Murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce
Encyclopedia
Thomas Mervyn "Tom" ap Rhys Pryce (13 October 1974 – 12 January 2006) was a 31-year-old British
lawyer who was robbed and murdered by two teenagers as he made his way home in Kensal Green
, northwest London
, England
, on the evening of 12 January 2006. The two, Donnel Carty and Delano Brown, apparently showed little remorse and are currently serving life sentences.
The crime gained national notoriety for the particularly brutal way in which Pryce was murdered, only metres from his own home, and had only his Oyster card
and mobile phone
taken from him, but no money (the case being widely reported as an example of steaming
). The murderers were later tracked down when the police examined CCTV footage of where the Oyster card was used after the murder. The crime caused a political uproar and condemnation of railway station security. The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust was set up after the murder, and a school was built in his honour.
, a leading London corporate law firm. Pryce was born in Broxbourne
, Hertfordshire
, England. At the age of three, the Pryce family moved to Somalia
after Pryce's father, John, a civil engineer
, was sent to work there as part of a project to build a sugar factory, there he "enjoyed an idyllic early childhood". After 18 months they returned home to Hertfordshire before moving in 1980 to the family home in Weybridge
where Tom grew up. His ancestry was one well known within the military and among his ancestors was his great-grandfather, General Sir Henry Edward ap Rhys Pryce (1874–1950). At 13, Tom won an academic and music exhibition
which was later upgraded to a full scholarship at 16 to attend Marlborough College
, Wiltshire
, England.
There he achieved passes at A-levels in Greek
, Latin
and English Literature
, with three grade As. From there Pryce went on to gain a First-Class honours
at Trinity College, Cambridge
in June 1996, where he read Classics
staying on to study for a masters. Pryce was also known to be a talented musician and lived on Bathurst Gardens, Kensal Green
in a flat
which he shared with his fiancée Adele Eastman, 31, a solicitor specialising in employment law with Farrer & Co, the Queen's solicitors.
, just 20 minutes before Tom ap Rhys Pryce arrived at the station on his way home from work. Pryce was walking from Kensal Green Tube station at about 2300 to 2330 GMT, when he was attacked. According to witness reports, Pryce was running along Bathurst Gardens from two black youths. According to testimony from Delano Brown, Donnel Carty stabbed Pryce after they had chased him from Kensal Green Tube station where police found a trail of blood and belongings, including a pair of gloves and papers regarding Pryce's wedding arrangements. As the youths chased Pryce, Carty "fly-kicked" him in the back and he dropped to the floor. As Pryce attempted to stand up, Carty kicked him in the face. Trying to get away, Pryce began to fight Carty, as Carty stopped him. Some time during this Pryce was stabbed twice in the chest and once in the hip, the wounds penetrating vital organs including his heart. He also suffered cuts to his head, hands and torso. As Pryce's belongings lay scattered around him, Carty and Brown took Pryce's mobile phone and Oyster card, the only possessions of value Pryce was carrying. Carty then shouted 'What else have you got?' to which Pryce responded 'Nothing. You have got everything'. Carty and Brown then ran off towards Clifford Gardens, heading to Carty's home leaving Pryce dying on the ground. Pryce was later taken to Central Middlesex Hospital
, where he was confirmed dead shortly after midnight.
The scene of the crime which took place along Bathurst Gardens showed the course of events of the violent confrontation. Pryce's book and gloves were lying outside No 56, a silver Audi
car was smeared with blood outside No 82 and a list of wedding venues outside 84. Pryce was found collapsed in the gutter between parked cars outside No 90.
, northwest London. Carty had one conviction for assaulting a police officer when he was 16 years old, and a caution
for possessing cannabis. Brown has no previous convictions. The pair were members of a violent gang calling itself the KG Tribe, taking part in the unlawful wounding of two commuters in December 2005 as well as other robberies. At the time of the murder of Pryce, Carty and Brown were 18 and 17 respectively.
When both men where arrested on 18 January, Carty said he was innocent of the allegations and claimed he had been in a pub in Kilburn with relatives and friends, and stayed the night at a relative's house. When police searched his home, they found a pair of trainers
that forensic tests showed had a drop of Mr ap Rhys Pryce's blood on one toe. DNA from several people, including Brown, were found on the trainers. Officers also found a top with traces of Brown's DNA, and fibres found on Pryce's overcoat were microscopically indistinguishable from the material of that top. Brown also said he had been in Kilburn the night of the murder and initially claimed that he had nothing to do with either the robbery of the other man or the robbery and murder of Pryce. When the mobile phone of the other victim (Mr Ali) was discovered at his home, he claimed he had bought it from two men. Detectives also found that Brown had hoarded press cuttings of Pryce.
In a separate and unconnected incident, Lloywen Carty, 25, cousin of Donnel Carty, was found guilty of murdering a Jamaica
n man, Lee Subaran, at a party following the Notting Hill Carnival
in August 2004 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Subaran, 27, was shot dead at point-blank range for "showing disrespect" to members of a Harlesden
gang, "Mus Luv Crew". Five other men have been convicted in connection with the murder. Lloywen and Donnel both lived together with their grandfather in Burrows Road, Kensal Green.
(which he claimed to have found) at Kensal Green station
, forensic evidence found at the homes of Donnel Carty and Delano Brown, and Pryce's mobile phone. When they were taken to court Carty and Brown both denied murdering the City lawyer but admitted they had robbed Pryce and another man just before. Delano Brown was 17 when taking part in the murder so initially could not be named for legal reasons.
The two men stood trial on 30 October 2006 at the Old Bailey
. Throughout the trial Brown declared that it was Carty who had stabbed Pryce and that it had simply been a 'robbery gone bad'. This led to an alleged attack on Brown by three youths at Feltham Young Offender Institution during the Old Bailey trial, in which his attackers reportedly said: "You are snitching on your co-d (co-defendant)." Carty denied any involvement in the incident, claiming it had been the result of an argument Brown had with the youths earlier. On 27 November 2006, Donnel Carty and Delano Brown were found guilty of murdering City lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce. Carty and Brown reacted calmly to the guilty verdicts, turning to each other, shaking hands and embracing.
On 28 November 2006, the sentences for Carty and Brown were announced by the Old Bailey
trial judge. Both men were sentenced to life imprisonment
, with the trial judge recommending that 19-year-old Carty should serve a minimum of 21 years, and 18-year-old Brown should serve at least 17 years. The judge said he could not tell who wielded the knife but considered Carty and Brown equally guilty. The pair reportedly fought back tears and sniffed loudly as the sentences were read. The High Court
later ruled that Brown should serve a minimum of 20 years.
Tony Blair
's immediate response to the murder was to pledge the investigation of public safety at the station close to where Pryce was murdered, Kensal Green Station, and this was later improved.
David Cameron
criticised the Labour
Government
's criminal justice system and the absence of father-figures in ethnic minority cultures, which he claimed as causes in the murder of Pryce. Cameron stated that lack of strong deterrent sentences for knife crimes and the failure of police to stop prolific criminals had played a role in the killing of Pryce. He insisted that parental background had a key role in preventing crime and called for zero tolerance of knife crime, claiming that not enough criminals were being sent to jail.
In January 2006 the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair created considerable controversy when he described the media as institutionally racist
. This accusation had also been levelled at the police for their allegedly unbalanced coverage of black-on-white crimes, such as this murder, as compared to that given to crimes against ethnic minorities. The example Blair cited was that of Balbir Mathura, an Asian man murdered on the same day as Pryce. Mathura was run over and dragged almost 40 metres by a car driven by thieves he had disturbed as they broke into a van parked outside his workplace. Newspapers argued that the number of stories printed regarding the two victims were similar, though a survey of national newspapers after the two murders showed that longer and more in-depth articles were written about the murder of Pryce than that of Mathura.
This incident sparked a major public discussion on station safety and security, mainly because the station was unstaffed when the suspects mugged Ali on the platform. The only security present was CCTV cameras, and the ticket barriers were left open allowing the suspects to enter the station freely. Many high-profile politicians spoke on the issue of station safety and called on rail companies to provide security or staff the station until the last train had left the station. The Mayor of London
, Ken Livingstone
assailed Silverlink
, the train company who managed the station, for not providing all-night staffing or security. The new provider of every franchise across the rail network will have to provide staff at all times the station is open.
A school is to be built in Vietnam
in memory of Pryce. His colleagues raised enough money to have the school built to leave a lasting legacy in his honour. The primary school is expected to open in 2007. Its cost is being met by the Hong Kong
office of Pryce's employer, Linklaters.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
lawyer who was robbed and murdered by two teenagers as he made his way home in Kensal Green
Kensal Green
Kensal Green, also referred to as Kensal Rise is an area of London, England. It is located on the southern edge of the London Borough of Brent and borders the City of Westminster to the East and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the South....
, northwest London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on the evening of 12 January 2006. The two, Donnel Carty and Delano Brown, apparently showed little remorse and are currently serving life sentences.
The crime gained national notoriety for the particularly brutal way in which Pryce was murdered, only metres from his own home, and had only his Oyster card
Oyster card
The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London including London Underground, buses, the Docklands...
and mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
taken from him, but no money (the case being widely reported as an example of steaming
Steaming (crime)
Steaming is a slang term used by the British commonly for robbery performed on train or bus passengers by a gang or large group and often involving some level of violence. It is often used interchangeably with mugging, referring to a specific subcategory of that crime...
). The murderers were later tracked down when the police examined CCTV footage of where the Oyster card was used after the murder. The crime caused a political uproar and condemnation of railway station security. The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust was set up after the murder, and a school was built in his honour.
Life of Tom ap Rhys Pryce
Tom ap Rhys Pryce was a 31 year-old lawyer who worked for LinklatersLinklaters
Linklaters LLP is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading UK law firms. Linklaters is the world's fourth largest global law firm by revenue. In 2009/10 it received total revenues of £1.18 billion and profits per equity partner of £1.2...
, a leading London corporate law firm. Pryce was born in Broxbourne
Broxbourne
Broxbourne is a commuter town in the Broxbourne borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England with a population of 13,298 in 2001.It is located 17.1 miles north north-east of Charing Cross in London and about a mile north of Wormley and south of Hoddesdon...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England. At the age of three, the Pryce family moved to Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
after Pryce's father, John, a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, was sent to work there as part of a project to build a sugar factory, there he "enjoyed an idyllic early childhood". After 18 months they returned home to Hertfordshire before moving in 1980 to the family home in Weybridge
Weybridge
Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...
where Tom grew up. His ancestry was one well known within the military and among his ancestors was his great-grandfather, General Sir Henry Edward ap Rhys Pryce (1874–1950). At 13, Tom won an academic and music exhibition
Exhibition (scholarship)
-United Kingdom and Ireland:At the universities of Dublin, Oxford and Cambridge, and at Westminster School, Eton College and Winchester College, and various other UK educational establishments, an exhibition is a financial award or grant to an individual student, normally on grounds of merit. The...
which was later upgraded to a full scholarship at 16 to attend Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England.
There he achieved passes at A-levels in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, with three grade As. From there Pryce went on to gain a First-Class honours
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in June 1996, where he read Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
staying on to study for a masters. Pryce was also known to be a talented musician and lived on Bathurst Gardens, Kensal Green
Kensal Green
Kensal Green, also referred to as Kensal Rise is an area of London, England. It is located on the southern edge of the London Borough of Brent and borders the City of Westminster to the East and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the South....
in a flat
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
which he shared with his fiancée Adele Eastman, 31, a solicitor specialising in employment law with Farrer & Co, the Queen's solicitors.
Events of 12 January 2006
Childhood friends, Donnel Carty, 18, and Delano Brown, 17, had earlier that evening robbed chef Mr Kurshid Ali, a middle-aged man in Kensal Green stationKensal Green station
Kensal Green station is a Network Rail station served by London Underground Bakerloo line and London Overground trains. It is located in College Road, London NW10 close to the junction with Harrow Road...
, just 20 minutes before Tom ap Rhys Pryce arrived at the station on his way home from work. Pryce was walking from Kensal Green Tube station at about 2300 to 2330 GMT, when he was attacked. According to witness reports, Pryce was running along Bathurst Gardens from two black youths. According to testimony from Delano Brown, Donnel Carty stabbed Pryce after they had chased him from Kensal Green Tube station where police found a trail of blood and belongings, including a pair of gloves and papers regarding Pryce's wedding arrangements. As the youths chased Pryce, Carty "fly-kicked" him in the back and he dropped to the floor. As Pryce attempted to stand up, Carty kicked him in the face. Trying to get away, Pryce began to fight Carty, as Carty stopped him. Some time during this Pryce was stabbed twice in the chest and once in the hip, the wounds penetrating vital organs including his heart. He also suffered cuts to his head, hands and torso. As Pryce's belongings lay scattered around him, Carty and Brown took Pryce's mobile phone and Oyster card, the only possessions of value Pryce was carrying. Carty then shouted 'What else have you got?' to which Pryce responded 'Nothing. You have got everything'. Carty and Brown then ran off towards Clifford Gardens, heading to Carty's home leaving Pryce dying on the ground. Pryce was later taken to Central Middlesex Hospital
Central Middlesex Hospital
Central Middlesex hospital is in the centre of the Park Royal business estate, on the border of two London boroughs, Brent and Ealing.-Hospital role:CMH is a teaching hospital of Imperial College School of Medicine and part of the...
, where he was confirmed dead shortly after midnight.
The scene of the crime which took place along Bathurst Gardens showed the course of events of the violent confrontation. Pryce's book and gloves were lying outside No 56, a silver Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
car was smeared with blood outside No 82 and a list of wedding venues outside 84. Pryce was found collapsed in the gutter between parked cars outside No 90.
Donnel Carty and Delano Brown
Carty and Brown were, according to Brown, childhood friends who thought of each other as cousins. Carty lived with his grandparents in Burrows Road, Kensal Green, and Brown lived with his mother in Rosebank Avenue, SudburySudbury, London
Sudbury is a suburb in the London Boroughs of Brent and Harrow, located in northwest London, UK.Sudbury is an historical area having once extended from the 'South Manor- Sudbury' to the area that is now known as Wembley Central...
, northwest London. Carty had one conviction for assaulting a police officer when he was 16 years old, and a caution
Police caution
A police caution is a formal alternative to prosecution in minor cases, administered by the police and other law enforcement agencies in England and Wales, and in Hong Kong...
for possessing cannabis. Brown has no previous convictions. The pair were members of a violent gang calling itself the KG Tribe, taking part in the unlawful wounding of two commuters in December 2005 as well as other robberies. At the time of the murder of Pryce, Carty and Brown were 18 and 17 respectively.
When both men where arrested on 18 January, Carty said he was innocent of the allegations and claimed he had been in a pub in Kilburn with relatives and friends, and stayed the night at a relative's house. When police searched his home, they found a pair of trainers
Athletic shoe
Athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but in recent years has come to be used for casual everyday activities....
that forensic tests showed had a drop of Mr ap Rhys Pryce's blood on one toe. DNA from several people, including Brown, were found on the trainers. Officers also found a top with traces of Brown's DNA, and fibres found on Pryce's overcoat were microscopically indistinguishable from the material of that top. Brown also said he had been in Kilburn the night of the murder and initially claimed that he had nothing to do with either the robbery of the other man or the robbery and murder of Pryce. When the mobile phone of the other victim (Mr Ali) was discovered at his home, he claimed he had bought it from two men. Detectives also found that Brown had hoarded press cuttings of Pryce.
In a separate and unconnected incident, Lloywen Carty, 25, cousin of Donnel Carty, was found guilty of murdering a Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n man, Lee Subaran, at a party following the Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...
in August 2004 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Subaran, 27, was shot dead at point-blank range for "showing disrespect" to members of a Harlesden
Harlesden
Harlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee....
gang, "Mus Luv Crew". Five other men have been convicted in connection with the murder. Lloywen and Donnel both lived together with their grandfather in Burrows Road, Kensal Green.
Trial of Carty and Brown
Police caught Carty using CCTV footage showing him using Pryce's Oyster CardOyster card
The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London including London Underground, buses, the Docklands...
(which he claimed to have found) at Kensal Green station
Kensal Green station
Kensal Green station is a Network Rail station served by London Underground Bakerloo line and London Overground trains. It is located in College Road, London NW10 close to the junction with Harrow Road...
, forensic evidence found at the homes of Donnel Carty and Delano Brown, and Pryce's mobile phone. When they were taken to court Carty and Brown both denied murdering the City lawyer but admitted they had robbed Pryce and another man just before. Delano Brown was 17 when taking part in the murder so initially could not be named for legal reasons.
The two men stood trial on 30 October 2006 at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
. Throughout the trial Brown declared that it was Carty who had stabbed Pryce and that it had simply been a 'robbery gone bad'. This led to an alleged attack on Brown by three youths at Feltham Young Offender Institution during the Old Bailey trial, in which his attackers reportedly said: "You are snitching on your co-d (co-defendant)." Carty denied any involvement in the incident, claiming it had been the result of an argument Brown had with the youths earlier. On 27 November 2006, Donnel Carty and Delano Brown were found guilty of murdering City lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce. Carty and Brown reacted calmly to the guilty verdicts, turning to each other, shaking hands and embracing.
On 28 November 2006, the sentences for Carty and Brown were announced by the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
trial judge. Both men were sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
, with the trial judge recommending that 19-year-old Carty should serve a minimum of 21 years, and 18-year-old Brown should serve at least 17 years. The judge said he could not tell who wielded the knife but considered Carty and Brown equally guilty. The pair reportedly fought back tears and sniffed loudly as the sentences were read. The High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
later ruled that Brown should serve a minimum of 20 years.
Reaction
The then Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's immediate response to the murder was to pledge the investigation of public safety at the station close to where Pryce was murdered, Kensal Green Station, and this was later improved.
David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
criticised the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Government
Blair Ministry
Tony Blair was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for three successive parliamentary terms from 1997-2007. His Cabinet was reshuffled for each new parliament as well as changed during the three periods.-Formation:...
's criminal justice system and the absence of father-figures in ethnic minority cultures, which he claimed as causes in the murder of Pryce. Cameron stated that lack of strong deterrent sentences for knife crimes and the failure of police to stop prolific criminals had played a role in the killing of Pryce. He insisted that parental background had a key role in preventing crime and called for zero tolerance of knife crime, claiming that not enough criminals were being sent to jail.
In January 2006 the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair created considerable controversy when he described the media as institutionally racist
Institutional racism
Institutional racism describes any kind of system of inequality based on race. It can occur in institutions such as public government bodies, private business corporations , and universities . The term was coined by Black Power activist Stokely Carmichael in the late 1960s...
. This accusation had also been levelled at the police for their allegedly unbalanced coverage of black-on-white crimes, such as this murder, as compared to that given to crimes against ethnic minorities. The example Blair cited was that of Balbir Mathura, an Asian man murdered on the same day as Pryce. Mathura was run over and dragged almost 40 metres by a car driven by thieves he had disturbed as they broke into a van parked outside his workplace. Newspapers argued that the number of stories printed regarding the two victims were similar, though a survey of national newspapers after the two murders showed that longer and more in-depth articles were written about the murder of Pryce than that of Mathura.
Legacy
Following the murder of Pryce, his friends and family set up The Tom ap Rhys Pryce Memorial Trust to enable individuals who could not otherwise afford it to achieve their potential by gaining access to appropriate educational facilities. It aims to raise at least £1million to help educate society's poorest children.This incident sparked a major public discussion on station safety and security, mainly because the station was unstaffed when the suspects mugged Ali on the platform. The only security present was CCTV cameras, and the ticket barriers were left open allowing the suspects to enter the station freely. Many high-profile politicians spoke on the issue of station safety and called on rail companies to provide security or staff the station until the last train had left the station. The Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
, Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
assailed Silverlink
Silverlink
Silverlink Train Services Ltd was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operated routes in North London and from London to Northampton...
, the train company who managed the station, for not providing all-night staffing or security. The new provider of every franchise across the rail network will have to provide staff at all times the station is open.
A school is to be built in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in memory of Pryce. His colleagues raised enough money to have the school built to leave a lasting legacy in his honour. The primary school is expected to open in 2007. Its cost is being met by the Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
office of Pryce's employer, Linklaters.