Family's anger at City worker's murder probe

The family of a murdered City highflier are furious after learning the police investigation into his killing was not properly funded.

A former detective has said he was ordered not to launch a major inquiry into the death of tax expert Jay Abatan.

John May said he was told not to bother opening an incident room or to use a computer database and that officers would not be allowed to work overtime on the case.

His claims, made during a disciplinary hearing against two Sussex detectives, have angered Mr Abatan's family, who say it confirms their suspicions that his murder was not given priority because he was black.

Mr Abatan, a 42-year-old father of two, was attacked by a gang of men after an argument over a taxi outside the Ocean Rooms nightclub in Brighton on 24 January 1999. He died five days later when his hospital life-support machine was switched off.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has concluded that police bungled the investigation. Although two suspects were arrested within 24 hours, manslaughter charges against them were dropped for lack of evidence and they were cleared by a jury of lesser charges. One of the men, Graham Curtis, committed suicide in June 2003.

The commission found that detectives did not interview potential witnesses or treat the nightclub as a crime scene and failed to treat the case seriously enough. Mr May told the hearing he had expected to set up an incident room but Brighton CID head Graham Davies said the case did not warrant using the Holmes computer database normally used by forces in murder cases.

Mr May said the attack was dismissed as "just a fight in a taxi queue". He added: "I was concerned that a potential murder was being downgraded at that stage and that was dangerous."

Mr May, now retired from the police, was appearing for detective inspectors Andy Young and Martin Sapwell, who face 12 charges that they were not " conscientious and diligent in their duties in the course of the investigation".

Mr Abatan's brother Michael said: "We were told that money was not an issue. We now know the investigation team was told to be economic. It is clear to me that black families will continue to struggle to get justice."

The tribunal will rule next week.