Met Police apologise over Kester David death investigation

Kester David was a DJ in his spare time and worked as a part-time bus driver

Scotland Yard has apologised to the family of a police informant for "shortcomings" in the original investigation into his death.

Kester David, 53, from Wood Green, was found badly burned under a bridge in Palmers Green in 2010.

Police made a fresh appeal for information about his death last year.

On Monday the police said they had closed the reinvestigation and that the Met commissioner had met Mr David's family to apologise personally.

'Unacceptable'

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "There were obviously some things that should have been done by those officers, which quite simply were not.

"It is also completely unacceptable that a grieving family were treated with such insensitivity."

Kester David was found under a railway arch in Palmer's Green

His family have always maintained he was killed for working as a police informant and have claimed police failed to look at CCTV or speak to witnesses promptly.

The initial investigation by Scotland Yard into Mr Kester's death concluded he committed suicide.

A year later an internal investigation, led by inspector Brian Casson, found a "catalogue of errors" and a "failing in duty" as full CCTV and mobile phone records were not checked and witnesses were not interviewed.

Sir Bernard insisted that the reinvestigation, now closed by the Met, was "thorough and explored every single line of enquiry open to us".

Detectives concluded there was no evidence or information that a third party was involved in his death.

Despite a number of appeals during the reinvestigation made to local and national media and on BBC Crimewatch, no arrests were ever made in connection with his death.