Bailed boy accused of murder

A teenager has been charged with a murder after being given bail by magistrates - despite facing robbery and assault charges.

The story of how the 17-year-old was free to walk the streets of London, despite having been identified by police as violent and potentially dangerous, is revealed for the first time today.

The spate of crimes the youth is accused of having committed while on bail is a grim indictment of the criminal justice system in the capital.

It appears to confirm the recent criticism by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens, who said that persistent muggers were being dealt with like petty shoplifters.

The youth, who cannot be named, has now been accused of stabbing a 19-year-old in a gang fight. At the time of the killing in London earlier this year he was facing charges of robbery and assault with intent to resist arrest and had been on bail for the previous year for violent offences and carrying a deadly weapon.

His initial bail was without any restrictions, and despite bail later being extended on condition that he did not leave home unless accompanied by an adult, he was still allegedly able to kill. Police claim that for a year he ignored the conditions set by the court and continued offending "without fear of being dealt with by the criminal justice system".

Research has shown that youths are more than twice as likely to offend while on bail than adults.

In a recent hard-hitting speech Sir John attacked the failings of the courts which allowed offenders, in particular young street robbers, to be released on bail on the streets of London to re-offend.

An investigation by the Evening Standard has found a series of cases where young criminals were released on bail and continued to offend.

Many committed offences in breach of bail conditions. One man was arrested for three counts of burglary, committed while under curfew conditions.