Damilola: Four boys accused of murder

Four teenage boys accused of murdering 10-year-old Damilola Taylor were due to appear at the Old Bailey today.

Four teenage boys accused of murdering 10-year-old Damilola Taylor were due to appear in court today.

Nigerian-born Damilola was attacked on his way home from an after-school computer class in Peckham, south London, on November 27 2000. He bled to death in a stairwell after he was stabbed in the leg.

The trial of the four boys - one aged 14, the others aged 16 - will not get under way properly until next week due to legal discussions.

The boys, who cannot be identified because of their ages, are charged with murder and assault with intent to rob.

The defendants will not have to appear in the dock in Court 12.

Other special arrangements have been made for their appearance under the Lord Chief Justice’s recommendations for trials of children and young persons.

The aim of the recommendations is that the trial process should not expose young defendants to avoidable intimidation, humiliation or distress.

The courtroom is expected to be arranged so that each teenager can sit at a table with a member of his family and his legal representatives.

Trial judge Mr Justice Hooper and the barristers are not expected to wear wigs for the hearing. But the judge is expected to stay in his usual position - as it is not too high above the well of the court.

Moves to make legal proceedings involving child defendants less intimidating began after the trial of toddler James Bulger’s 10-year-old killers was criticised by the European Court of Human Rights.