Putney Pusher suspect's family accuse Met of lying about case and trying to 'rewrite history' after his death

The family of a millionaire banker suspected of being the Putney Pusher have accused the Metropolitan Police of lying about the case and trying to “rewrite history” after his death.

Nicholas Brandram, 44, was found dead at his home in Chiswick, west London, on Tuesday, with his family saying he was “driven by the police” to take his own life after “months of immense pressure” that followed his arrest in June.

Now they have accused the Met of lying about the case after the force said in a public statement they were still pursuing multiple lines of inquiry despite a detective recently stating in an email to Mr Brandram's lawyers that there was only one “final” avenue left to be resolved in their investigation.

Mr Brandram, a former army captain and descendant of Queen Victoria, was arrested on suspicion of attempted GBH over an incident nine years ago in which a jogger pushed a woman on Putney Bridge into the path of an oncoming bus during the morning rush hour.

He had been released under investigation at the time of his death, but had not been cleared — a status known as “no further action”.

His family revealed to the Sunday Times that an email from a detective constable to Brandram’s legal representatives, sent on September 7, said he had been “released under investigation now pending our final line of inquiry being completed”.

His sisters and mother believe this "final line of enquiry" was the outcome of a DNA test, which they claim would have cleared his name.

But Chief Superintendent Dan Knowles, who leads policing in southwest London, said in a statement released to media on Thursday: “Following Mr Brandram’s release under investigation, it was made clear that inquiries would continue while officers progressed outstanding lines of inquiry and forensic examinations. This remains the position, and further investigative work is ongoing.”

Nicholas Brandram, whose family have insisted he was not the so-called "Putney Pusher” PA His family told the Sunday Times: “We were shocked and appalled when we read the Metropolitan Police statement issued after Nick’s death because it directly contradicts what the police dealing with his case told him while he was alive … so which is the lie?"

The email, seen by the newspaper, also stated that “the lab is unable to provide an ETA [estimated time of arrival]”. Brandram’s relatives said: “Those words could hardly be clearer — Nick was told there was one final line of inquiry outstanding and that it was delayed at the laboratory. That final line of inquiry was a comparison between Nick’s DNA and the DNA left by the man who carried out the assault on Putney Bridge . Nick understood that result to be the final step before his name could be cleared.”

The relatives said in their statement: “The Metropolitan Police cannot be allowed to rewrite the history of what happened now that Nick is no longer here to challenge them. The emails exist — their own words are in black and white.

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“Nick was entitled to the truth while he was alive.