DORSET Police have revealed the investigation into the death of an extremely rare white-tailed eagle which had been dropped is to be reviewed by a senior detective.

The force launched an investigation earlier this year into the death of the bird of prey, one of 25 eagles that have been released on the Isle of Wight as part of a reintroduction scheme, after its body was recovered on an estate in north Dorset.

But examinations and tests on the bird were deemed to be 'inconclusive'. While high levels of rat poison brodifacoum were detected, it was not possible to establish if it was a deliberate act of poisoning the bird, police said.

West Dorset MP Chris Loder caused outrage when he wrote a tweet which implied police should not be prioritising the investigation of the endangered white-tailed eagle.

Mr Loder and representatives from Dorset Police appeared on BBC One's Countryfile programme which investigated the recent poisonings. The episode looked into allegations which suggested that there was political pressure for police to drop the investigation after it was abruptly ended following a conversation between the Mr Loder and Dorset PCC David Sidwick. Mr Loder, Mr Sidwick and Dorset Police refute these allegations.

On the episode, Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said: "The police have been under no pressure whatsoever. The decision originally to close the investigation was the police's alone. But, it is important that I share with you that we've considered this, so we have asked a senior investigator, a highly specialised trained investigator, to have a look at the investigation, to work with the Crown Prosecution Service and the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme to see whether or not there is anything we can do in respect of proving a crime and taking prosecution forward.

"I can absolutely assure you that this was not a cursory look, this was not a cursory investigation if the bird was poisoned that is a crime that we would want to investigate and prosecute if possible but rest assured, we have had partners round the table to work on this together, and we're committed to taking that forward."