Ben Needham case ‘has all signs of a cover-up’ with sex slurs used to discredit toddler’s mum
Cops 'under pressure' to close case on tragic tot missing on Greek island for 25 years, probe found
THE hunt for toddler Ben Needham - who went missing on the Greek island of Kos 25 years ago - has the signs of a cover-up, an investigation found.
Greek police were "under pressure" to end their probe quickly, reports The Mirror, and a witness apparently falsely claimed he had slept with Ben's mum Kerry in an attempt to smear her.
A key witness account on the holiday island is said to be missing and a Greek official has dismissed the UK police theory that Ben was run over by a digger.
Despite a £1.1million police operation and two extensive digs, a toy car is all that's been found.
Kerry, 43, said: “It infuriates me. It is just one big cover-up.”
South Yorkshire Police think 21-month-old Ben was crushed accidentally by digger driver Konstantinos “Dino” Barkas, who died last year, and his body hidden.
Det Insp Jon Cousins, who led the investigation, said: “It is my professional belief that Ben Needham died as a result of an accident near to the farmhouse in Iraklis where he was last seen playing.”
The inquiry found the man admitted lying to cops in 1991 that he had slept with Ben's mum Kerry when in fact she was out looking for her lad.
And she fears a cover-up, with people hoping she will "go away".
A former Greek official close to the case said a policy of waiting 24 hours before a full search for a missing person was a "huge mistake".
He also claimed that a late friend's witness statement was not taken.
Another mystery is what happened to the account from an elderly woman whose home overlooked the farmhouse where Ben vanished.
She has since died.
The pensioner said she saw Ben’s uncle Stephen leaving the area alone on his scooter. Minutes later she watched Ben playing behind the building his grandfather was renovating.
Her evidence would have quashed false rumours that Ben could have died after falling from the back of Stephen’s scooter, says the Mirror.
And a retired cop, one of the first to join the hunt, admitted: "We were under pressure to close the case. Everyone wanted to find the child. We did our best.”
Dino's family denies that he was involved. The case is “still open” and in the hands of local prosecutors.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368