Barrymore pool death party-goers may ‘crack’ says father

THE father of a man whose body was found in Michael Barrymore’s swimming pool nearly 20 years ago has said he has hopes that a witness with information might soon “crack”.

Terry Lubbock, whose 31-yearold son Stuart died following a party at Mr Barrymore’s thenhome in Roydon, Essex, on March 31, 2001, said some people who were at the party must be living under “terrible” pressure.

He said he hopes that the pressure might soon tell and persuade someone with information to come forward.

“It’s almost exactly 20 years since Stuart died, but to me it seems like last week,” Mr Lubbock, 76, of Harlow, Essex, said.

“It must be exactly the same for all those people who were at the party on that night Stuart died.

“One of them at least must know something which they’ve never told, probably more than one. This never goes away because Barrymore is so famous.

“I won’t let it go away and media won’t let go away, and it must be hell living with that every day and every night. The pressure they must live under must be terrible.

“The 20th anniversary is approaching. I imagine there’s going to be a lot more publicity in the next couple of weeks, the pressure’s going to mount.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if someone cracks soon under all this pressure and decides to get it off their chest once and for all.”

Mr Lubbock wants a coroner to oversee a new inquest. A coroner recorded an open verdict after an inquest in 2002 and, in January 2018, the then-attorney general, Jeremy Wright, refused to give Mr Lubbock the go-ahead to make an application to the High Court for a second inquest.