Scientists ‘started from scratch’ and called on improved technology

A team of scientists at a private company called LGC were asked to “start again from scratch” in working to uncover evidence against whoever killed Mr Lawrence.

They carried out months of painstaking research before Detective Sergeant Alan Taylor and forensic scientist Rosalyn Hammond undertook the mammoth task of making sure forensic evidence had not arisen through contamination.

The team at LGC took a much wider approach than had been adopted before.

When examinations were carried out in 1993, it was believed that any textile fibres would have fallen off the suspects’ clothes in the two weeks between the killing and their first arrest.

At that time, blood stains or hairs also had to be of a certain minimum size for DNA profiling to be carried out.

But after successful convictions in a number of cold cases, around 2006 detectives realised that starting from the beginning could yield results.

Gary Pugh, director of forensic services for the Metropolitan Police, said: “The Damilola Taylor case ... involved what LGC have done in going right back to basics and starting from scratch. Many of these cases have had reviews over time but quite often they’re with a presumption that if nothing’s been found the items aren’t re-examined.”

Dr Angela Gallop, who worked for LGC during the cold case, said: “The emergence of the findings in this case depends partly on improving methodology, this is lessons learned from other cases in how to find these truly tiny amounts of evidence, alongside developments in technology which allowed us to actually analyse them.”

She added: “We’ve learned such a huge amount about how you look for evidence and where you look for it and when you look for it.”