Talks to bring back playboy wanted over Martine killing
David Miliband is leading high-level talks to bring the prime suspect in the murder of a Norwegian student in London back to Britain, the Standard has learned.
The Foreign Secretary flew to Norway following the murder of Martine Vik Magnussen, 23, who was raped and killed after partying with friends at a members-only club in Mayfair.
Mr Miliband told the family the investigation was a priority for the Government as he pledged to bring her killer to justice.
His intervention comes as Scotland Yard named playboy billionaire heir Farouk Abdulhak their prime suspect.
The heir fled London to his native Yemen just hours after she was killed in his Great Portland Street flat in March.
Mr Miliband became personally involved in the case after discussions between Norway, Britain and Yemen to extradite the suspect stalled. He promised to do all he could to ensure the "shocking" case was resolved.
He told the family the murder was " absolutely terrible" and hoped they would recognise the "sincerity and seriousness" with which Britain was treating the case.
Abdulhak has sought refuge in Yemen where his father, Shaher Abdulhak, is one of the country's most powerful men.
Although Yemen has no extradition treaty with Britain, sources near the investigation said diplomatic efforts are underway to extradite the suspect by other means.
The source said: "It is a very, very slow bureaucratic process. [Yemen officials] have asked all the time for a trial in Yemen but that has been rejected."
The Met refused to comment directly on the extradition efforts. A spokesman said: "It can be done. Whether it is being done in this case we are not prepared to discuss."
It is understood Martine's parents Odd Petter Magnussen and Kristin Vik Ronnaug, want Gordon Brown to intervene.
A family friend told the Standard: "They were frustrated by the lack of progress. It seems just because you are of a higher level of mobility you can commit crimes and get away with it. [The authorities] know his whereabouts but months are going by and not much is happening."
The naming of Abdulhak as the prime suspect has, however, brought some comfort to the family.
A friend said: "This is a major step. It is a very good thing. But even this will not make this guy [Abdulhak] come forward. It is a great platform and will increase the pressure on his father to hand him over.
"Everyone knows it all depends on the father. He is a very powerful man."
