Divers hunting for clues on how Mike Lynch’s superyacht sank make discovery

The multi-million-pound boat was found more than 40 miles off the coast of the Channel Islands.

Divers hunting for clues on how a superyacht linked to collapsed software firm Autonomy sank have made a discovery.

The multi-million-pound boat, named My Lady, was found more than 40 miles off the coast of the Channel Islands in 100ft of water in December last year.

Two bodies were found on board, with a third discovered in the water close to the wreck.

The bodies of Kevin Hyde, his wife Nicola and their daughter Sophie were found after the 90ft boat went down while returning from Guernsey.

A post-mortem examination found they died from drowning.

Police and divers have now found the emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) which sends a distress signal.

An EPIRB should automatically activate when a vessel sinks, sending its location to the coastguard.

But it has emerged that My Lady’s EPIRB was found to have been disabled.

Detectives have now launched a manslaughter investigation over the deaths of the Hyde family.

Mr Hyde, 50, was the former finance chief of Sussex-based software company Autonomy, which was bought by Hewlett-Packard in 2011 for £8bn, before it went into administration.

He was later at the centre of a fraud investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, which has now been closed.

The discovery that the boat’s emergency beacon was disabled could prove to be a crucial part of the manslaughter investigation.

Police will need to establish who disabled the beacon, why they did it, and whether it constitutes gross negligence.

If police can prove that the beacon was deliberately disabled and that this caused the deaths of the Hyde family, then the person or people responsible could be charged with manslaughter.

The investigation into the sinking of My Lady is continuing.

Conclusion

The discovery of the disabled emergency beacon is a significant development in the investigation into the sinking of My Lady. It could provide crucial evidence as to what happened in the lead-up to the tragedy and who is responsible for the deaths of the Hyde family.