Three arrested over Damilola Taylor murder

The schoolboy bled to death after being stabbed in the leg on his way home from school in November 2000 in Peckham, south London.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bill Griffiths of the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Directorate, said: “These significant developments today are the result of a determined effort to establish the truth of what happened on that day."

All three suspects arrested today were among a group of more than a dozen local youths held by police four years ago but were not 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.

A prosecution was brought against four youths in 2002 - two of the defendants were acquitted on the direction of the judge and the remaining two were found not guilty by a jury.

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 claimed to have witnessed the murder because of a 50,000 reward offered by a newspaper.

Damilola’s parents, Richard and Gloria, were told in advance that today’s arrests would be taking place.

The arrests 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.

The police investigation included raids at addresses close to the murder scene last October. Police are also concentrating on finding new witnesses and breaking down the wall of silence that the original inquiry team met in Peckham.

Damilola's father, who sat through the whole trial, has refused to give up hope that the police would get it right.

Speaking on the fourth anniversary of Damilola’s death last November he said: "We still believe in the judicial system of this country.

"I actually believe that the police will not rest until justice is obtained for those who murdered my son.

"We are hopeful that the investigation is still on and one day someone will be brought to justice.

"It has been very difficult. We find it difficult to cope. We still remember him every day, every night."

Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir John Stevens said: "I think what people need to understand is that we in the police never give up and these inquiries are never closed."