The family of Damilola Taylor have vowed to continue fighting knife crime on the 25th anniversary of his killing in south London.
Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley and mayor Sir Sadiq Khan are among dignitaries who will hail the 10-year-old’s legacy at a memorial event in London Bridge on Thursday morning.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark vowed to build “a future defined by safety, opportunity, and hope”, while Sir Sadiq praised Damilola’s loved ones for turning “unimaginable heartbreak” into “enduring” opportunities for the capital’s youngsters.
Damilola was on his way home from the library when he was stabbed in the leg with a broken beer bottle and left to die in a stairwell in Peckham on November 27, 2000.
The crime shocked the nation and become one of London’s most high profile killings, prompting his parents Richard and Gloria Taylor to establish the Damilola Taylor Trust in his memory, steering young people away from crime and funding places for inner city school students to study medicine.
Star Wars actor John Boyega, then eight, and his sister Grace had been with Damilola shortly before he was killed by Danny and Ricky Preddie, 12 and 13.
Damilola’s father Richard, 75, died from prostate cancer in March last year. His mother Gloria tragically passed away after a heart attack in 2008 at the age of 57.
Brother Tunde Taylor, 46, a trustee of the trust set his brother’s name, told the Standard: “The last year has been tough on the family. No one knows what to say. Everyone is still trying to come to terms with the loss of all three - Damilola, my father and mother.
“It’s been hard without my father – he was big shoes to fill.
“It doesn’t feel like 25 years since Damilola died. I had a moment to reflect on it this morning - we just need to continue the work and build the legacy.
“We have first-hand experience of people who have benefitted from the trust and to have so many important people at today’s event is no mean feat.
“My daughters are aged three and one. One day, as their memory improves, I will show them Damilola’s picture and tell them his story which changed the nation.”
Sir Mark added: “As we mark 25 years since the tragic death of Damilola Taylor, the Metropolitan Police stands firmly alongside the Damilola Taylor Trust and welcomes its bold new five-year mission to expand its reach and transform the lives of even more young people across London and the UK.
“The Met is working to make London safer. We’re reducing serious violence, targeting dangerous offenders, and protecting more of the public from harm.
“Homicide is at a decade low, knife crime has been reduced by 14 per cent, and we’ve taken thousands of weapons off our streets – all because we’re focusing on the issues that matter most to local people.
“We’ll never stop the fight against senseless violence, and we know there is always more to do, but we are proud of the thousands of dedicated people who work every day with partners and communities to make our city safer. Together, we can honour Damilola’s legacy by building a future defined by safety, opportunity, and hope.”
Sir Sadiq added: “It was an honour to join the family and loved ones of Damilola Taylor today.
“The Damilola Taylor Trust continues to transform young lives for the better and have turned unimaginable heartbreak into an enduring legacy, providing opportunities that reach communities right across our city and beyond.
“Damilola’s parents, Gloria Taylor and Richard Taylor OBE, are sadly no longer with us. I know how proud they would be to see the positive impact their work is having and will continue to have for generations to come.
“Every young person should have the opportunity not only to live free from fear and violence, but the chance to reach their potential. That’s why I set up the country’s first Violence Reduction Unit to focus on prevention and early intervention.
“This is giving nearly half a million young Londoners the positive opportunities they deserve as we continue to build a safer London for everyone.”
Richard Taylor, the father of murdered Damilola Taylor, has died this week aged 75.
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) March 29, 2024
Actor John Boyega, who rarely discusses his childhood friendship with Damilola, tells @johnwilson14 on Last Word he remembers the 10-year-old as being 'flamboyant and charismatic'.#R4Today
The crime-ridden estate where Damilola Taylor died has produced some of Britain’s brightest stars.
Boyega, 33, who lived in the council block opposite, and his sister Grace were the last friends to see Damilola alive.
Both the Taylor and Boyega families came to the UK from Nigeria and their children went to Oliver Goldsmith primary school. Adolescence and Top Boy actor Ashley Walters, 43, Oscar-nominated director and writer Cornelius Walker, 34, and Michael Bademosi, 41, better known as music producer Tinyman, are other successful names from the estate.
England, Manchester United and West Ham legend Rio Ferdinand, 47, grew up on a neighbouring housing block.
BBC Radio 1 and ex-Capital Xtra DJ Yinka Bokinni, 36, was Damilola’s neighbour.
The Preddie brothers were eventually convicted of Damilola's manslaughter in 2006, after six years of police and forensic blunders and three Old Bailey trials costing a total of £20 million.
In 2020, former prime minister Boris Johnson went on to designate December 7 - which this year would have been Damilola's 36th birthday - as a national Day of Hope as a result of the Taylors’ efforts.
Nigerian-born Damilola arrived in Britain three months before he died.
He came with his mother, brother Tunde and elder sister Gbemi and dreamed of becoming a doctor to cure Gbemi’s epilepsy.
Civil servant Mr Taylor remained in Lagos, where he worked, but dashed to the UK after his son’s death and was seen by TV viewers collapsing in grief at the scene.
In 2017, BBC drama Damilola, Our Loved Boy which told the family’s struggle for justice won two Baftas.
