Missing Kiwi gets inquest

British authorities have agreed to hold an inquest into the death of Lee Sheppard, the New Zealander who went missing in London six years ago.

Sheppard vanished on the night of January 31, 2003, after turning up for work at a refrigeration recycling plant. His absence remained a mystery until top Auckland private investigator Ron McQuilter took up the inquiry three years ago.

McQuilter flew to London and reactivated the case, working alongside police at the Colindale Police Station, near Sheppard's workplace.

Late last year, McQuilter revealed he believed Sheppard had died on site in an industrial accident. In the latest development, the British Government has given permission for a formal inquest to be held into his death.

No date has yet been set for the inquest, McQuilter says. "The next step will be to open it [in London], then adjourn it - pending a decision on who is required to give evidence."

McQuilter plans to attend the inquest, with Sheppard's parents, Ken and Rose, and Sheppard's wife Juliet, who was pregnant when he disappeared.

Formal notification of the decision to hold an inquest brings some personal satisfaction for McQuilter, who called his investigation "the ultimate whodunit".

Juliet and the couple's son now live in her Northland home town.