A Lancashire murder is among 120 deaths which Metropolitan police believe could be a so-called 'honour killing'.

But Scotland Yard was staying tight-lipped on the identity of the case that is being re-examined along with 120 other murders.

Detectives hope that taking a fresh look at the crimes - almost all of which have already been solved - will help them learn more about the scale and nature of the deaths.

Many of those who died were women who had been involved in relationships which their family felt brought dishonour on them, the Met spokesman said.

A large proportion came from south Asian communities, but others were of African, Arabic or eastern European origin, he added.

Some of the crimes were carried out by contract killers, and others involved so-called "bounty hunters" who specialise in tracking down victims. A total of 117 cases from England and Wales - 52 in London and 65 elsewhere - are being revisited, including the one in Lancashire.

A spokesman for the Met said,"We want to try to see what the scale of the problem is across Europe, and also to see how other countries deal with it. This is a learning process." Ram Gidoomal, of the UK's South Asian Development Partnership, called for police to work alongside social services to prevent killings, and said, "I would like to see what action has been taken already - it is not as if we have just been made aware of this issue."

"Everyone needs to be educated to look out for early warning signs. All agencies need to share information."