Double murderer confesses his part in New Cross fire which killed 13 black partygoers in 1981 - as dramatic new evidence sparks fresh accusations police failed to properly investigate blaze that stoked race tensions
Police chiefs are accused of failing to fully investigate confession of murderer
Michael Smithyman revealed how New Cross fire started 40 years ago 
The fire killed 13 black partygoers and prompted a campaign for political action 
No one has ever been tried for starting the blaze, but between 1991 and 1993 police received confessions from a jailed killer 
But the probe was shelved shortly afterwards, leaving some officers incensed by the failure to fully investigate the claim

Police chiefs have been accused of failing to fully investigate the confession of a jailed murderer who revealed how a house fire started 40 years ago, killing 13 young black partygoers.

The New Cross fire in South London in 1981 prompted a campaign for political action over allegations of a totally inadequate response from police and government.

No one has ever been tried for starting the blaze, but between 1991 and 1993 police received confessions from a jailed killer who gave the name of a suspect, and said he himself was present when it began.

Michael Smithyman, who had been jailed for killing his pregnant girlfriend, was the subject of a police report submitted to the Home Office and was reinterviewed by an elite Scotland Yard unit in 1993.

But the probe was shelved shortly afterwards, leaving some officers incensed by the failure to fully investigate the claim.

The eight-page briefing note states: 'It is suspected that Smithyman was the other person with [name removed for legal reasons] when the fire started and it is our belief he will admit his full complicity in the matter.'

Almost all victims of the blaze on January 18, 1981, were teenagers and all were black. Twenty-seven others were seriously injured. A survivor was so horrified by what he saw that he killed himself two years later. After police failed to find the culprit, the local community adopted the slogan '13 dead, nothing said'. 

This year, the 40th anniversary of the blaze, campaigners say the story symbolises the police abuse and neglect by the state felt by many black people at the time.