A SENIOR police officer from a neighbouring force is to review the investigation carried out by Sussex Police into the death of accountant Jay Abatan.

Father-of-two Jay died a week after he fell into a coma after an attack outside the Ocean Rooms nightclub in Brighton.

The 42-year-old, from Eastbourne, was involved in a dispute at a taxi rank in January last year and his brother Tunde, also known as Michael, suffered a cut and black eye.

Charges against two men arrested after Jay's death were dropped in June last year after magistrates ruled there was insufficient evidence.

The men, Graham Curtis, 38, of Porthall Road, Brighton, and Peter Bell, 36, of Addison Road, Hove, were also cleared earlier this year of assaulting Michael Abatan.

After the trial Michael, Jay's partner Tanya Haynes and MP Peter Bottomley launched a Justice For Jay Campaign, saying they believed his death was racially motivated. They called for a review into the way the investigation was handled after drawing parallels with the well-known case of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Officers investigating Jay's death put up a £75,000 reward and appealed for information through the BBC's Crimewatch show last month.

Yesterday Sussex Chief Constable Paul Whitehouse announced he had invited his counterpart at Essex Police to review the investigation.

A police spokesman said: "It is quite usual for unsolved cases to be reviewed from time to time and the decision to invite another force to assist us in this way is intended both to provide reassurance to the family of Jay and to their representatives and to allay any concerns about the progress of the investigation."

Peter Bottomley, Tory MP for West Worthing, said he had been in close contact with Jay's family and had tabled four Parliamentary questions in a bid to shed new light on the investigation.

He said: "My understanding is that the family, police and general public want to do everything possible to see if evidence can be gained which will let a proper trial in relation to the unlawful attack and death of Jay take place.

"I think the police would like to make certain that people have confidence in the way they approach issues like this.

"I also think they are right to ask if there are lessons to be learned and they will be interested in what they have done in the right way and what they may have done differently."

The review will be carried out by Essex Detective Superintendent Steve Reynolds and a small team of officers.

Police are still appealing for members of the public with information about Jay's death to contact Brighton CID on 0845 60 70 999.

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