The Jill Dando murder case took a new twist today following reports that she was killed by a Serbian criminal from the West Midlands.

Several witnesses are said to have come forward saying they heard the man boast of the TV presenter’s killing. He is said to have claimed during a drinking session in Belgrade that her murder was an act of revenge for the bombing of the city by Nato in 1999.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “After the trial, we said any new lines of inquiry that are generated we will look at.

“We are not commenting on specific lines of inquiry.”

Miss Dando, 37, was shot in the head outside her home in London on April 26, 1999.

During a retrial last year, Barry George was acquitted of her murder after spending eight years behind bars.

After his acquittal, Scotland Yard said it was keeping the murder investigation open as a top detective was given the go-ahead to review evidence to find new leads.

The way Miss Dando was killed led to theories that she might have been targeted by a professional hitman, possibly hired by a criminal imprisoned due to publicity on Crimewatch, which she presented.

But it was also suggested during Mr George’s first trial that her death could have been revenge for Nato air strikes on the former Yugoslavia. Since George was acquitted, a review of the evidence has failed to turn up any new leads.

The Serbian link was raised during Barry George’s first trial for the murder in 2001, by his barrister Michael Mansfield QC. He pointed to the fact that the bullet used was similar to those used in eastern bloc countries.

At the time, the revelations were dismissed as “headline grabbing” but following a call to Crimestoppers last month, it is now being reconsidered.

Christopher Barrett-Jolley, a former cargo pilot who was jailed for importing suitcases of cocaine into the UK in 2002, is said to have been visited at Leyhill Prison in Gloucestershire by Avon and Somerset Police.

He is alleged to have told them that he was drinking in a Belgrade bar in September 2001 when a man made an apparent confession in front of more than 10 witnesses.