Richard Taylor, father of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor, who was stabbed to death in London, is dead

The Father of Damilola Taylor, the 10-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in Peckham, London in 2000, has died.

The former Nigerian civil servant dedicated years to improving the lives of disadvantaged children in the wake of his son’s tragic death in November 2000, and set up the Damilola Taylor Trust to campaign against knife crime.

Mr Taylor died on Saturday aged 75 following a long illness.

A statement issued on behalf of his family said: ‘It is with a heavy heart that the family announce the death of our beloved father, grandfather and uncle, Mr Richard Adeyemi Taylor OBE, who sadly passed away in the early hours of Saturday, March 23 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer.’

Mr Taylor always said he wanted his son to be remembered as a boy of hope and for his legacy to be a better life and opportunities for underprivileged young people.

Damilola was left bleeding to death in a stairwell in Peckham, south-east London after he was attacked and slashed with a broken bottle on his way home from a library.

After three crown court trials, his two killers, brothers Ricky and Danny Preddie, were finally put behind bars.

Richard Taylor and his late wife Gloria were spurred on to set up a charity in their son’s memory in the face of the tragedy of his death.

Gloria died in 2008 after suffering a heart attack and Richard continued their work in the following years.

They were supported by famous faces including footballer Rio Ferdinand, who grew up in Peckham and backed the family in their charity work.

Mr Taylor met with the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street as part of his anti-knife crime crusade

Star Wars actor John Boyega was a childhood friend of Damilola and he and his sister Grace were among the last people to see the 10-year-old alive before he walked home on the day he was murdered.

Damilola’s father Richard Taylor was spurred on by the enormity of his son’s death to campaign for years for positive change for young people.

Damilola had moved to the UK from Nigeria with his mother Gloria, brother Tunde and sister Gbemi in the summer of 2000 while Richard stayed working for the Nigerian civil service.

The family settled in Peckham as they aimed to get medical treatment for Gbemi, who had a severe form of epilepsy.

Damilola had ambitions for a future in the medical profession to carry out research to help his sister, but instead, months after moving to the UK, he was fatally stabbed by two boys aged 12 and 13 while on his way home from the library.

He was found bleeding to death in a stairwell near his home in Peckham, south London, after being stabbed in the leg with a broken beer bottle.

After three crown court trials, his two killers, brothers Ricky and Danny Preddie, were finally put behind bars

Mr Taylor was appointed as an anti-knife crime envoy under then-prime minister Gordon Brown in 2009 and was made an OBE for his work to stop knife violence.

He also made an appearance at the Baftas in 2017, when he collected an award for a documentary about his son called Damilola, Our Loved Boy.

Joined by his son Tunde, Mr Taylor dedicated the prize to Damilola and Gloria, and used the occasion to call for an end to knife violence.

In 2020, Damilola’s birthday, December 7, was declared as a day of hope to mark the 20 years since he died.

At this stage Richard Taylor said he would scale back his campaigning work and pass the baton to a younger generation.

His wish remained that Damilola’s legacy would be to offer hope and opportunity to underprivileged young people, and freedom from a life of fear.

Former East Enders actress Brooke Kinsella, whose brother Ben was murdered in a stabbing in Islington in June 2008 said: ‘Richard’s courage in the face of unimaginable grief was an inspiration to me.

‘After the horrific loss of his son Damilola, he chose to channel his pain into a fight for a safer future. He turned tragedy into relentless determination to keep other families from experiencing the same heartbreak.’