A MAN has been questioned over the gunshot killing of notorious criminal John ‘Goldfinger’ Palmer.

A 50-year-old was questioned on Saturday on suspicion of the murder of John Palmer at his mansion in Sandpit Lane, South Weald, in June 2015.

The man is originally from Tyneside but is currently living in southern Spain. He was interviewed at a police station in the UK.

An inquest in December found Mr Palmer, 65, was unlawfully killed.

Nicknamed Goldfinger because of his links to the £26m Brink's-Mat gold bullion robbery at Heathrow in 1983, Mr Palmer died after being shot six times in his back garden.

Despite being one of the UK’s most famous criminals, police officers who attended his home made no background checks on the fraudster and believed his wounds were the result of recent gall bladder surgery.

Officers only realised he had been shot five days after his death.

The inquest heard there are potentially more than 16,000 people with a motive to harm Mr Palmer because of a massive time-share fraud carried out in the 1990s.

He has also been linked to criminals behind the infamous 2015 Hatton Garden burglary.

Enquiries into Mr Palmer’s death are ongoing and detectives are continuing to appeal for anyone with information to contact the Brentwood Major Investigation Team on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.