'I worry there's been a conspiracy of silence': Missing toddler Ben Needham's mother reveals her fears that 'well-connected' prime suspect was being protected - and that her son could be found 'in fragments' 

  • 21-month-old Ben Needham went missing on Greek island of Kos in 1991 
  • Konstantinos Barkas was named as a prime suspect in police investigation
  • Kerry Needham told to prepare for worst and fears there was a 'conspiracy'

By Amie Gordon For Mailonline

Published: 06:05 EST, 17 September 2016 | Updated: 10:31 EST, 17 September 2016

Ben Needham's mother has revealed her fears there may have been a 'conspiracy of silence' protecting the man suspected of killing her son. 

Kerry Needham said key witnesses may not have come forward about Konstantinos Barkas - who was a prime suspect in the investigation into the disappearance of her son Ben - because the digger driver had been 'well connected'.

And in a further tragic twist, she has also been warned to prepare herself for the possibility the body of her 21-month-old son, who vanished on the Greek island of Kos in 1991, may be found in 'fragments'.

Kerry Needham said she worries people have 'protected' Konstantinos Barkas, who was a prime suspect in the investigation into the disappearance of her son Ben
Detectives are understood to be investigating whether Mr Barkas - who died last year - knew he had killed Ben and whether there was a 'conspiracy' among his friends to protect him

Kerry Needham (left) fears people have 'protected' Konstantinos Barkas (right), the prime suspect in the investigation into the disappearance of her son Ben

21-month-old Ben Needham vanished on the Greek island of Kos in 1991

21-month-old Ben Needham vanished on the Greek island of Kos in 1991

Detectives are understood to be investigating whether Mr Barkas - who died last year - knew he had killed Ben and whether there was a 'conspiracy' among his friends to protect him.

This comes after a new witness claimed Ben was accidentally killed by Mr Barkas, known as 'Dino', when the boy strayed onto a building site where the digger driver was working.

South Yorkshire Police have spoken to the unnamed 'friend', but detectives have not ruled out murder. 

Mrs Needham told The Mirror: 'I thought he was just a poor digger driver, I had no idea he was so connected.

'I'm now starting to worry there has been a conspiracy of silence around him all these years. 

'I think he was being protected - which stopped people coming forward in 25 years.'

Ben vanished on July 24, 1991, when Miss Needham, who was 19 at the time, left him with her parents Eddie and Christine Needham while she worked at a local hotel

Ben vanished on July 24, 1991, when Miss Needham, who was 19 at the time, left him with her parents Eddie and Christine Needham while she worked at a local hotel

Ben wandered off at around 2.30pm but police were not contacted for at least three hours because the grandparents thought he must be with Kerry's 17-year-old brother Stephen

Ben wandered off at around 2.30pm but police were not contacted for at least three hours because the grandparents thought he must be with Kerry's 17-year-old brother Stephen

She is appealing to people to consider the plight and anguish her family has suffered, urging anyone with information to come forward.

Police are preparing to carry out a fresh dig in the hope of recovering Ben's body and have told his mother to prepare for the worst. 

Miss Needham said she felt 'sick' when told Ben may have been crushed beneath a digger, meaning police may not be looking for a complete skeleton.

The Mirror reported Mr Barkas had a network of contacts across the Greek island and told police he would 'chop his arms off' so he could never drive again, if he had been responsible for the toddler's death. 

An unnamed friend of the Barkas family told the paper 'everyone' in Kos knew Mr Barkas, adding he was: 'a very successful businessman involved in the building of many hotels on the island'. 

South Yorkshire Police carried out extensive searches on the island in 2012 but found nothing

South Yorkshire Police carried out extensive searches on the island in 2012 but found nothing

These leaflets are being distributed on Kos in the hope of finding Ben if he is still on the island and living under a different identity

These leaflets are being distributed on Kos in the hope of finding Ben if he is still on the island and living under a different identity

Ben vanished when Miss Needham, who was 19 at the time, left him with her parents Eddie and Christine Needham – who had emigrated to Kos – while she worked at a local hotel

Ben vanished when Miss Needham, who was 19 at the time, left him with her parents Eddie and Christine Needham – who had emigrated to Kos – while she worked at a local hotel

The Greek digger driver died of stomach cancer last year, aged 62, and his son Valantis Barkas told MailOnline his father 'was only being connected the child's disappearance now because he was dead and could not defend himself'.

Mr Barkas previously came forward in 2012 to tell police he may have accidentally covered the child in rubble while digging near a farmhouse on the island. 

But the new witness allegedly claims that Mr Barkas hit him first.  

The unnamed witness is believed to have told police he saw Mr Barkas 'sweating and shaking' after coming back from a police station the day after the disappearance. 

South Yorkshire Police said officers would be travelling back to Kos in the coming weeks 'to follow up new lines of inquiry' which have emerged following a direct Greek media appeal in May.

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