Three are quizzed on Damilola murder

BRITAIN: Police in London were last night quizzing a man and two youths over the murder of 10-year-old schoolboy Damilola Taylor…

BRITAIN: Police in London were last night quizzing a man and two youths over the murder of 10-year-old schoolboy Damilola Taylor.

All three suspects were previously arrested four years ago but never charged. Their re-arrest is understood to follow a forensic breakthrough by detectives who have re-examined every piece of evidence from the original case using new DNA techniques.

The three suspects were among a group of more than a dozen local youths held by police in the months after Damilola was stabbed to death with a jagged bottle on a run-down estate in Peckham, south London, in November 2000.

Four other teenagers, including two brothers, were charged with the murder and eventually stood trial at the Old Bailey in 2002.

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They were acquitted after the evidence of a 14-year-old girl, who claimed she saw the killing, was thrown out of court after it was ruled unreliable. It was claimed the girl had only said she witnessed the murder because of a £50,000 reward offered by a newspaper.

Damilola's parents, Richard and Gloria, were told in advance about yesterday's arrests.

They had been planned for some time and were described as "highly significant". A police source said: "These are certainly not speculative arrests."

The three suspects were taken to separate police stations in the capital for questioning.

Detectives working on the case, now headed by Det Chief Insp Nick Ephgrave, will have until today to charge the three, or seek more time for questioning.

Their investigation has included raids at addresses close to the murder scene last October.

They have also concentrated on finding new witnesses and breaking down the wall of silence that the original inquiry team met in Peckham.

Nigerian-born Damilola was on his way home from a library when he was attacked in what police believe was a "juking" - an attempted robbery by bullies. - (PA)