Police told to re-examine handling of student Romello McCook's death

Romello McCook's parents said they were "ignored" in the British Transport Police investigation

A watchdog has told British Transport Police (BTP) to re-examine part of its investigation into allegations of discrimination against the force after a black student's death.

Plymouth student Romello McCook, 22, died near a city train depot in 2018.

The police watchdog said BTP "failed to adequately investigate allegations of discrimination based on ethnicity".

The force said the "full circumstances of the incident were subject to a detailed assessment by officers".

Romello McCook was found dead at a Plymouth train depot

University of Plymouth architecture student Mr McCook had been out celebrating the start of a new term with friends on the night before he died.

He was hit by a train while walking along a track near the Laira depot in Plymouth at about 10:00 BST on 30 September 2018.

BTP said the death was an accident, but Mr McCook's family, from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, claim that racial discrimination flawed investigations.

Mr McCook's father Lawrence, said his only child's death had "conveniently been written off as an accident" and the family had been "ignored" by the BTP investigator.

Romello McCook was walking along the track near the Laira depot when he was struck by a train

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said in a report seen by the BBC that BTP's investigations into the family's allegation of racial discrimination "only touches on the allegation rather than actually examining it in any depth".

It said "a full reinvestigation into this allegation is required".

Mr McCook told the BBC he was "100% convinced" that racism was a factor in the investigation.

He said: "They did not put the time and effort into the investigation because of his race.

"When they found his body, they thought he was up to no good - he did not fit the profile of a good character."

Romello McCook with his mother, Vivienne, and father, Lawrence, who believe the investigation into his death was flawed by racial discrimination

BTP said in a statement: "We strongly refute the suggestion that his death wasn't investigated properly because of the colour of his skin."

It said "every single death on the railway is a tragedy and our sympathies remain with Mr and Mrs McCook on the untimely death of their son".

"We acknowledge that, despite extensive inquires to trace Romello's movements prior to accessing the railway lines, some questions remain unanswered."

It added that after a "full and comprehensive review of the case into his death and how it was investigated" there was "still no evidence or information to indicate any suspicion or third party involvement, nor is there any suggestion that the service provided was different to what any grieving family should expect".

The IOPC said in a statement it had "identified that BTP failed to adequately investigate allegations of discrimination based on ethnicity".

It said that was "because the force had not obtained accounts from all of the officers involved" and "had not addressed the allegations in line with current IOPC guidelines".

It continued: "We have directed BTP to reinvestigate those allegations appropriately."