The brother of murdered private eye Daniel Morgan called for a public inquiry over the death yesterday as he did not trust "corruption tainted" Met Police to re-open their investigation.

Mr Morgan was found outside a London pub car park with an axe embedded in his skull in March 1987 amid suggestions he may have been about to blow the whistle on the actions of corrupt officers.

His death remains unsolved and Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe last month indicated the investigation could be reopened.

But Mr Morgan’s brother Alastair has insisted the case needs public scrutiny rather than the Met “putting their hands upon this case any more.”

An independent panel is reviewing, among other issues, how police corruption affected the handling of the murder inquiry.

Mr Morgan said he believed the Met was still covering up certain aspects of the murder.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We haven’t had any explanation at all about what he [Hogan-Howe] means by this reopening in the investigation.

“I am very worried about this because the Met’s handling of the case has been so appalling at times in the past that I think it’s essential we have public scrutiny of it now. Twenty-seven years have passed, five investigations and it needs public scrutiny.

“It doesn’t need the Met putting their hands upon this case any more.”

Mr Morgan said he was not satisfied with a previous admission that the first investigation into the murder was “tainted by corruption,” saying the conduct of the series of investigations needs to be looked at.

He went on: “I believe a certain aspect of what was taking place in my brother’s murder are still being covered up. My perception of the Metropolitan Police is that in extreme situations, as in the case of my brother, they will put their reputation before the public interest.”

The Met has been plunged into crisis in recent weeks as more and more evidence of corruption and malfeasance has emerged.

Last month a report by Mark Ellison QC found that there had been corruption in their investigation into the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Mr Ellison also found that an undercover officer had been placed within the Lawrence family justice campaign.