David Rowe says his part in the case had been unfairly represented

Miss Ward, 28, who lived near Bury St Edmunds, died while travelling in the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya.

Earlier this month a coroner found that she had been unlawfully killed.

On Thursday, David Rowe, 70, a former assistant commissioner of the Kenyan police, said his part in the case was unfairly represented at an inquest.

Mr Rowe, who is English and has a house in Capel St Mary, Suffolk, said he was considering contacting coroner Peter Dean to offer his side of the story.

Miss Ward vanished in 1988 and her killers have never been found.

The burned remains of her leg and part of her jaw were found near a tree in the bush. Her skull and spine were found nearby.

I would have willingly given evidence because I could have dispelled some of the nonsense that was reported David Rowe

Her father John, 70, a hotelier who also lives near Bury St Edmunds, says the Kenyan government of former President Daniel Moi tried to cover up that his daughter's murder to protect their tourist industry.

He has complained that the Foreign Office and Metropolitan police, whose detectives travelled to Kenya to help in the investigation, colluded in the cover up so as to placate Moi.

The complaint is being investigated by a team of Lincolnshire Police detectives which is due to present its report to the police complaints commission later this year.

The new Kenyan government has indicated that it will launch a new inquiry and Mr Ward is due to travel to Kenya for discussions in the near future.

Kenyan authorities said Julie Ward had been killed by animals

Mr Rowe did not attend the inquest - although the coroner said he had been invited.

The inquest was told that in the aftermath of Miss Ward's death Mr Rowe, who had left the police force but was working as a consultant, discussed the case during a meeting at his house with an MI6 agent, named as "Mr A".

Mr A had logged details of the meeting in a file at MI6 headquarters.

But when questioned by Lincolnshire detectives last year neither Mr Rowe or Mr A had mentioned the meeting.

Mr Ward said Mr Rowe had put forward the theory that Miss Ward could have been struck by lightning so fierce that it snapped her bones.

The British pathologist who examined her remains told the inquest that the suggestion was nonsensical.

Denies 'lightning' claim

On Thursday, Mr Rowe said he had been in Kenya since November last year and only returned to his house in Suffolk this week.

He said he had not realised that the inquest was being held.

He said he had not mentioned the meeting with Mr A to police because he had forgotten about it.

He denied saying that Miss Ward had been hit by lightning.

He said he had merely suggested that lighting could be the cause of a fire in the bush.

"We left for Kenya in November and were staying up country. I didn't know the inquest was taking place," he said.