Richard Taylor rounds on CPS

The father of Damilola Taylor today launched a scathing attack on the flawed prosecution which means his son's killers may never be brought to justice.

After the pain and anguish of yesterday's acquittal of the main suspects, Richard Taylor rounded on the prosecution team and judge's decision to ensure potentially vital information was never put before the jury.

Mr Justice Hooper ruled that a confession made by boy A to a social worker was unreliable. He also would not allow the jury to see forensic evidence which might have linked a training shoe worn by another defendant to the bottle used in the attack.

Mr Taylor, 56, said: "It seemed to me that the police worked tremendously hard to link the defendants with the glass they found which had Damilola's blood on it, yet when the time came to put it before the jury, the judge refused. I do not understand why he made that decision. I will never understand. The justice system in this country needs to be looked at. It leans too far in favour of the suspect."

He added: "I always felt confident there would be a conviction. It seemed to me that as the witnesses came into court, it was obvious that there was a grain of truth there.

"These suspects have been cleared of the murder of our son but we have never heard from them any explanation of what they were actually doing that night. This is not justice. I believe someone stabbed my son and I believe the person who did that heinous act should pay.

"Some sense of peace, some sense that this has ended is still beyond us even at the end of this trial and it seems that it will always be beyond us now."

A deeply religious man, Mr Taylor says he still feels close to his son through prayer. "We continue to tell him that we love him. But I also ask him to haunt to the ends of the earth those people who killed him, wherever they go for the rest of their lives."

He said his trauma is such that he has felt unable to tell Damilola's grandparents in Nigeria that he is dead. His mother is now 91 and frail. Damilola's maternal grandmother is in her seventies.

Mr Taylor said his mother adored Damilola. "She chose his name, which means 'Gift from God', when he was born and he is always, always in her mind. Our hope is that we don't ever have to tell her but it is a dreadful burden to carry."

Damilola's mother, Gloria, 51, added: "What I want most of all is for my Damilola to rest in peace, and to leave vengeance for his death to God."

The Taylors were also critical of the acquitted boys. "The way they behaved in the initial stages of the trial was shocking," Mrs Taylor said.

"I feel sure they knew we were Damilola's parents yet they were laughing at us as if they were taunting us and the memory of our son."

Most dispiriting trial in 30 years