Man arrested in connection with murder of Jill Dando

A man has been arrested in London by detectives investigating the murder of the BBC television presenter Jill Dando. Scotland Yard said the man was detained at about 6.30am this morning and was taken to a police station in the capital. Miss Dando died after being shot in the head on the doorstep of her home in Fulham, Southwest London April 26 last year after returning from a shopping trip. Today's arrest is the first since almost a year ago, when a man was questioned but released without charge. There was no indication this morning as to the identity of the suspect.

Detectives investigating the murder of Ms Dando not been able to to identify any obvious motive for the apparently senseless killing. This has meant they have not been able to eliminate any part of the inquiry. Over the past 12 months, detectives have continued their painstaking investigation which has included the analysis of 60 firearm murders of women in England and Wales since 1980, as well as checking out 8,000 names given to police in the course of the inquiry, trace 20,000 blue Range Rovers, check 80,000 mobile phone calls, and interview 100 suspects. They have also read 1,000 ultimately unhelpful letters from clairvoyants.

A variety of theories have been postulated for the killing. Ms Dando's role as presenter of the BBC1 series Crimewatch UK raised speculation about a possible link to her murder. There was also a "hitman" theory given the execution-style nature of the killing. Other theories put forward to explain the murder included a random attack or robbery, a link to Britain's role in air strikes against Yugoslavia and some involvement of Ms Dando's former boyfriends.

But, the stalker theory appears to be the most likely motive. In 1988, Ms Dando was bothered by an obsessive fan, though the individual concerned appeared to have been discounted by police early on. The police appealed for names on a Crimewatch show, broadcast on the anniversary of Miss Dando's death. It has been reported that they received about 200 fresh names, and 20 of these were said to be relevant and interesting.