- guardian.co.uk, Saturday 6 November 1999 17.07 GMT
Former Detective Superintendent Charles Moffat told the inquest into Ricky's death that during the year his death was investigated he was also in charge of 20 other murder inquiries with a budget of just £400,000.
Mr Moffat, who was criticised by the family and also by the Police Complaints Authority for his handling of the case, said: "I understand that £2.5m had been spent scrutinising the work that I did as a result of the complaint."
Earlier, Detective Chief Inspector Sue Hill, who led a later investigation into Ricky's death, said she believed it had been a "tragic accident".
Mr Moffat, who has since retired, said: "During the year I was investigating the death of Ricky Reel I was responsible for the conduct of 20 murder inquiries, of which only two were unsolved. I had an outstanding success rate."
He had ordered a full search of the Thames at Kingston, south-west London, following Ricky's disappearance.
"Ricky's body was quickly located in the river after a speculative underwater search. It is doubtful that any other police force would have found the body any sooner."
