The Metropolitan Police have agreed a settlement with the family of Daniel Morgan – the investigator killed with an axe in a pub car park in 1987 – and apologised over its botched investigation.

The settlement includes an admission of liability over officers’ response to the murder.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised “unequivocally and unreservedly” for failing to bring the killers to justice and said the family had been “repeatedly and inexcusably let down”.

Mr Morgan was a partner in Southern Investigations and it was rumoured he was about to expose corruption at Scotland Yard when he was found with an axe in his head.

His family have endured four failed murder investigations, several smaller queries and two failed prosecutions.

Sir Mark said: “This case has been marred by a cycle of corruption, professional incompetence, and defensiveness that has repeated itself over and over again.

“Daniel Morgan’s family were given empty promises and false hope as successive investigations failed and the Metropolitan Police prioritised its reputation at the expense of transparency and effectiveness.”

His statement said “no words can do justice” to the family’s suffering and their campaigning had shown “multiple and systemic failings” in the Met.