Police: "deeply disappointed" with Morley manslaughter verdict

AC Ghaffur said: "The horrific death of David Morley and the brutality of the attack by these young people shocked us all. Their complete disregard for the life of an innocent man and the manner in which they filmed the attack as a trophy of their actions, is extremely disturbing. My sympathies go out to the family of Mr Morley and thank them for their cooperation and courage throughout this difficult investigation.

"Detective Chief Inspector Scola and his team led an excellent investigation into this brutal killing and I thank them for their hard work.

"I am deeply disappointed with the resulting conviction for manslaughter and not murder. Although the suspects were prosecuted for murder the jury decided to return a verdict of guilty to manslaughter as they are permitted to do so by law. We worked closely with the CPS on this case and I have asked Commander Dave Johnston, the new head of the homicide command, to work with them to see if there are any lessons that can be learnt as to why the conviction was one of manslaughter and not murder."