Richard Taylor, the father of murdered schoolboy Damilola Taylor, has died aged 75.
Mr Taylor campaigned tirelessly against gang violence in the capital after his 10-year-old son was murdered in south London on 27 November 2000 as he walked home from the local library after school.
Damilola, who dreamed of being a doctor, had moved to London from Nigeria a few months before he was found bleeding to death in a stairwell near his home in Peckham after being stabbed in the leg with a broken beer bottle.
A statement issued on behalf of Mr Taylor’s family said: “It is with a heavy heart that the family announce the death of our beloved father, grandfather and uncle, Mr Richard Adeyemi Taylor OBE, who sadly passed away in the early hours of Saturday 23 March at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer.”
Damilola’s parents Mr Taylor and his wife Gloria Taylor, who died aged 57 in 2008, set up the Damilola Taylor Trust in May 2001 as a memorial to his son with the aim of providing hope and opportunity to disadvantaged youngsters.
Brothers Ricky and Danny Preddie were finally convicted of Damilola’s manslaughter and jailed for eight years in October 2006 after three crown court trials.
In 2020, the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, agreed to designate 7 December – Damilola’s birthday – as an annual Day Of Hope to celebrate and encourage the work of the trust and the Hope Collective.
More on Knife Crime
Related Topics:
Mr Taylor, a former civil servant in Nigeria, regularly spoke out about knife crime and was appointed as an anti-knife crime envoy by then prime minister Gordon Brown in 2009 and was made an OBE for his services to reducing youth violence.
In the 2006 Respect Your Life Not A Knife campaign he worked with footballer Rio Ferdinand, who was then playing for Damilola’s beloved Manchester United.
When the moving BBC drama, Damilola, Our Loved Boy won a BAFTA in 2017, Mr Taylor used his emotional acceptance speech to appeal to end the stabbings on the streets of London.
Dedicating the award to his son’s memory, he said: “I want to appeal to young people on the streets killing themselves.
“Parents are crying… killing has gone up recently in the city of London. I beg you: stop unnecessary killing of innocent people, spread the message.”
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Former EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, whose 16-year-old brother Ben was stabbed to death in Islington, led tributes to Mr Taylor, who supported a march against knife crime in central London in 2008 that was led by the Ben Kinsella Trust she founded.
“Richard’s courage in the face of unimaginable grief was an inspiration to me,” she said.
“After the horrific loss of his son Damilola, he chose to channel his pain into a fight for a safer future. He turned tragedy into a relentless determination to keep other families from experiencing the same heartbreak.
“Richard became a close friend and confidant after Ben’s murder, sharing his strength and unwavering belief in justice.”
Posting on X, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “Richard championed breaking down barriers to opportunity through the Damilola Taylor Trust, in honour of his son’s memory.
“He will be remembered for his courage, determination and message of hope. My condolences to Richard’s family and friends.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said Mr Taylor “lived a life in total legacy to his son, Damilola, dedicating his time to giving young people a hopeful future through positive opportunities. May he rest in peace and power”.
Labour Brent Central MP Dawn Butler said on X: “My deepest condolences go out to the family of Richard Taylor. He was a great man and a dear friend.
“He always had such kind words of wisdom for me. I will miss him. May he rest in eternal peace and may he be reunited with Damilola in heaven.”
Florence Eshalomi, the Labour MP for Vauxhall, posted: “Very sad to hear this news.
“Uncle Richard was a strong man who held the legacy and light for the Damilola Taylor Trust.
“I’m reading through my last message with him where he was reminding me about the work of the Trust. He is now at peace with his beloved son and wife.”
A Royal Navy attack submarine surfaced close to a Russian spy ship off the UK coast in an extraordinary warning to stop spying on British undersea cables, the defence secretary has revealed.
John Healey, in a highly unusual statement to MPs, said the incident involving HMS Astute happened in November but the research vessel, called Yantar, then returned to UK waters this week.
To counter the first spying mission, he said he changed the navy’s rules of engagement to enable British warships and the submarines to get closer to vessel and better track its activities.
In a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Healey said: “We see you. We know what you are doing. And we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.”
It is very rare for the UK to reveal details about the movement of its top secret fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
A decision to tell parliament that one of the submarines had surfaced next to the surveillance vessel underlines the extreme seriousness that the UK views the Russian activity back in November and again this week.
More on John Healey
Related Topics:
Mr Healey said the Russian ship had been used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK’s critical underwater infrastructure.
The UK and its NATO allies are increasingly concerned about the risk that President Putin’s country poses to offshore cables, pipelines and other infrastructure.
Describing the most recent sighting, the defence secretary said Yantar entered the “UK exclusive economic zone about 45 miles off the British coast” on Monday.
He said that for the last two days, the Royal Navy has deployed Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset and patrol ship HMS Tyne to “monitor the vessel every minute through our waters”.
Navy rules of engagement changed
The defence secretary said he changed the navy’s rules of engagement so “our warships can get closer and better track the Yantar”.
He said the ship “has complied with international rules of navigation” and has since sailed into the North Sea.
Russia has said Yantar is an oceanographic research ship which is operated by its defence ministry.
Second incident in months
Mr Healey told the House of Commons it was the second time Yantar had entered British waters in recent months, after it was detected in November “loitering over critical undersea infrastructure”.
Back then, the Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine was used to warn off the spy ship.
‘Monitoring its every move’
RAF maritime patrol aircraft, minehunter HMS Cattistock, offshore patrol vessel HMS Tyne and surveillance ship RFA Proteus were also deployed “to shadow Yantar’s every movement”.
Mr Healey said: “I authorised a Royal Navy submarine, strictly as a deterrent measure, to surface close to Yantar to make clear that we had been covertly monitoring its every move.
“The ship then left UK waters without further loitering and sailed down to the Mediterranean.”
Mr Healey warned: “Russia remains the most pressing and immediate threat to Britain, and I want to assure the House and the British people that any threat will be met with strength and resolve.”
P-8 Poseidon and Rivet Joint spy planes will join the NATO operation to protect undersea cabling in the Baltic Sea, while RFA Proteus has also been deployed to monitor offshore infrastructure.
A 12-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed in Birmingham on Tuesday has been named by police as Leo Ross.
A 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the fatal stabbing in the Hall Green area of the city.
Police were called to the incident near Scribers Lane at about 3.40pm on Tuesday to reports of a 12-year-old boy who had been stabbed in the stomach.
Paramedics at the scene treated Leo, who was found by a member of the public, and he was taken to hospital but died hours later at about 7.30pm.
West Midlands Police said in a statement that Leo was a pupil at Christ Church C of E Secondary Academy.
Executive Headteacher Diane Henson described his death as a tragedy.
She said this afternoon: “Leo was a lively and happy young man. He had many very good friends who he absolutely adored, and they adored him.
“He was just a lovely and bright member of the school community. We’re supporting the children at school and are opening a book of condolence with the family’s permission.
“Our thoughts are with Leo’s family and all his friends today.”
A spokesman for the force said Leo’s family and school are now asking for their privacy to be respected.
The 14-year-old was arrested at 7pm on Tuesday at an address in Birmingham.
He remains in custody and police inquiries are continuing.
Chief superintendent Richard North, commander of Birmingham Local Policing Area, said in an update on Wednesday that the same teenager was also arrested in connection with an assault on a woman in her 80s on Sunday, in what he called an “unrelated matter”.
Mr North described the attack as an “absolutely appalling incident” and said detectives were “working round the clock” to get to the truth of what happened.
The victim’s family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.
Police have called for anyone who may know something about the incident to come forward and assist with inquiries.
A Major Incident Public Portal (MIPP), where members of the public can submit photos or video evidence, has been set up and can be reached at mipp.police.uk, the force added.
She told MPs: “That’s a total disgrace and it must change. So, we will bring in stronger measures to tackle knife sales online in the Crime and Policing Bill this spring.”
The sale of knives with a fixed blade of more than three inches long to under-18s is illegal in England and Wales.
A man has pleaded guilty to murdering the wife and two daughters of racing commentator John Hunt in a crossbow attack.
Kyle Clifford, 26, from Enfield, was accused of stabbing Carol Hunt, 61, to death and fatally shooting Louise, 25, and Hannah Hunt, 28, with a crossbow at their family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on 9 July last year.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of an offensive weapon, alongside the murder charges. He denied one count of rape and will face a trial for this charge later in the year.
Clifford had tied the arms and ankles of his former partner, Louise, with duct tape before he shot her through the chest with a crossbow bolt.
Her sister, Hannah, was found in the main doorway of the house with a crossbow bolt to the chest. She was still alive when police arrived at the property, having managed to call the emergency services, telling officers she feared she was going to die.
Their mother, Carol, sustained significant stab wounds to her knee, hands, back and torso after Clifford attacked her with a 10in butcher’s knife.
Following the deaths, Sky Sports and BBC racing commentator Mr Hunt said the devastation he and his surviving daughter Amy feel “cannot be put into words”.
Following the attacks, the Home Office said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was urgently considering whether tougher crossbow laws were needed. But in the King’s Speech, which took place just days later, no proposal for action on the weapon was mentioned.
The previous government looked at bringing in firearms licensing-style rules in the wake of an attempt to kill the late Queen with a crossbow.
There is currently no registration system for owning a crossbow, but it is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy or own one, and carrying one in public without reasonable excuse can be punished by up to four years in prison.