Police Face Legal Action Over Grindr Blackmail Case Following Man’s Death
Police are facing potential legal action after an internal review found serious investigative failures following the death of Scott Gough, a 56-year-old man who may have been the victim of a Grindr-linked blackmail scheme.
Mr Gough died within 24 hours of six men arriving at his home near Watford, knocking aggressively on the door, demanding the keys to his Range Rover, and leaving a handwritten note on the vehicle instructing him to make contact. His partner, Cameron Tewson, who was alone at the property, called emergency services but later said his concerns were not treated with sufficient seriousness — an allegation denied by Hertfordshire Police.
A subsequent review by the force’s Professional Standards Department concluded that officers failed to recognise “sufficient suspicion to record a crime,” despite a growing body of intelligence that should have triggered a formal blackmail investigation.
The Events That Raised Police Concerns
A civilian investigator later ran police database checks on a burner phone number written on the note left on Mr Gough’s vehicle in Chandlers Cross on March 28, 2024. The number was unregistered but was found to be in frequent contact with a male suspect linked to other extortion offences.
At the same time, the Metropolitan Police were conducting Operation Welby, an investigation into burglaries and extortion schemes targeting gay dating app users who were tricked into letting offenders into their homes via Grindr.
Despite this context, the investigator concluded that because the burner number had not directly contacted Mr Gough’s phone, there was no indication of blackmail. That assessment was later criticised internally as overly narrow and inconsistent with the wider intelligence picture.
CCTV footage also placed a Mercedes linked to suspects aged between 18 and 23 near Mr Gough’s property on the night of the incident. Those same individuals were connected to other blackmail cases involving older men. When officers visited them, however, they were treated as individuals “requiring safeguarding” rather than potential suspects.
Findings of the Internal Review
Scott Gough, 56, died within hours of an alleged extortion visit at his home near Watford, now under police review.
The internal report identified “missed opportunities” to obtain accounts from those individuals and to secure and download their mobile phones. Instead, officers from the Child Online Safety Team approached the men weeks later in what was described as an “informal intervention,” offering what police later characterised as “stern words of advice.”
The review concluded that while the note alone may not have met the evidential threshold for a blackmail offence, the broader context did. It stated that the combination of intelligence from similar cases, CCTV evidence, and family-provided information collectively amounted to reasonable grounds to suspect Mr Gough had been a victim of blackmail.
The report further criticised supervisory oversight, stating that these indicators should have been identified and escalated and that the failure to do so was “not acceptable.”
Legal Significance of the Case Handling
The case raises important questions about how police assess suspicion thresholds in extortion and blackmail cases, particularly those involving coercion rather than direct financial demands.
Once reasonable suspicion exists, police are expected to take proportionate investigative steps, including securing digital evidence and treating connected individuals as potential suspects rather than safeguarding cases alone. The failure to seize or examine mobile devices is particularly significant in blackmail investigations, where communications data often forms the core evidential foundation.
The review acknowledged that the delay may have resulted in the permanent loss of evidential material, limiting the scope of any future prosecution and complicating accountability assessments.
Wider Context and Comparisons
Mr Tewson has instructed Dr Anton van Dellen, the barrister who represented the partner of Daniel Whitworth, one of the victims in the Stephen Port serial killing case. That investigation was later criticised for systemic failures and described by an inquest jury as institutionally homophobic.
Mr Tewson said the reinvestigation confirms that available intelligence, digital material, and third-party involvement were not properly examined at the outset. He warned that the passage of time has undermined accountability through degraded evidence and fading recollections.
Separately, under Operation Welby, offenders Rahmat Khan Mohammadi and Mohammed Bilal Hotak were jailed at Isleworth Crown Court after using Grindr to arrange meetings with victims before stealing high-value items including Rolex watches and electronic devices.
Police Response and Next Steps
Hertfordshire Police confirmed that an independent department will now review whether a blackmail investigation should have been opened and whether investigative decisions fell below professional standards. The force acknowledged that the time taken to address the complaint was unacceptable and said structural changes had since been made to its complaints handling process.
The force reiterated its commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ victims, citing dedicated liaison officers and ongoing training aimed at improving trust and reporting outcomes.
The ownership and scope of the independent review have yet to be finalised.
