Evidence lost in pool death probe

Many mistakes were made and key pieces of evidence lost during the investigation into the death of a man at the house of entertainer Michael Barrymore, a police watchdog ruled yesterday.

The body of Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found in the swimming pool after a party at the house in Roydon, Essex, in 2001.

A coroner's report said he had suffered serious internal injuries which suggested he had been violently sexually assaulted. An open verdict was declared.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) upheld six out of 36 complaints made against Essex Police by Mr Lubbock's father Terry, 64, who has long campaigned for the death to be re-examined.

The upheld complaints included:

• blood found on a pair of boxer shorts, towels and a robe was not promptly examined.

• unauthorised people were allowed to stay at the crime scene which had not been properly sealed.

• a swimming pool thermometer and a detached door handle, which could have been used on Lubbock, were never seized by police nor forensically tested. "It has therefore not been possible for the police to establish whether or not the implements were used to cause Stuart's injuries," the report found.