A JUDGE yesterday blocked an attempt to launch a private prosecution against entertainer Michael Barrymore following the death of a man found floating in the star's swimming pool.
The family of Stuart Lubbock, 31, were told there was not enough evidence to continue their action against the former television presenter.
The meat factory worker from Harlow, Essex, was discovered face-down in the pool of Barrymore's mansion in
nearby Roydon, in March, 2001 after a party. He had sustained serious internal injuries but an open verdict was recorded at his inquest.
The news follows Barrymore's return to public life as a contestant in the reality television show Celebrity Big Brother.
The legal team acting for Mr Lubbock's family tried to charge Barrymore, 53, with 11 allegations involving drugs, alcohol and claims that he rubbed cocaine into the gums of the father-of-two.
But the district judge at Southend magistrates court threw out all of the allegations during a two-hour hearing behind closed doors.
Mr Lubbock's father, Terry, 61, launched the private prosecution against Barrymore while the entertainer was taking part in the television show on Channel 4.
Speaking outside the court, he said: "We will carry on fighting. If anything, this has made me more determined.
"My son was murdered. The injuries he sustained, he died from.
I will not give up until I find the truth for my son."
Retired solicitor, Tony Bennett, who was acting for the Lubbock family, said: "I'm not sure what other legal avenues are open now unless some of the people that were in Mr Barrymore's house the night Mr Lubbock died come forward and give evidence about what went on. Then the case could be re-opened."
Barrymore, who did not attend the court, said in a statement read out by his representative Chrissy Smith after the hearing:
"I remain totally committed as I always have been to continuing to pursue the truth about Stuart Lubbock's death on that tragic evening."
The statement added: "I would very much welcome working alongside Mr Terry Lubbock to uncover the truth."
The full article contains 367 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
