Tabard Gardens stabbing victim dies in hospital

Southwark resident David Idowu – a pupil at the Walworth Academy – died at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel on Monday morning.

"Nearly three weeks after the attack on David he has lost his life, and this will now be a murder investigation," says Detective Inspector Bernie Galopin from Southwark CID.

"In light of David's death our immediate thoughts are with his family and friends and getting justice for them.

"I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who has information or who witnessed the attack but have yet to contact the police to come forward."

The investigation will be handed over to officers from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command.

Police officers were called by London Ambulance Service just after 5pm on Tuesday 17 June to reports of a youth stabbed in Great Dover Street near the junction with Becket Street.

Detectives believe that the victim had been involved in an altercation with a group of youths in Tabard Street.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Walworth CID on 020 7232 6145; if you wish to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

David Idowu's death means that four people have now died as a result of knife crime in SE1 so far in 2008; the other victims are Hamouda Bessaad, Arsema Dawit and Lyle Tulloch. A fifth victim, local resident Sunday Essiet, was killed in Plumstead.

Simon Hughes: "End this carnage"

"Another young life has been lost, another local family bereaved and another part of London directly affected," says North Southwark & Bermondsey MP Simon Hughes.

"How much more stabbing does there have to be before young people realise the madness as well as the danger of going out tooled up with knives or other weapons?

"Brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and boyfriends and girlfriends and best friends and neighbours must now, ever more loudly, say 'No' – and intervene wherever necessary to stop youngsters getting hold of knives, going out with knives and being willing to use knives.

"This is not somebody else's responsibility. This is the responsibility of all of us who live in Britain today.

"Catching people after the event and punishing them hard is not enough. All our efforts must be directed to end this carnage and this madness this year and next year, not some time or never."

Speaking in the House of Commons last week, Mr Hughes said that "it is beginning to feel as if there is a real evil in our society".