Nikki Allan: Mum of murdered girl to sue Northumbria Police

The parent of a miss murdered successful 1992 says she is taking ineligible enactment against a constabulary unit implicit her 30-year hold for justice.

Nikki Allan, seven, was lured to a derelict gathering successful Sunderland wherever she was repeatedly beaten and stabbed.

Her ex-neighbour David Boyd was jailed for her execution successful May. Nikki's mum Sharon Henderson said Northumbria Police should person caught him sooner.

The unit told the BBC it would not remark implicit immoderate ineligible action.

In an exclusive interrogation with BBC Newsnight, Ms Henderson said her lawyers were penning to the main constable of Northumbria Police announcing their intent to prosecute ineligible action.

She has besides invited the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner to behaviour an inquiry.

Ms Henderson said she believed the adjacent 30-year hold successful arresting Boyd, who was besides Nikki's babysitter's boyfriend, stemmed from an inadequate constabulary probe into the case.

The communicative of Sharon Henderson and her hunt for her daughter's killer.

"I was treated truly severely by the police," Ms Henderson said, adding: "Because I was the 1 parent, I didn't person immoderate enactment and I was drinking heavily.

"I was surviving successful a assembly level and I didn't person immoderate money."

Nikki and her household lived successful the Wear Garth flats successful Hendon, eastbound Sunderland, 2 floors beneath Boyd, who was 25 years aged astatine the time.

She disappeared connected the nighttime of 7 October with her battered and blood-stained assemblage recovered successful the basement of the adjacent derelict Old Exchange gathering the pursuing morning.

She had been stabbed dozens of times and smashed connected the caput with a brick.

Local antheral George Heron fell nether constabulary scrutiny, confessing to the transgression aft 3 days of questioning.

But that confession was ruled inadmissible successful tribunal owed to harsh interrogation tactics and Mr Heron was acquitted of Nikki's murder, granted a caller identity, and relocated from Sunderland.

Boyd was spoken to by constabulary arsenic a witnesser but ne'er treated arsenic a fishy astatine the time.

A DNA illustration matching his was recovered connected Nikki's apparel successful 2017 erstwhile a caller squad of detectives reopened the case.

Ms Henderson had carried retired her ain investigations implicit the years and said she could not recognize wherefore the constabulary did not question him astatine the time, adding she "begged" the unit to reopen Nikki's lawsuit sooner.

"For years I asked astir this person, and the constabulary said helium didn't exist," she said.

She said years of warring for justness had near a dense toll, adding: "I americium grappling with post-traumatic accent disorder, I person been successful and retired of hospitals."

Ms Henderson said 1 root of her torment was the repeated dismissal of her pleas by the police.

She said she had been haunted by relentless nightmares, adding: "I kept saying to Nikki that I volition not fto you down, due to the fact that I've fto you done erstwhile and I person to unrecorded without you.

"If I spell to the store and I spot a lad oregon a small miss by themselves I telephone the store owner, I interest sick."

Ms Henderson said aft Nikki was recovered dead, sections of the media blamed her for not being a bully mother.

"It was truly atrocious astatine the beginning," she said.

"But I ignored rumours, which is hard erstwhile you unrecorded successful a assemblage and it's astir you."

Ms Henderson claimed 1 of the mendacious rumours was dispersed to the media by section constabulary members, suggesting that she was retired astatine a pub the time Nikki Allan disappeared.

She said she had not been contacted by the constabulary and lone heard the unit had apologised via the media.

Northumbria Police told the BBC it had "made repeated attempts to effort and talk to Nikki's mum Sharon anterior to the media sum but were unluckily incapable to interaction her".

A spokesperson added: "We did talk to Sharon the pursuing time and person further offered the accidental for her to conscionable with Assistant Chief Constable Alastair Simpson - and this connection remains open."

However, Ms Henderson said she would not judge immoderate apology, but wanted to "make definite that this doesn't hap to different families".

Ms Henderson, who has made a memorial to Nikki successful her garden, said she had "only conscionable begun to grieve" for her daughter, adding: "I'm conscionable trying to bash the champion to get the champion justness result for Nikki."

Harriet Wistrich of the Centre for Women's Justice, which is legally representing Ms Henderson, said: "Sharon and her daughters person suffered immense symptom and harm arsenic a effect of historical constabulary failures.

"She ne'er gave up connected her attempts to unafraid justness for Nikki.

"Now the murderer has been convicted, she wants answers and a afloat enquiry into the historical failures by Northumbria Police."

The BBC contacted the Northumbria Police for its absorption to Ms Henderson's ineligible action.

It said "it would not beryllium due for america to remark successful narration to immoderate volition to bring ineligible enactment against the force".

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness said she could "only ideate the interaction the hold for justness has had" connected Nikki's household and would marque plans to conscionable them "in the coming days".