A judge has been appointed to handle a fresh inquest into the death of four men murdered by gay serial killer Stephen Port.

The body of Daniel Whitworth, 21, of Nine Elms Road, Gravesend, was dumped in a churchyard in Barking, Essex, by Port after he drugged and raped him in 2014.

At an inquest in June 2015 it was ruled Mr Whitworth and 22-year-old Gabriel Kovari, who was found in the same spot a month before, died after overdosing on GHB and methadone.

However, that verdict was quashed in 2017 after their deaths were linked to those of 23-year-old Anthony Walgate the previous year and 25-year-old Jack Taylor, who died in September 2015.

A suicide note found in Mr Whitworth's possession was found to have be forged by Stephen Port - known as the Grindr killer because of the dating app he used to meet his victims - who was jailed for life in November 2016 for murdering the four men.

Now Her Honour Judge Sarah Munro QC has been appointed an assistant coroner for the East London coronial area and will sit as the coroner for the inquests into the deaths of the victims, with a pre-inquest review set for Friday July 5 at the Old Bailey in London.

The pre-inquest review will examine, amongst other things, the scope of the inquest, the witnesses to be called, whether a jury will be appointed and the location of the inquests.

Andrew Petherbridge, the lawyer from Hudgell Solicitors acting for the victims’ families, said: “The families welcome the appointment of a coroner.

"They’ve had a very long wait for answers but feel positive that a date has been set and that the inquest process can now resume.”

Oliver Carlyon of law firm Fieldfisher and Andrew Connor QC are instructed as solicitor and counsel respectively to the inquests.

Read more: All the latest news from Gravesend