British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair said today lessons must be learned from the murder of schoolboy Damilola Taylor as pressure grew for an inquiry into police and prosecutors' handling of the case.
But he refused to comment on whether there would be a parliamentary inquiry.
"We must learn the lessons, but we should also realise the police have a difficult job to do and we shouldn't rush to judge. We should consider it carefully so we get it right," Mr Blair said.
Damilola bled to death on a rundown London housing estate in November 2000. Police said he was attacked by youths who stabbed him with a bottle and left him to die.
A jury at London's Old Bailey court yesterday acquitted two 16-year-olds of his murder.
London's mayor joined Damilola's parents in calling for a review of the case. "It needs to be asked how the Crown Prosecution Service has allowed such an important case to fall apart in this way," Mr Ken Livingstone said in a statement.
"Further to the concerns expressed by the judge during the trial, I will be asking the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police about the quality of murder clear-ups".
Metropolitan Police Authority chairman Mr Toby Harris said an internal police inquiry would be carried out into the handling of the case and decisions made. He also wanted a review of the treatment of vulnerable witnesses - evidence from children featured prominently in the case.