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Jay Abatan died in hospital in January 1999 following an altercation outside the Ocean Rooms nightclub in Brighton, UK. Abatan had been celebrating a promotion at work when a row over a taxi resulted in several men assaulting him and his brother. He was seriously injured and died in hospital five days later. Two men were charged with manslaughter but were not prosecuted. Two separate reviews of the investigation by Sussex Police reported major errors and the killing was later announced to have been racially motivated. The family of Abatan continued to campaign for justice, supported by local Members of Parliament. In 2010, an inquest was held and returned a verdict of unlawful killing. A vigil was held outside Brighton police station in January 2022.

Killing

Jay Abatan was born c. 1957 in England and moved to Nigeria when he was six years old. He moved back to England at the age of 18 and became an accountant, working first for the Inland Revenue and then for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He lived in Eastbourne and was engaged to be married with his partner; they had two children together, aged 8 and 9.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] On the night of 23 January 1999, he went out in Brighton with his brother Michael Abatan and another friend to celebrate his promotion at work to senior tax advisor. They went to a wine bar, then to the Ocean Rooms nightclub on Morley Street in Carlton Hill. At 2:30 am, they left the club and called a taxi.^[3] A taxi arrived and the three believed it was for them, so they asked the two men inside it to get out. An altercation started with those men and others, in which the two brothers were assaulted. Jay Abatan was punched two times in the face and fell over, fracturing his skull on the pavement.^[5]^[2] His brother was kicked and punched as he tried to help him.^[3] The attackers then drove off in the taxi.^[6]

Jay Abatan regained consciousness in the ambulance, then slipped into a coma and was taken to the intensive care unit at the hospital. He died of his injuries five days later.^[3]^[7] Michael Abatan survived the assault and began a campaign for justice; Abatan's family was convinced that the attack had been racially motivated.^[2]^[8] Michael Abatan commented in 2019 "all the people that got hit that day were mixed race. No white people got hit."^[9] Two men were quickly arrested by Sussex Police and charged with manslaughter, then the charge was dropped for lack of evidence. They were also charged with affray and causing actual bodily harm of Michael Abatan, and at trial by jury they were found not guilty.^[10]^[1] The judge did not tell the jury that Jay Abatan had been killed in the attack.^[7] One of the two former suspects committed suicide in 2003.^[11] The same year the Abatan family and Sussex Police offered a reward of £175,000 for any help in finding the killers.^[12]

Legacy

After the Abatan family pressured for more information about what had happened, an investigation by another force, Essex Police, ran from July 1999 until December 2000. It found that there had been 57 serious errors made by Sussex Police, which included not taking the details of witnesses and not setting up a crime scene.^[7]^[13]^[1] Recommendations made by the Macpherson Report about the murder of Stephen Lawrence had not been taken up.^[12] Sussex Police refused to release the full report, but parts were leaked to the press, leading to the force offering a public apology to the Abatan family and stating for the first time that the killing was racially motivated.^[7]^[13] Sussex Police replaced the entire investigation team with 36 new detectives and launched a new enquiry.^[14] The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) invited a second report from Avon and Somerset Police, led by Ken Jones, which again found that Sussex Police had made serious mistakes.^[7]^[1] Jones then became Chief constable of Sussex Police and promised to keep the family informed, although the force then refused to release the IPCC report.^[7] It also did not authorise an inquest.^[6]

In 2005, three police officers were disciplined for blunders they had made. A detective superintendent was found guilty of five misconduct charges and was docked nine days' pay; later in the year, two detective inspectors were found guilty of misconduct.^[15] Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, commented that the errors made by Sussex Police demonstrated that "institutional racism was alive and well in Britain today".^[16]

The family continued to campaign for justice, supported by local Members of Parliament Peter Bottomley (Worthing West) and Des Turner (Brighton Kemptown). Bottomley supported the Justice for Jay campaign and Turner tabled an early day motion in 2007.^[12]^[17] In October 2010, an inquest was held after pressure from Abatan's family. The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing, saying that Abatan had been assaulted with two punches to the face in a fight which was "entirely unprovoked and entirely unexplained".^[2]^[18] The head of the Sussex Criminal Investigation Department told the inquest that the police had interviewed 750 people, including 47 out of a total 49 visitors to the Ocean Rooms who had been identified from CCTV cameras.^[19]

It emerged in 2014 that a serving police officer had been drinking at Ocean Rooms with the two men who were charged with manslaughter, a fact which had not been previously disclosed; Michael Abatan said that he no longer trusted the police.^[20]^[21] In response, Sussex Police said there was no evidence that a police officer had been involved in the attack and that the investigation had been closed in 2013.^[22]

In 2020, Jay Abatan was remembered at a Black Lives Matter march in Brighton and Sussex Police offered a reward of £10,000 for any new information relating to the case.^[23]^[8] The family of Jay Abatan held a vigil outside Brighton police station on 29 January 2022.^[24]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Sawer, Patrick (19 May 2004). "Police condemned over murder hunt". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Brighton attack victim Jay Abatan unlawfully killed". BBC News. 25 October 2010. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Olden, Mark (29 May 2004). "What happened next: Michael Abatan". The Observer. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ Sawer, Patrick (30 October 2000). "Justice has failed a black man yet again, says dead man's brother". Evening Standard. p. 293. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
^ Sherlock, Peter (25 October 2010). "Jay Abatan's brother's long fight for justice". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b D'Enno, Douglas (2007). Brighton crime and vice, 1800-2000. Barnsley: Wharncliffe. p. 1. ISBN 978-1845630300.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Athwal, Harmit (29 April 2004). "Justice for Jay Abatan – "an uphill struggle"". Institute of Race Relations. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Family of man killed in Brighton attack calls for justice ahead of vigil". ITV News. 28 January 2022. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
^ "Jay Abatan race killing witnesses sought 20 years on". BBC News. 29 January 2019. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ Cottle, Simon (2004). The Racist Murder of Stephen Lawrence: Media Performance and Public Transformation. Praeger. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-275-97941-6. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
^ "Suspect in accountant's killing found dead". Daily Telegraph. 11 June 2003. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Has Jay tragedy claimed a second life?". The Argus. 17 June 2003. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b Joyce, Peter (2002). "Racial Violence". The Politics of Protest: 191–233. doi:10.1057/9781403990235_6. ISBN 978-1-349-39755-6.
^ Sawer, Patrick (1 November 2002). "Police probe blunders of racist murder case". Evening Standard. p. 23. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
^ "Two disciplined at police hearing". BBC News. 29 June 2005. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
^ "Abatan campaigners meet minister". BBC News. 30 November 2005. Archived from the original on 3 December 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
^ Turner, Des. "Death of Jay Abatan". Early Day Motions. UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ Athwal, Harmit (7 October 2010). "The Abatans need funds for inquest". Institute of Race Relations. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ "Family praised after 1999 death of man in Brighton club". BBC News. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ Ford, Richard (14 August 2014). "Police "concealed key fact in club killing"". Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ "Jay Abatan death: Brother "can't trust Sussex Police"". BBC News. 13 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
^ "Jay Abatan's family say police withheld facts". ITV News. 13 August 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ Manning, Jonathon (15 August 2020). "Black Lives Matter protest sees 1,000 people march through Brighton". Sussex Live. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
^ "Vigil for Jay Abatan". Public and Commercial Services Union. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.

[ES-2012-1] Sawer, Patrick (19 May 2004). "Police condemned over murder hunt". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.

[BBC-2010-2] "Brighton attack victim Jay Abatan unlawfully killed". BBC News. 25 October 2010. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.

[Observer-3] Olden, Mark (29 May 2004). "What happened next: Michael Abatan". The Observer. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

[ES-2000-4] Sawer, Patrick (30 October 2000). "Justice has failed a black man yet again, says dead man's brother". Evening Standard. p. 293. Retrieved 9 February 2022.

[BBC-2010Sherlock-5] Sherlock, Peter (25 October 2010). "Jay Abatan's brother's long fight for justice". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.

[Vice-6] D'Enno, Douglas (2007). Brighton crime and vice, 1800-2000. Barnsley: Wharncliffe. p. 1. ISBN 978-1845630300.

[IRR-2004-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Athwal, Harmit (29 April 2004). "Justice for Jay Abatan – "an uphill struggle"". Institute of Race Relations. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

[ITV-2020-8] "Family of man killed in Brighton attack calls for justice ahead of vigil". ITV News. 28 January 2022. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.

[BBC-2019-9] "Jay Abatan race killing witnesses sought 20 years on". BBC News. 29 January 2019. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

[Cottle-10] Cottle, Simon (2004). The Racist Murder of Stephen Lawrence: Media Performance and Public Transformation. Praeger. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-275-97941-6. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.

[Telegraph-11] "Suspect in accountant's killing found dead". Daily Telegraph. 11 June 2003. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2022.

[Argus-2003-12] "Has Jay tragedy claimed a second life?". The Argus. 17 June 2003. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

[Joyce-13] Joyce, Peter (2002). "Racial Violence". The Politics of Protest: 191–233. doi:10.1057/9781403990235_6. ISBN 978-1-349-39755-6.

[ES-2002-14] Sawer, Patrick (1 November 2002). "Police probe blunders of racist murder case". Evening Standard. p. 23. Retrieved 9 February 2022.

[BBC-2005-15] "Two disciplined at police hearing". BBC News. 29 June 2005. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.

[BBC-2005minister-16] "Abatan campaigners meet minister". BBC News. 30 November 2005. Archived from the original on 3 December 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2022.

[EDM-17] Turner, Des. "Death of Jay Abatan". Early Day Motions. UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

[IRR-2010-18] Athwal, Harmit (7 October 2010). "The Abatans need funds for inquest". Institute of Race Relations. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

[BBC-Family-19] "Family praised after 1999 death of man in Brighton club". BBC News. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

[Times-2014-20] Ford, Richard (14 August 2014). "Police "concealed key fact in club killing"". Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

[BBC-2014-21] "Jay Abatan death: Brother "can't trust Sussex Police"". BBC News. 13 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.

[ITV-2014-22] "Jay Abatan's family say police withheld facts". ITV News. 13 August 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

[SL-23] Manning, Jonathon (15 August 2020). "Black Lives Matter protest sees 1,000 people march through Brighton". Sussex Live. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

[PCS-24] "Vigil for Jay Abatan". Public and Commercial Services Union. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.

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 == Killing ==
 [[File:Former Ocean Rooms Nightclub, Morley Street, Carlton Hill, Brighton (May 2018).JPG|The derelict Ocean Rooms in 2018|thumb|right|alt=Front of building with mural]]
-Jay Abatan was born {{circa|1957}} in England and moved to Nigeria when he was six years old. He moved back to England at the age of 18 and became an accountant, working first for the [[Inland Revenue]] and then for [[PricewaterhouseCoopers]]. He lived in [[Eastbourne]] and was engaged to be married with his partner; they had two children together, aged 8 and 9.<ref name="ES-2012">{{cite news |last1=Sawer |first1=Patrick |title=Police condemned over murder hunt |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/police-condemned-over-murder-hunt-6971964.html |access-date=7 February 2022 |work=[[Evening Standard]] |date=19 May 2004 |language=en |archive-date=5 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205221438/https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/police-condemned-over-murder-hunt-6971964.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC-2010" /><ref name="Observer">{{cite news |last1=Olden |first1=Mark |title=What happened next: Michael Abatan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2004/may/30/features.magazine77 |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=[[The Observer]] |date=29 May 2004 |language=en |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207221457/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2004/may/30/features.magazine77 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ES-2000">{{cite news |last1=Sawer |first1=Patrick |title=Justice has failed a black man yet again, says dead man's brother |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94439728/abatan-30-10-2000/ |access-date=9 February 2022 |work=[[Evening Standard]] |date=30 October 2000 |pages=293}}</ref> On the night of 23 January 1999, he went out in [[Brighton]] with his brother Michael Abatan and another friend to celebrate his promotion at work to senior tax advisor. They went to a wine bar, then to the Ocean Rooms nightclub on Morley Street in [[Carlton Hill, Brighton|Carlton Hill]]. At 2:30 am, they left the club and called a taxi.<ref name="Observer" /> A taxi arrived and the three believed it was for them, so they asked the two men inside it to get out. An altercation started with those men and others, in which the two brothers were assaulted. Jay Abatan was punched two times in the face and fell over, fracturing his skull on the pavement.<ref name="BBC-2010Sherlock">{{cite news |last1=Sherlock |first1=Peter |title=Jay Abatan's brother's long fight for justice |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11502828 |access-date=7 February 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=25 October 2010 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209154759/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11502828 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC-2010" /> His brother was kicked and punched as he tried to help him.<ref name="Observer" /> The attackers then drove off in the taxi.<ref name="Vice">{{cite book |last1=D'Enno |first1=Douglas |title=Brighton crime and vice, 1800-2000 |date=2007 |publisher=Wharncliffe |location=Barnsley |isbn=978-1845630300 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-2Tb2v_rpDkC}}</ref>
+Jay Abatan was born {{circa|1957}} in England and moved to Nigeria when he was six years old. He moved back to England at the age of 18 and became an accountant, working first for the [[Inland Revenue]] and then for [[PricewaterhouseCoopers]]. He lived in [[Eastbourne]] and was engaged to be married with his partner; they had two children together, aged 8 and 9.<ref name="ES-2012">{{cite news |last1=Sawer |first1=Patrick |title=Police condemned over murder hunt |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/police-condemned-over-murder-hunt-6971964.html |access-date=7 February 2022 |work=[[Evening Standard]] |date=19 May 2004 |language=en |archive-date=5 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205221438/https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/police-condemned-over-murder-hunt-6971964.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC-2010" /><ref name="Observer">{{cite news |last1=Olden |first1=Mark |title=What happened next: Michael Abatan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2004/may/30/features.magazine77 |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=[[The Observer]] |date=29 May 2004 |language=en |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207221457/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2004/may/30/features.magazine77 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ES-2000">{{cite news |last1=Sawer |first1=Patrick |title=Justice has failed a black man yet again, says dead man's brother |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94439728/abatan-30-10-2000/ |access-date=9 February 2022 |work=[[Evening Standard]] |date=30 October 2000 |pages=293}}</ref> On the night of 23 January 1999, he went out in [[Brighton]] with his brother Michael Abatan and another friend to celebrate his promotion at work to senior tax advisor. They went to a wine bar, then to the Ocean Rooms nightclub on Morley Street in [[Carlton Hill, Brighton|Carlton Hill]]. At 2:30 am, they left the club and called a taxi.<ref name="Observer" /> A taxi arrived and the three believed it was for them, so they asked the two men inside it to get out. An altercation started with those men and others, in which the two brothers were assaulted. Jay Abatan was punched two times in the face and fell over, fracturing his skull on the pavement.<ref name="BBC-2010Sherlock">{{cite news |last1=Sherlock |first1=Peter |title=Jay Abatan's brother's long fight for justice |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11502828 |access-date=7 February 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=25 October 2010 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209154759/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11502828 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC-2010" /> His brother was kicked and punched as he tried to help him.<ref name="Observer" /> The attackers then drove off in the taxi.<ref name="Vice">{{cite book |last1=D'Enno |first1=Douglas |title=Brighton crime and vice, 1800-2000 |date=2007 |publisher=Wharncliffe |location=Barnsley |isbn=978-1845630300 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-2Tb2v_rpDkC}}</ref>
 Jay Abatan regained consciousness in the ambulance, then slipped into a coma and was taken to the [[intensive care unit]] at the hospital. He died of his injuries five days later.<ref name="Observer" /><ref name="IRR-2004">{{cite news |last1=Athwal |first1=Harmit |title=Justice for Jay Abatan – "an uphill struggle" |url=https://irr.org.uk/article/justice-for-jay-abatan-an-uphill-struggle/ |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=[[Institute of Race Relations]] |date=29 April 2004 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209154754/https://irr.org.uk/article/justice-for-jay-abatan-an-uphill-struggle/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Michael Abatan survived the assault and began a campaign for justice; Abatan's family was convinced that the attack had been racially motivated.<ref name="BBC-2010" /><ref name="ITV-2020" /> Michael Abatan commented in 2019 "all the people that got hit that day were mixed race. No white people got hit."<ref name="BBC-2019">{{cite news |title=Jay Abatan race killing witnesses sought 20 years on |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-47046032 |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=29 January 2019 |archive-date=31 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131020554/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-47046032 |url-status=live }}</ref> Two men were quickly arrested by [[Sussex Police]] and charged with manslaughter, then the charge was dropped for lack of evidence. They were also charged with [[affray]] and [[Assault occasioning actual bodily harm|causing actual bodily harm]] of Michael Abatan, and at [[trial by jury]] they were found not guilty.<ref name="Cottle">{{cite book |last1=Cottle |first1=Simon |title=The Racist Murder of Stephen Lawrence: Media Performance and Public Transformation |date=2004 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=978-0-275-97941-6 |page=205 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Racist_Murder_of_Stephen_Lawrence/14zaAAAAMAAJ |language=en |access-date=6 February 2022 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209154750/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Racist_Murder_of_Stephen_Lawrence/14zaAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ES-2012" /> The judge did not tell the jury that Jay Abatan had been killed in the attack.<ref name="IRR-2004" /> One of the two former suspects committed suicide in 2003.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |title=Suspect in accountant's killing found dead |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1432682/Suspect-in-accountants-killing-found-dead.html |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=11 June 2003 |archive-date=29 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229070949/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1432682/Suspect-in-accountants-killing-found-dead.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year the Abatan family and Sussex Police offered a reward of £175,000 for any help in finding the killers.<ref name="Argus-2003" />
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 == Legacy ==
-After the Abatan family pressured for more information about what had happened, an investigation by another force, [[Essex Police]], ran from July 1999 until December 2000. It found that there had been 57 serious errors made by Sussex Police, which included not taking the details of witnesses and not setting up a crime scene.<ref name="IRR-2004" /><ref name="Joyce" /><ref name="ES-2012" /> Recommendations made by the Macpherson Report about the [[murder of Stephen Lawrence]] had not been taken up.<ref name="Argus-2003">{{cite news |title=Has Jay tragedy claimed a second life? |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5109416.has-jay-tragedy-claimed-a-second-life/ |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=[[The Argus (Brighton)|The Argus]] |date=17 June 2003 |language=en |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207220630/https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5109416.has-jay-tragedy-claimed-a-second-life/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sussex Police refused to release the full report, but parts were leaked to the press, leading to the force offering a public apology to the Abatan family and stating for the first time that the killing was racially motivated.<ref name="IRR-2004" /><ref name="Joyce">{{cite journal |last1=Joyce |first1=Peter |title=Racial Violence |journal=The Politics of Protest |date=2002 |pages=191–233 |doi=10.1057/9781403990235_6}}</ref>
+After the Abatan family pressured for more information about what had happened, an investigation by another force, [[Essex Police]], ran from July 1999 until December 2000. It found that there had been 57 serious errors made by Sussex Police, which included not taking the details of witnesses and not setting up a crime scene.<ref name="IRR-2004" /><ref name="Joyce" /><ref name="ES-2012" /> Recommendations made by the Macpherson Report about the [[murder of Stephen Lawrence]] had not been taken up.<ref name="Argus-2003">{{cite news |title=Has Jay tragedy claimed a second life? |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5109416.has-jay-tragedy-claimed-a-second-life/ |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=[[The Argus (Brighton)|The Argus]] |date=17 June 2003 |language=en |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207220630/https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5109416.has-jay-tragedy-claimed-a-second-life/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sussex Police refused to release the full report, but parts were leaked to the press, leading to the force offering a public apology to the Abatan family and stating for the first time that the killing was racially motivated.<ref name="IRR-2004" /><ref name="Joyce">{{cite journal |last1=Joyce |first1=Peter |title=Racial Violence |journal=The Politics of Protest |date=2002 |pages=191–233 |doi=10.1057/9781403990235_6|isbn=978-1-349-39755-6 }}</ref>
 Sussex Police replaced the entire investigation team with 36 new detectives and launched a new enquiry.<ref name="ES-2002">{{cite news |last1=Sawer |first1=Patrick |title=Police probe blunders of racist murder case |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94439542/abatan-01-11-2002/ |access-date=9 February 2022 |work=[[Evening Standard]] |date=1 November 2002 |pages=23}}</ref> The [[Independent Police Complaints Commission]] (IPCC) invited a second report  from [[Avon and Somerset Police]], led by [[Ken Jones (police officer)|Ken Jones]], which again found that Sussex Police had made serious mistakes.<ref name="IRR-2004" /><ref name="ES-2012" /> Jones then became [[Chief constable]] of Sussex Police and promised to keep the family informed, although the force then refused to release the IPCC report.<ref name="IRR-2004" /> It also did not authorise an [[inquest]].<ref name="Vice" />
-In 2005, three police officers were disciplined for blunders they had made. A [[detective superintendent]] was found guilty of five misconduct charges and was docked nine days' pay; later in the year, two [[detective inspector]]s were found guilty of misconduct.<ref name="BBC-2005">{{cite news |title=Two disciplined at police hearing |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4635743.stm |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=29 June 2005 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209154811/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/4635743.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Doreen Lawrence]], the mother of murdered teenager [[Stephen Lawrence]], commented that the errors made by Sussex Police demonstrated that "institutional racism was alive and well in Britain today".<ref name="BBC-2005minister">{{cite news |title=Abatan campaigners meet minister |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4481540.stm |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=[[BBC  News]] |date=30 November 2005 |archive-date=3 December 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051203212515/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4481540.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>
+In 2005, three police officers were disciplined for blunders they had made. A [[detective superintendent]] was found guilty of five misconduct charges and was docked nine days' pay; later in the year, two [[detective inspector]]s were found guilty of misconduct.<ref name="BBC-2005">{{cite news |title=Two disciplined at police hearing |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4635743.stm |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=29 June 2005 |archive-date=9 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209154811/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/4635743.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Doreen Lawrence]], the mother of murdered teenager [[Stephen Lawrence]], commented that the errors made by Sussex Police demonstrated that "institutional racism was alive and well in Britain today".<ref name="BBC-2005minister">{{cite news |title=Abatan campaigners meet minister |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4481540.stm |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=30 November 2005 |archive-date=3 December 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051203212515/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4481540.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>
 The family continued to campaign for justice, supported by local [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] [[Peter Bottomley]] ([[Worthing_West_(UK_Parliament_constituency)|Worthing West]]) and [[Des Turner]] ([[Brighton_Kemptown_(UK_Parliament_constituency)|Brighton Kemptown]]). Bottomley supported the Justice for Jay campaign and Turner tabled an [[early day motion]] in 2007.<ref name="Argus-2003" /><ref name="EDM">{{cite web |last1=Turner |first1=Des |title=Death of Jay Abatan |url=https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/32452/death-of-jay-abatan |website=Early Day Motions |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=8 February 2022 |archive-date=6 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206065235/https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/32452/death-of-jay-abatan |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2010, an inquest was held after pressure from Abatan's family. The [[coroner]] recorded a verdict of [[unlawful killing]], saying that Abatan had been assaulted with two punches to the face in a fight which was "entirely unprovoked and entirely unexplained".<ref name="BBC-2010">{{cite news |title=Brighton attack victim Jay Abatan unlawfully killed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11618143 |access-date=6 February 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=25 October 2010 |archive-date=5 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205222506/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11618143 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="IRR-2010">{{cite news |last1=Athwal |first1=Harmit |title=The Abatans need funds for inquest |url=https://irr.org.uk/article/the-abatans-need-funds-for-inquest/ |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=[[Institute of Race Relations]] |date=7 October 2010 |archive-date=8 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208013714/https://irr.org.uk/article/the-abatans-need-funds-for-inquest/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The head of the Sussex [[Criminal Investigation Department]] told the inquest that the police had interviewed 750 people, including 47 out of a total 49 visitors to the Ocean Rooms who had been identified from CCTV cameras.<ref name="BBC-Family">{{cite news |title=Family praised after 1999 death of man in Brighton club |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11516899 |access-date=8 February 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=5 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205232526/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-11516899 |url-status=live }}</ref>