New Cross fire verdict
Socialist Press1981 1981-05-21Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 4 →
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Having failed in their attempt to halt the inquest into the Deptford fire in which 13 young blacks died, parents of the victims are now considering what action to take in response to the open verdict reached by the Coroner's jury.
The police version of the events-that the fire was started inside the front room of the house by black youths after a fight-was completely demolished by witnesses.
The five black youths on whose statements the police based their case all stated under oath that their statements were forced out of them by police officers.
The police denied that they pressured the youthsall of whom were on bail in relation to other chargesduring the three days that they were held for questioning.
But it has since emerged that two other youths, also held for three days, but against whom no charges were pending, were released, without signing statements backing the police version, only after threats of Habeas Corpus were made to the The Coroner failed to take any notes of what was said in his court and summed up not from the evidence but from the discredited statements given under pressure to the police.
It is clear that the truth of this case will not be reached in the coroner's court and that only a labour movement inquiry into the fire stands any chance at all of establishing what really happened.