A notorious case of a private investigator alleged to have been murdered because he was about to expose corruption at Scotland Yard is to be investigated by a judge.

Home Secretary Theresa May will announce an “independent panel review” into the death of Daniel Morgan more than 25 years ago.

Mr Morgan, 27, a married father of two, was found with an axe in his head in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham in 1987. The judge-led panel will have the same powers as the one that reviewed the Hillsborough tragedy and led to a new criminal investigation.

Campaigners for justice for Mr Morgan also hope that the new inquiry will spark a fresh investigation and a successful prosecution of those responsible for Mr Morgan’s killing. His family believe the private detective was killed because he was about to expose a web of corruption allegedly involving his business partner Jonathan Rees and a ring of police officers.

Mr Rees was cleared of any involvement in Morgan’s death.

There have been claims of officers organising robberies and moonlighting for security companies.

So far five police inquiries costing £50 million have failed to solve the case. The last attempt to gain collapsed in 2011 after evidence from supergrasses was discredited.