Dead engineer’s brother cleared by French police

Zaid al-Hilli, who was accused of orchestrating the shooting of his brother Saad al-Hilli and his wife and mother-in-law, has had his bail cancelled because there is not enough evidence to charge him with a crime.

Surrey Police did not reveal the name of the 54-year-old, but said in a statement yesterday that a man who had been arrested in September 2012 over the deaths – and the murder of a French cyclist – was not going to face any further police action.

A police spokesperson said: “A man arrested by detectives investigating the deaths of four people near Annecy, southern France, in September 2012 has today had his bail cancelled.

“The 54-year-old man, from Chessington, was arrested on 24 June 2013 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and interviewed as part of the ongoing investigation.

“At this stage there is insufficient evidence to charge him with any criminal offence and no further police action is being taken at this time.”