Woolmer Was Poisoned and Strangled, Panorama Investigation Says

Pakistan's cricket coach Bob Woolmer was poisoned before being strangled, according to preliminary toxicology tests, it is claimed today.

Details of the poison used to subdue Woolmer, whose death in Jamaica last month cast a shadow over the cricket World Cup, are likely to offer a significant lead to finding his murderer, according to an investigation on tonight's Panorama on BBC1. The drug would have left him incapacitated, which could explain how his assailant had managed to overwhelm Woolmer, who was 6ft 2in and heavily built. The programme will also screen the last recorded image of Woolmer, taken after Pakistan's shock defeat at the hands of tournament minnows Ireland on March 17. A blurred recording from a CCTV camera at the Pegasus Hotel shows the coach heading back to his room on the 12th floor, where his body was found the following morning.

It will also disclose that PJ Mir, the team's former media manager, has fled Pakistan after claiming that a fatwah has been issued against him - and believes that Woolmer could have faced a similar level of anger from Pakistani fans.

Speculation about Woolmer's death has included claims that he had uncovered a match-fixing scandal, or that he was the victim of a supporter with a grudge. The 58-year-old coach's body arrived back in Cape Town yesterday. The Jamaican authorities last week postponed the inquest because of unexplained "significant developments" in the case. Mark Shields, Jamaica's deputy police commissioner, plans to fly to South Africa to meet Gill Woolmer, the coach's widow, and her sons, Dale and Russell, to update them on the inquiry.

· Panorama: Murder at the World Cup, 8.30pm, tonight, BBC1