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Damilola inquiry flawed
09/12/2002 16:16 - (SA)
London - A report into the Damilola Taylor murder inquiry has identified a series of failings by the police and criminal justice system.
The eight-month review by John Sentamu, the Bishop of Birmingham, makes 23 recommendations.
It has been welcomed by Damilola's father Richard Taylor, who said: "The criminal justice system is faulty and it needs to be looked into."
Although the review acknowledges the Metropolitan Police had moved on since the botched Stephen Lawrence inquiry in 1993, it makes a series of criticisms.
It is particularly damning about the way the Crown's 14-year-old child witness known as "Bromley" was dealt with.
The judge threw out her evidence in the trial of four youths accused of murdering 10-year-old Damilola. The trial ended in April.
The four were accused of stabbing Damilola to death in Peckham, south London, in November 2000.
The report praises the police's response in the initial stages of the investigation but raises concerns about the inquiry after the suspects were charged.
It says more officers should have been kept on the case and the defendants mobile phone records, later used in their defence, should have been checked.
The report says the rules on admissable evidence need to be changed and the defence should in future be obliged to disclose its evidence to the prosecution.
It also calls for the rules on cell confessions to be tightened and urges the police to make sure they are consulted before the media offer rewards.
Child witness
The report says: "The vulnerable child witness Bromley and her evidence presented significant challenges to the investigation.
"The apparent differences between the way courts treat vulnerable young persons who are witnesses rather than victims or defendants requires further attention."
Metropolitan police chief Sir John Stevens said he accepted the report's findings and vowed to build on them.
He said the report "demonstrates a critical need to re-evaluate the way young people are treated in the criminal justice system" between being charged and standing trial.
A second report into the Crown Prosecution Service's handling of the case has also been released.
It said the decision to continue with the trial of the four teenagers was "the right thing to do".
The review was carried out by Director of Public Prosecutions Sir David Calvert-Smith QC.
He said there would have been "grounds for strong criticism" of the prosecution if it had failed to put what evidence there was before a judge and jury.
- Reuters
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