed a man to death in Richmond Park was having an affair with a hospital worker, it was claimed today.

Schizophrenic John Barrett knifed banker Denis Finnegan, 50, in a random attack after he was allowed to walk out of a secure ward at Springfield Hospital in Tooting. He is serving life for manslaughter.

The victim's brother, John Finnegan, said he was "shocked" by the new allegations and demanded that they be investigated.

The claims come from Andre Downer, a former Springfield nurse turned whistleblower.

He said Barrett had formed a sexual relationship with an unnamed woman employee at the hospital which lasted some months before the killing last September.

He also alleged that confidential records of Barrett's treatment had gone missing and may have been seen by the patient.

The woman who is said to have had the affair with Barrett is still working at Springfield and still has access to confidential documents. The NHS Trust responsible for Springfield carried out an internal investigation after the killing, but a new independent inquiry is now being set up under chairman Robert Robinson.

This may examine whether the relationship took place and if it played a part in the chain of events which led to the killing.

Mr Downer, a charge nurse and trade union steward, worked at Springfield for six years and admitted-Barrett to the hospital in 2002. He was suspended in 2003 and has since resigned. He said he had been informed about the affair by three current Springfield employees.

He said: "Mr Barrett was having a sexual relationship with a member of the ward staff.

"Mysteriously, formal documents and medical notes about Mr Barrett's history and care had gone missing, all prior to the Richmond Park incident.

"The managers and senior nurses of the service knew all about this."

Barrett's girlfriend Jane Whittaker, who told his Old Bailey trial that she had repeatedly warned hospital authorities about the danger he posed, was said to have found him with the woman during a visit to Springfield.

If Barrett had seen confidential medical papers relating to the decision to take him back into a secure hospital ward, the knowledge could have triggered a change in his behaviour.

The papers were said to have been kept behind two locked doors, with staff access strictly limited.

The woman with whom Barrett was allegedly having the affair was one of the few employees with full access. She is described as a junior employee who is not a nurse or a manager.

Nigel Fisher, chief executive of South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, telephoned the Finnegan family today to discuss the allegations.

John Finnegan said: "We want to know whether it's true or not. If there are documents missing, why didn't that come out in the internal inquiry?

"We have always thought they were trying to hide something."

Michael Howlett, spokesman for the Zito Trust which campaigns for crime victims, said: "These are very serious allegations which the internal inquiry clearly neglected to consider. They now need to be fully investigated by the independent inquiry."

The NHS Trust said the internal investigation into Mr Downer's allegations had concluded that there was "no truth" in them.

A spokeswoman said: "There is absolutely no evidence that John Barrett had a sexual relationship with any member of staff."

But a source at the trust said Mr Robinson's inquiry would "most certainly" examine the claims of the affair and the missing document.