Met apologise for mishandling of gay student's death after family's struggle for truth

Met apologise for mishandling of gay student's death after family's struggle for truth The Met Police has apologised to the family of 19-year-old Ed Cornes, who was found dead in a hotel in 2021, for the mishandling of his death. However, Ed's mother says it's "too little too late" The Metropolitan Police has apologised to the family of teenager Edward Cornes following an investigation into the handling of his death. Following an ITV News investigation and years of campaigning by Edward’s family, the Met acknowledged the mishandling of the initial case. A Met spokesperson apologised for "the pain caused to Edward’s family through the handling of our investigation" and acknowledged "that aspects of the initial investigation were not handled correctly and did not meet the high standards we expect". Edward, 19, was found dead at a hotel in King's Cross in October 2021, in the company of two men in their 50s. Although the two men present were arrested on suspicion of murder, both men denied any wrongdoing and were later released without charge. At Edward's inquest, it was revealed a post-mortem examination found large amounts of alcohol, GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) and crystal meth in his body as well as 36 cuts and other injuries. Edward's mother Miriam Blythe told ITV News that the apology feels "shallow" and "too little too late". "It's a small victory. I am pleased they are doing a review," she said. "But it's been a horrible, devastating struggle where I always knew I was right, and had multiple police officers telling me I was wrong. Your son dies in horrible circumstances and then the police say it's all his fault. It's been devastating." From the outset, Miriam accused the police investigation of being deeply flawed. The family also told ITV News that police failures, driven by homophobia, meant the circumstances of his death were never properly investigated. Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain in January, Miriam accused Met officers of focusing on her son’s sexuality, failing to interview key witnesses and allowing crucial evidence to be lost while the investigation was still active. She said officers made reference to Edward being a "rent boy" and "man-on-man sex", and didn’t take up her plea to investigate a phone call Edward had accidentally made from his pocket to her mother’s phone in the early hours of the morning, on which another man could be heard. "Apart from the obvious homophobia, I felt they didn’t treat this seriously at all,” Miriam said. "They didn’t check around the crime scene. One man was coming backwards and forwards all night. At the inquest we found out that one of the men left the scene with a bag of syringes. None of that was kept. "They took blood samples and DNA, but days later one of the guy’s blood samples goes missing from the forensic fridge. Then, everything taken from the crime scene – such as cups, towels, sheets, condoms – goes missing from a locked evidence room. "There are certainly issues around consent. Edward was staggeringly drunk and hardly able to walk. We need answers." The Met has since confirmed that specialist officers are now reviewing the original investigation into Edward’s death and surrounding circumstances to determine if there are any possible further lines of enquiry. "We have since met with Edward’s family to apologise in person and recognise the distress our actions have caused," a Met spokesperson said. "We remain in contact with the family and will continue to keep them updated as our work progresses. If you have any information relating to this case, please email us at [email protected]. Anonymous reports can be submitted to Crimestoppers via 0800 555 111.”