Islington News: Top cops join hunt to find Ben’s killers

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Islington Tribune - by TOM FOOT, STEVE BARNETT and JOSH LOEB
Published: 4 July 2008

The massive shrine of flowers and personal tributes for Ben Kinsella

Top cops join hunt to find Ben’s killers

DETECTIVES are continuing to search for clues in Holloway as the hunt for Ben Kinsella’s killers goes on.
Officers have gone door to door, in some cases specifically asking to speak to young people to see if they can help.
But they believe there is a resistance among teens who could provide crucial tips, fearing that being seen talking to police could have repercussions.
The operation – orchestrated by a specialist team of at least six senior detectives – has concentrated on the streets surrounding the murder scene and the Shillibeers pub where Ben, 16, had been out with friends.
Scotland Yard insiders say some of the Met’s best detectives from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command unit based in Barking have been assigned to the case.
Among the team is Detective Superintendent Vic Rae, who has worked on numerous high-profile cases.
The team has been “going wherever intelligence takes them” with around 20 of Islington’s own beat bobbies following up leads. Around 60 additional officers from other parts of London have been on the patch.
Six arrests in Ben’s case have been made but last night (Thursday) nobody had been charged, five days after his death at the Whittington Hospital.
Police made a fresh appeal on Wednesday night with the warning that teenagers with important information have yet to come forward. Detective chief inspector John MacDonald said: “I completely understand that everybody is scared for their lives.
“As far as I’m concerned there’s no issue with protecting witnesses. In this inquiry already we have dealt with witnesses who have got concerns for their safety.”
Residents on estates around the murder scene said police who had knocked on the door had asked whether any teenagers lived in their flats and when they might be around.
Some suggested that a line of enquiry had included questions about potential friction among different groups of youths.
Islington Chief Superintendent Bob Carr said: “We’re encountering difficulties with some of the kids who’ve seen or know something, but through some perverted sense of honour or not wanting to be seen as a grass are not coming forward. I would ask them: what’s more important?”

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