The crash is being discussed again because Mr Stephen appears to be one of a group of friends or contacts who have all died in suspicious circumstances. The latest to die is property tycoon Scot Young who fell from his penthouse in London last week. Mr Young is now said to be the sixth member in a 'ring of death' which also included Mr Curtis. Mr Curtis had been working for Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian oligarch. He is said to have been advising the oligarch on use of tax havens.

Eminent lawyer

An unnamed friend of Mr Curtis said that Mr Curtis had introduced Mr Young and others to his Russian contacts, saying: 'Stephen was an eminent lawyer... He was in a brand new helicopter, on a trip from Battersea which he did regularly to his castle in Dorset with an experienced pilot. It was no accident. He had told friends he feared he would be killed just weeks before. They are all good people, there is no doubt some of them did commit suicide. Scot had been a broken man over the last few years but they were all caught up with very, very nasty people. But people should not be allowed to go around bullying my friends into killing themselves.' Source: Daily Telegraph