Police ‘ineptitude’ contributed to Stephen Port murders, says producer

Shoddy investigation into serial killer also result of underfunding, says producer of BBC drama about murders

Three victims of the serial killer Stephen Port might still be alive today were it not for a shoddy police investigation that was the result of ineptitude, poor systems and underfunding", the producer of a new drama about the crimes has said.

Jeff Pope is senior producer of Four Lives, a dramatisation for BBC One of the murders of four young gay men: Anthony Walgate, 23; Gabriel Kovari, 22; Daniel Whitworth, 21; and Jack Taylor, 21.