THE acquittal yesterday of the two brothers charged with the murder of Damilola Taylor does not come as a surprise.

On the flimsy and flawed evidence presented during the three-month trial at the Old Bailey, the jury had little alternative but to return not guilty verdicts.

We do not dispute the huge efforts made by the Metropolitan Police to find the killer or killers of Damilola. The circumstances surrounding tragic death of a young boy who had been brought to Britain to make a better life for himself stirred the conscience of our nation.

The police officers assigned to the investigation reflected that mood in ensuring no stone was left unturned in an attempt to solve the crime.

However, without eyewitness accounts of any substance, the inquiry was always going to be difficult.

We have to question the wisdom of the Metropolitan Police in seeking convictions with the paucity of evidence they could gather.

And we have to question the wisdom of the Crown Prosecution Service in insisting the case should go to trial.

Their insistence that the court proceedings should proceed has to come under the severest scrutiny.

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the pursuit of those charged in connection with Damilola's death was connected with the stinging criticism of the handling of the Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry.

It is conceivable that, under intense public and media scrutiny of the murder of another young black boy, the Metropolitan Police was desperate for a successful conviction.

The public needs to know whether that desperation clouded professional judgements made in the Damilola Taylor case.

But the most searching questions must come from Damilola's parents.

For three months, they have listened to harrowing evidence detailing the last moments of their son's short life.

And yet, for all their pain, suffering and anguish, there is still no comfort in knowing that the people responsible for his death have been brought to justice and removed from society.