Mother's plea to shop man killers

Mrs Simpson said her son dreamed of setting up a bar in Spain

The mother of a shop manager who was stabbed to death at an east London shopping centre has told the killers to "look into their consciences".

Jamie Simpson, 33, was stabbed in the neck as he cashed up at the Matalan store in Kingsland Shopping Centre, Hackney, on Saturday evening.

Lorna Simpson, 52, urged the culprits: "Look into your heart, look into your conscience."

Matalan has offered a £40,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Images of the suspects taken by CCTV inside the centre have been released by police.

Mr Simpson, of Herne Hill, south London, had worked at the shop for the past three years.

Detectives believe three men "lay in wait" before confronting him as he counted the takings in the cash office on Saturday night. The attackers then fled via a rear car park in Dalston Lane.

Jamie Simpson had "a great future ahead of him"

Speaking about the killing, Mrs Simpson, from Derby, said: "It's totally devastated my life. Saturday I was a normal person, today I don't know who I am. I am living hour by hour.

"They could have hit him over the head. Why did they have to stab him? I can't for the life of me understand why.

"He's left a deep, deep hole in my heart. He was not just a son, he was a friend.

"Somebody must have a conscience and heart and come out and say who they are... I am just saying to them: 'Look into your heart, look into your conscience'."

Mrs Simpson, who has four other children described her son as a "right character" who "loved cartoons" and dreamed of setting up a bar in Spain.

Offering the reward on Tuesday, Matalan's chief executive Alistair McGeorge said Mr Simpson had "a great future ahead of him" and will be "greatly missed".