Shortages 'hindered Damilola case'

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens said murder detectives were short staffed at the time of the investigation.

He told the Guardian newspaper: "A large number of murders at that stage meant that resources may have gone elsewhere.

"Whether we pushed enough resources into the inquiry after the arrest is an issue that we are looking at.

Youths acquitted

"We have to look at every single aspect, and ask whether we could have done things better.

"If mistakes have been made we need to ensure we learn from them."

10-year-old Damilola bled to death on a stairwell on the North Peckham Estate in November 2000.

Four youths, aged between 14 and 16, charged with his murder, were acquitted after a trial in April.

The prosecution claimed Damilola died after being stabbed in the leg with a broken bottle.

But the defence argued his fatal wounds were the result of a fall on broken glass.

Review expected

At the time of the investigation, the Met's murder squads were reportedly between 400 and 600 officers under strength.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said: "Forces receive overall budgets, it is up to the chief officers to delegate their resources to take account of their policing needs."

She added that more money than ever was going into policing and the government was on target to increase the number of police officers to 130,000 by spring next year.

A senior officer is now investigating the Met's handling of the case and a review is expected at the end of the year.