Barrymore police issue apology over pool death

Essex police have apologised to the father of the man found dead in Michael Barrymore’s swimming pool almost eight years ago, it emerged last night.

Stuart Lubbock, 31, from Harlow in Essex, died in March 2001 after attending a party at Mr Barrymore’s then home in nearby Roydon.

The apology comes ahead of today’s publication of a report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which is expected to identify failings in Essex Police’s initial inquiry.

At the inquest into Mr Lubbock’s death in 2002, the coroner recorded an open verdict after Mr Barrymore refused to be questioned. His father, Terry Lubbock, has campaigned ceaselessly to solve the mystery of his son’s death ever since, though nobody had been charged in connection with the incident.

Last night, the 64-year-old said police had visited his home in Harlow to apologise, but told him they could not reveal their reasons until the IPCC report was published.

“I’m happy in a way,” he said. “But it’s a hollow apology because the perpetrators of my son’s murder are still out there. If the police had done their job properly… I believe people would be in the dock charged with his murder. To that end it’s a hollow apology but I will accept it for what it’s worth.”

The IPCC inquiry was launched in March 2007 after Mr Lubbock lodged an official complaint in which he accused police officers of incompetence.

Post-mortem tests showed his son had suffered severe internal injuries which suggested he had been sexual assaulted before he died. Ecstasy, cocaine and alcohol were all found in his bloodstream.

In June 2007, Mr Barrymore and two other men were arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and murder, but were later released without charge. The entertainer, 56, has always protested his innocence.