Colin Stagg, 45: for so long the prime suspect, continues to live in the council flat in Roehampton where he was arrested in 1993. Despite being acquitted of the murder of Ms Nickell and consistently protesting his innocence he continued to be vilified in the media. Mr Stagg says the case has made him unemployable and a pariah. He has received £706,000 compensation from the Home Office.

Andre Hanscombe, 47, and Alex, 19: Ms Nickell's former partner and their son, who was two when he witnessed the killing, now live in Spain. They have tried to avoid media attention although Mr Hanscombe has written a book and has given a small number of newspaper interviews.

Andrew Nickell, 68, and Monica, 64: Ms Nickell's parents were on holiday in Canada when their daughter was murdered. They continued to believe for many years that Mr Stagg was their daughter's killer and considered taking a civil action against him. The couple now live in Dorset.

Paul Britton, 62, the forensic psychologist who advised police on the operation designed to secure Mr Stagg's conviction. Mr Britton also worked on the Bissett murder case but said in a book that the two killings could not have been done by the same man. Misconduct claims against him by the British Psychological Society were dropped in 2002 because they could not be properly investigated given the passage of time. No longer on the police list of approved forensic psychologists.

Keith Pedder, 51, the detective inspector who led the investigation saw his career stall after its spectacular collapse and left the Met in 1996. He was charged with corruption offences in 1998 for allegedly trying to get information from the Police National Computer but the case was thrown out by a judge in 1999. Mr Pedder has worked as a private detective and is currently recuperating from serious illness.

Lizzie James, 39: the female officer who tried in a series of sexually explicit letters to get Mr Stagg to confess to killing Ms Nickell. She received a £125,000 compensation payment for stress in 2001. Lizzie James was not her real name and a court order remains in force preventing disclosure of her real identity.

Ian Johnston, 63: the most senior Scotland Yard officer to have been involved, in a supervisory role, in the Nickell inquiry; Mr Johnston rose to Assistant Commissioner in the Metropolitan Police and is now chief constable of British Transport Police. Conducted the review of the Met's inquiry into Damian Green MP.

Dame Barbara Mills, 68: the Director of Public Prosecutions at the time that both the cases against Mr Stagg and Robert Napper were being pursued. Despite the high profile failure of the case and widespread criticism of its conduct she remained DPP until 1998. Dame Barbara is now The Adjudicator, handling complaints against HM Revenue & Customs, the Tax Credit Office and other taxation bodies.

Mr Justice Ognall, 74: the judge who rejected the prosecution case against Mr Stagg. Sir Harry Ognall has now retired from the bench but serves as a judicial member on the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Committee.

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