Man held in Turkey over toddler's death

A man has been arrested in Turkey in connection with the murder of British toddler Alistair Grimason, the Turkish Embassy said today.

A spokesman for the embassy named the man as 32-year-old Daimi Akyuz.

He was arrested last night by police in the city of Izmir and was being held in custody.

A nationwide hunt was launched to find Akyuz after two-year-old Alistair, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, UK, was caught in the crossfire of a gunfight in the coastal resort of Foca in July.

The boy, who was in a café with his Turkish mother, was shot dead as he slept in his pram.

His parents David and Ozlem have since campaigned for better gun control collecting signatures for a petition urging the Turkish government to tighten the country’s gun laws.

Today a spokesman for the Turkish Embassy said: “The prime suspect Daimi Akyuz has been arrested and he will be charged with murder.

“He will be taken to court and the prosecutor will investigate the incident.”