NEW BBC crime drama Four Lives will tell the story of serial killer Stephen Port who murdered four young men he met on Grindr, the gay dating app.

       The show aims to focus on the perspectives of his four victims - but who were they?

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       Port was sentenced to a whole-life order for the murders, meaning he will never be released Credit: pixel GRG Who were Stephen Port's victims? Anthony Walgate 5

       Fashion student Anthony Walgate was the first to be found dead Credit: pixel GRG

       Stephen Port was found guilty of the murders of four men and Anthony Walgate was his first victim.

       He was a student who had dreams of being a famous fashion designer.

       Living away from his family home in Hull, he occasionally worked as an escort through a website called Sleepyboys to earn some extra money.

       It was there he was contacted by Port, who offered him ￡800 for an overnight job.

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       Anthony was then found dead outside Port’s flat in Barking east London on June 19 2014 after being given a fatal dose of GHB.

       Port had pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice in relation Mr Walgate's death and was sentenced to eight months imprisonment.

       But, by the time Port was jailed, he had gone on to claim the lives of another two young men.

       Gabriel Kovari 5

       22-year-old Slovakian national Gabriel Kovari was killed by Port just a few years after he moved to London Credit: pixel GRG

       Gabriel Kovari, 22 was his second victim.

       He had moved to London from Slovakia and had briefly lived with Port.

       After meeting one of his Port's neighbours the day after he moved in, Mr Kovari text him to say "Stephen is not a nice person".

       The neighbour texted Port to ask how Mr Kovari was doing, but he replied that he had left.

       It wasn't long until Mr Kovari's body was found slumped against a wall in the graveyard near Port's flat.

       Daniel Whitworth 5

       21-year-old chef Daniel Whitworth was found dead with an forged suicide note in a churchyard near Port's home Credit: pixel GRG

       Port's third victim, Mr Whitworth was a chef and had worked at up-market locations in London such as One Moorgate Place and Canary Warf.

       Mr Whitworth was signed up to a dating site called Fitlads and began talking to Port on there.

       About a month later, he was found dead in the Barking churchyard next to a fake suicide note, written by Port.

       Like Port's first two victims, Mr Whitworth had died of GHB poisoning.

       Jack Taylor 5

       Jack Taylor was killed by Stephen Port after the pair met on a gay dating app Credit: pixel GRG

       Port killed again just three months after being released from prison, in September 2015, when night shift forklift truck driver Jack Taylor was found dead.

       The final victim lived at home with his parents and he had two sisters. He was not thought to be openly gay and had a number of girlfriends in the past.

       Mr Taylor was discovered in the same spot in the church graveyard as Gabriel Kovari and Daniel Whitworth, but police made no link and put the death down to a drug overdose.

       His family refused to accept this story and pursed their own inquiries.

       A month after his body was found, Port was arrested on suspicion of causing the deaths of all four of his victims by administering poison.

       The family members of the four victims recently blasted Met cops who investigated their deaths as "unfit for duty".

       It was ruled at an inquest earlier this month that "fundamental failures" by police into the death of Port's first victim, Anthony Walgate, probably contributed to the death of Gabriel Kovari, the second young man to die at his hand.

       Will Stephen Port be released from prison?

       Port was jailed in November 2016 for drugging and murdering men he met on gay dating app Grindr before dumping their bodies in a graveyard

       Although his crimes are known as the Grindr Murders, they are also called the Barking Murders after the town where they occurred.

       Port was given a life sentence with a whole life order.

       He is one of 60 prisoners in the UK serving such sentence, which means he will die behind bars.

       An inquest in December 2021 found that a catalogue of failures by the Metropolitan Police "probably" contributed to the deaths of Gabriel, Daniel and Jack.

       The victims' families believe the investigation was neglected due to the common theme with their deaths - all the victims were gay.

       Anthony's dad Thomas told The Telegraph: "We all think there is a vein of homophobia running through the Met."

       John Pape, a friend of Gabriel, said: ‘It seems as if the police just went, “Oh well, that’s what young gay men do: they take drugs and they die in graveyards.”’

       Since the murders came to an end, 17 cops have been investigated by the watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and found that nine had performance failings. None of those have been disciplined.

       Met Police chief Cressida Dick apologised in December 2021 to a family of one of the victims.

       Sarah Sak, Anthony's mum, said she told police 12 times she believed bus depot chef Port had murdered her son.

       After an emotional hour-long meeting with Commissioner Dick Sarah revealed: “She told me, ‘I am sorry, both personally and on behalf of The Met — had police listened to what you said, things would have turned out a lot differently’.”

       Sarah, 55, added: “I believe she meant it. I feel lighter knowing changes are being made, even though nothing will bring my son back.”

       At the time of the inquest's conclusion, Met Police Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball said: "[The inquest jury]

       found that the deaths of three of those young men – Gabriel, Daniel and Jack – could probably have been prevented had the initial police responses and investigations been better.

       "It is a devastating finding. Our thoughts are with everybody who loved these young men. We are so sorry for their loss.

       "And we're also deeply sorry that there were failings in the police response to the murders. I give my own and the Met’s heartfelt apologies.

       "All those who loved Anthony, Gabriel, Daniel and Jack expected a professional and thorough police investigation into their deaths and it is a great sadness for me and everybody at the Met that this didn't happen.

       "We want to give the families, and Daniel’s partner, the opportunity to talk to us so we can listen to their views and concerns. The Commissioner has offered to meet them personally, as have I, and we will take this forward according to their wishes.

       "We've been working to rebuild trust in the Met for some time now and we completely accept that people's trust in us has been damaged by a number of recent events."

       The Met has also denied the accusations of being "institutionally homophobic".

       Baroness Casey of Blackstock has been appointed to lead an independent review into the Met's standards and culture.

       Families of Stephen Port victims say their deaths are 'institutional failures'