
Michael Barrymore On Suicide Watch And Not Al-wight
MICHAEL Barrymore is back in the news. This is the “BARRYMORE TAPE SENSATION”.
Michael is sitting down with Tony Cowell, brother to talent show TV impresario Simon Cowell. Tony is interviewing Barrymore for the TV star’s autobiography, possibly entitled ‘Top, Middle & Bottom’.
But things do not go well. As the Mirror says a row scuppers the project. So Tony hands the tapes over to the police. Not in any way to get revenge or to whip up interest in the book, but in the interests of justice.
The Bottom
Stuart Lubbock has been found dead at Barrymore’s mansion. It is 2001 and Barrymore is TV’s cheeky chappie. Barrymore is arrested. He is bailed. He is cautioned for possessing cannabis. “You can call me a lousy entertainer but you can’t call me a killer,” says Barrymore.
He should have said “You can call me a killer, you can call me what you like, so long as you call”. ITV scraps Barrymore’s TV show. Barrymore goes to live in New Zealand among the sheep. He then returns to live in the Celebrity Big Brother house among Jodie Marsh.
The Middle
Tony Cowell explains that he met a certain DC Darren Jones in a restaurant in Soho. He handed over the tapes. Says he: “I told him there was nothing new on them.”
So why then is Barrymore “ON SUICIDE WATCH,” as the Sun’s front page announces? Why is he in a police cell following an arrest over allegations of sexual assault and murder?
And if the tapes are, as the Sun says, “confidential”, how can it that the paper is able to transcribe them, affording its reader such details as: “It was his eyes that I was fixed on. They for some reason gave the illusion of being wider than they should be and staring through the water at the night sky.”
And: “Two girls emerged form the lower end of the garden and immediately let out the kind of scream that only girls can make.” Girls and light entertainers dressed in a tutu and dancing round the stage on their hands. Barrymore was ever modest.
Lubbock’s body is removed. The Mail notes that three of four pathologists who examined the cadaver found “sever internal injuries” caused by a large object being forced up the deceased’s rectum. Barrymore says the injuries were caused by a rectal thermometer used by doctors trying to revive his guest, or “a necrophiliac attack in the mortuary”.
And now we have the “secret tapes”. But a “source” within Essex police tells the Sun that the arrests of Barrymore and two other men were planned a week before the tapes were handed over.
Which suggest the tapes are less than the sensation the Mirror makes them out to be.
Barrymore is till talking. He says: “Stuart was taking drugs and drinking, which he did on a regular basis. He wasn’t tricked or forced into it. He went in the pool when nobody else wanted to go in.”
The Top
A man is dead.
But the Sun is keen to not overlook another victim in this sorry tale. A person said to be close to Barrymore tells the paper: “He is filming a pilot show in which a contestant become a millionaire playing a bingo game. He will be devastated.”
Settle down people – a man’s TV career is at stake here…
Posted: 15th, June 2007 | In: Tabloids Comments (43) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments





April 29th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Yes and that is what Michael wants.
so whatever Terry says good luck, on the other side of the coin stop trying to disrupt Michael’s career and make it obvious.
Michael has nothing to hide, so be it Terry Lubbock.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I don’t like it when Michael’s name is used just to get publicity for it.
Yes it needs to be concluded, but Terry is not dealing with it the right way.
Michael has always been truthful in all this and has told it how it happened, why on earth try to destroy the man I love when quite clearly it won’t get him anywhere not now not in the future.
I’m fed up with the constant abuse Michael gets, he said he would help Terry, but not by demonstrating at Michael’s shows and try to ruin it for him and us.
You tell me what is normal with Terry at the moment.
I understand how he feels, but he must stop using Michael as a weapon, he is bloody innocent.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:13 am
A New Coroners Inquest into the death of Stuart Lubbock at entertainer Michael Barrymore’s home in 2001 is needed. In 2002 Essex Coroner recorded an ‘Open Verdict’ into Stuart’s death. Terry Lubbock has tiresley campaigned to get a New Coroners Inquest sending a Memorial to The Attorney General.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:25 am
I find it totally uneceptable how Michael has been treated, arrested twice for something he had no part in whatsoever.
I am in total support of him always. The Lubbocks should find the real culprits blaming Michael is totally disgraceful, yes and I know Michael had no part in it whatsoever.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:23 am
And Michael is not guilty of SL murder, over my dead body, just trying to pin it on him that is all, I wonder where is the evidence, I know Michael is genuine and I will totally stand by him at all costs.
If it had hapened in my pool no one ever care, its all because Michael is in the public eye, he is human like the rest of us.
I find it totally disgraceful that Michael has been treated in a deplorable manner.
He has been honest and trueful and genuine about all of this.
July 13th, 2007 at 1:01 am
On the allegation that I’ve committed a ‘hate crime’, whatever that is, in connection with material about homosexuals posted on The Lubbock Trust website, here’s an e-mail I’ve had yesterday from the Investigating Officer in Essex Police - posted without comment:
——————————————————————————————-
Mr Bennett,
Many thanks for your e mails yesterday which I can confirm I have received, and apologies for not being available yesterday to speak to you direct.
I would like to confirm the current status of our enquiries in order to keep you updated and offer you some reassurance.
As I stated to you on the telephone Tues 10/07/07, Essex Police received a complaint from a member of the public with regards the Lubbock Trust Website.
As the supervisor for the Hate Crime Unit at Harlow Police Station, my team are now reviewing the contents of the website to establish if any offences are present. We will endeavour to conduct these enquiries as soon as practicable in order to cause minimal disruption to yourself.
I will provide you with an update at the earliest opportunity, and should we need to speak to you about these enquiries at a later date I will make contact and arrange a mutually agreeable appointment.
Marina Ericson
Marina Ericson DS 1346
Domestic Violence and Hate Crime Unit
Tel: 01279 625493 or ext 20163
Mob: 07967 301846
——————————————————————————————–
July 11th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Tonight (11 July) I have had a response from Peter Hood, Detective Chief Inspector in Essex Police Professional Standards Department, to my complaint addressed to the Chief Constable last night.
He has advised me that my complaint about being publicly accused of committing a ‘hate crime’ by Essex Police, when there is no evidence that I have committed any crime, let alone a so-called ‘hate crime’, is so serious that he has immediately referred my complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission on my behalf, without my having to do so.
The precise role of Detective Sergeant Marina Ericson in the Harlow Hate Crime Unit in this matter will therefore come under very close scrutiny, which is a good thing.
Essex Police are also examining a malicious entry about me on Wikipedia which was placed there apparently during 8 July and then removed in mysterious circumstances at 2.43am on the morning of Monday 9 July
July 11th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Questions, Questions.
Robert Says:
July 11th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
I’d still like to know how the confidential Tony Cowell tapes got leaked to the press.
REPLY: No idea. Almost certainly by someone in Essex Police, I would think
Mr Cowell has been imprisoned for forgery in the past.
REPLY: That’s well worth knowing, thank you. Hmmm, I wonder why Michael Barrymore approached him in the first place to ghost his autobiography?
Were these the reason for Mr Barrymore’s recent arrest?
REPLY: I do not know. I believe that for those three arrests to have taken place in June, Essex Police have by now got enough information to charge at least one person with either murder, manslaughter or grievous bodily harm on Stuart. We shall see
Why THREE proof-readers?
REPLY: Two heads are better than one. Three heads are better than two
July 11th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Gaypride Says:
July 11th, 2007 at 1:00 am
NO CRIMINAL EXPERIENCE THEN. WHAT OF GAY PEOPLE, MANY OF US ARE JUST ORDINARY PEOPLE DISGUSTED BY THE DEATH OF STUART LUBBOCK.
REPLY: Funnily enough, this is exactly what I also say on page 131 of my book. I specifically acknowledge, for example, the help given to The Lubbock Trust by well-known homosexual night-club owner Basil Newby
July 11th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
I’d still like to know how the confidential Tony Cowell tapes got leaked to the press. Mr Cowell has been imprisoned for forgery in the past. Were these the reason for Mr Barrymore’s recent arrest?
Why THREE proof-readers?
July 11th, 2007 at 1:00 am
NO CRIMINAL EXPERIENCE THEN. WHAT OF GAY PEOPLE, MANY OF US ARE JUST ORDINARY PEOPLE DISGUSTED BY THE DEATH OF STUART LUBBOCK.
July 10th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
On the issue of the Police falling over themselves to attempt to frighten people into thinking they’ve committed some sort of ‘hate crime’ for not being fully supportive of homosexualist demands, it might be as well to remind ourselves all of this articled from earlier this year - reported in several papers at the time (this comes from ‘The Scotsman’):
——————————————————————————————–
Couple who said gays were ‘morally wrong’ win £10,000 payout
by WILL BATCHELOR
A CHRISTIAN couple questioned by police for describing homosexuality as “morally wrong” have won a £10,000 payout and an apology.
Helen and Joe Roberts were reported to Lancashire Constabulary last December after they asked Wyre Borough Council to display Christian literature alongside leaflets about gay rights.
The council refused, which prompted Mrs Roberts to make a telephone complaint in which she described homosexual practice as “morally wrong”.
Two police officers then visited the Roberts’ home, in Fleetwood, and questioned them for an hour and 20 minutes about their moral beliefs.
The couple took legal action against Lancashire Constabulary and Wyre Borough Council for infringing their freedom of expression and religious belief and a High Court hearing was due to take place next month.
The Roberts have now agreed to drop the action after both the police and council apologised and offered £10,000, which will be donated to charity, plus legal costs.
In a written apology, Lancashire Police accepted they should have made proper inquiries before deploying officers.
The apology states: “The decision to send the officers was made after consideration. However, on reflection, we do believe that further inquiries should have been made before they were deployed.
“Had those inquiries been undertaken then we accept it is very likely that our approach would have been different and the officers would not have been deployed.
“We understand the distress you felt at, and following, the visit from the police officers, and we regret that. We fully accept that we now know that you never committed or threatened any crime.”
The apology also states that procedures have been reviewed and offers to consult the Roberts on further changes.
Wyre Borough Council’s apology reads: “We recognise this was a traumatic incident for you and are writing to express our regret and apologise for the way in which this matter was handled.
“With the benefit of hindsight, we recognise that a fundamental weakness of the procedures followed by the council at this time was that an incident could be reported by a single officer on the basis of his individual evaluation of the incident.”
In a statement released by pressure group the Christian Institute, the Roberts said: “We are delighted at the result.
“It has been a long year battling this case and we are so pleased that common sense has prevailed.”
——————————————————————————————–
July 10th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Gaypride on July 9th, 2007 at 9:11 pm wrote:
Mr Bennett did you get paid to write your book?
MY REPLY: Yes, and I’ll tell you precisely what I was paid for acting as sole researcher and author, author of Terry Lubbock’s chapters i.e. acting as his ghost writer, typing the entire book, re-setting it for the eventual printer, finding three proof-readers, personally checking their comments and re-editing the book, and many other tasks in connection with its publication: £2,500
Gaypride also wrote: Barrymore simply wanted to make money for himself from his autobiography. Are you an X detective or a leading criminologist. You seem to be Judge & Jury.
REPLY: I am not an ex-detective. I am neither a leading nor indeed any criminologist. I do have a first class degree, a starred distinction from LSE in a social studies diploma and an M.A. - plus a C.Q.S.W. - the professional qualification for social workers, and being a qualified Solicitor. Plus the author of a 1980s best-seller: Guide for Families with Children in Care”. My book assembles many facts, a good deal of them never before revealed to the public, and reaches some conclusions, which many others, including Essex Police, think are well argued.
Terry Lubbock and I both wish that some day the person or persons who committed the violent sexual assault on Stuart Lubbock - that Essex Police, the Coroner and all four pathologists are unanimous in agreeing took place - will be brought before a judge and jury.
I feel sure that you would support Terry Lubbock and in that quest.
July 10th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
I confess I had a good laugh at ‘Gaypride’’s reference to ‘offensive and sexually explicit material’, in fact it was a case of FOMCL. Gaypride, have you visited any of the more lurid homosexual contact websites recently? Or do you not know what goes on in so-called ‘gay saunas’?
As for this so-called ‘investigation’, all I know about so far it is a ‘phone call from someone called Detective Sergeant Marina Ericson at 3.09pm today. If you’ll pardon the expressoin, I am determined to get to the bottom of it.
Here’s a letter I’ve despatched by e-mail to the Chief Constable of Essex tonight:
—————————————————————————————–
QUOTE
10 July 2007 - 8.00pm
Dear Chief Constable Mr Baker
COMPLAINTS - REQUEST FOR (1) REFERRAL TO PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND (2) INFORMATION UNDER FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT re (A) Telephone Call from Det Sgt. Marina Ericson 10.7.2007 and (B) Message on Big Brother Celebrity News & Gossip Website 10.7.2007
These are the facts.
Today at 3.09pm, D/S Marina Ericson ‘phoned me on my mobile ‘phone and gave me the following information:
1) A complaint had been made about allegedly ‘homophobic’ material on The Lubbock Trust website
2) She was personally investigating me in connection with it
3) She was from the Hate Crimes Unit
4) Essex Police had *already* put out a statement about this investigation, and
5) She would be arranging (and I quote verbatim) to ‘have a chat’ with me about the complaint.
Today at 5.31pm, someone called ‘Gaypride’ posted this message on the Big Brother Celebrity News & Gossip website:
“Bennett, acting as the Lubbock family lawyer was also investigated by Essex Police Hate Crimes Unit after complaints over the content of a website set up in Stuart Lubbocks name. Its been aleged that the website run by Tony Bennett contain’s offensive and sexual explicit material”.
Please note, I have left the spelling as it appeared in the orginal.
My complaints, which I would like referred to Professsional Standards without delay (unlike the 7-month delay that occurred in the Lubbock case) are these:
1. Homophobia - a word whose meaning is in any event highly contentious - is not a crime known to law
2. Ms Ericson did not say what crime she was investigating me for. She is not allowed or empowered to investigate anything that is not suspected of being a crime. If she wants to ‘have a chat’, she has better tell me in connection with what offence
3. She said that Essex Police had already put out a statement. I didn’t see it on your website, nor was it on your e-mail bulletins as I subscribe to those. How can you put out a statement without my even having been interviewed? I hope I wasn’t named in the statement (see below)
4. How does ‘Gaypride’ know about the Essex Police statement? - from what source has s/he got it?
My questions, which I require to be referred immediately to your Freedom of Information Section Office, are these:
1. Has a statement been put out? If so, I need to see it, and I want to know when it was put out, by whom and who authorised it.
2. Was I named in this statement?
3. How did ‘Gaypride’ learn about an investigation against me?
4. How many hours of Police time have already been spent ‘investigating this matter’.
4. What is the alleged crime you are investigating?
5. Has anyone from Essex Gay Police Association or Nexus been involved in this investigation or in releasing a report?
6. What is the Crime Reference number?
I am well aware of the Public Order Act provisions and legislation to combat racial and religious hatred and I do also know that ‘homophobia’ is not an offence; moreover the Gay Police Association use it to refer to anyone who is at all critical of the homosexual lifestyle and the political demands made by homosexuals.
If I do not get a full response from the relevant officers shortly, the matter will be referred without delay and without further reference to you to the I.P.C.C and to the Information Commissioner.
Yours sincerely
Tony Bennett
UNQUOTE
July 10th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Bennett, acting as the Lubbock family lawyer was also investigated by Essex Police Hate Crimes Unit after complaints over the content of a website set up in Stuart Lubbocks name. Its been aleged that the website run by Tony Bennett contain’s offensive and sexual explicit material.
July 9th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Mr Bennett did you get paid to write your book? Barrymore simply wanted to make money for himself from his autobiography. Are you an X detective or a leading criminologist. You seem to be Judge & Jury.
July 7th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Reply to Robert:
Almost all the income received by The Lubbock Trust has been obtained from selling the rights to my book. Terry Lubbock also receevd £2,000 from The Sun newspaoer for meeting Michael Barrymore on 28 January 2006. He paid this entire sum into The Trust. Expenses of the Trust have included obtaining a full transcript of the Coroner’s Inquest, obtaining other expert evidence, the cost of printing the book, and many incidental expenses including various adminstrative and travel costs.
I was specifically asked by Terry Lubbock to write the book. His son Kevin (Stuart’s elder brother) who lives with him also supports the writing of the book. The purpose of our book is to expose Police incompetence and to bring to public light much that is not generally known about the events of that night and the background to it.
Barrymore simply wanted to make money for himself from his autobiography, partly by telling a false story about the events of that night while proclaiming to the book-buying public that he was telling the whole truth.
NOT AWIGHT is now available from me direct at the special price of £9 inc. P+P, send an e-mail to ajsbennett@btinternet.com
July 7th, 2007 at 8:52 am
How EXACTLY is the Lubbock Trust funded?
You accuse Mr Barrymore of seeking to make money out of Stuart’s death. Are you not doing the same by selling your version to two national newspapers?
July 5th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Interleaved replies by Tony Bennett to ‘Gaypride’
‘Gaypride Says:
July 5th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Mr Bennett are you the same person that worked for Robert Kilroy Silk.
REPLY: Yes, I worked for him 15/8/04 to 31/8/05.
Do you work for the Lubbock family for ££££?????
REPLY: No. The Lubbock Trust has made payments to me in respect of my work and expenses on behalf of the Trust, mainly writing the book ‘NOT AWIGHT’, analysing the case and successfully negotiating serialisation rights to the book with two national newspapers. Terry Lubbock has paid me nothing. Nor has any other member of the Lubbock family
Whats your Angle or Angenda£££££
REPLY: I want the truth to come out about the death of Stuart Lubbock for the sake of his surviving family, which is why I was delighted with the recent arrests. I contacted Terry Lubbock, who lives in the same town as me, in January 2006 after Barrymore had the effrontery to appear on Celebrity Big Brother and then said he was writing three chapters in his autobiography about the ‘truth’ about the death of Stuart Lubbock. He sought thereby to make money out of Stuart Lubbock’s death at his home. My work for Terry Lubbock has practically concluded, having helped to prompt first the Review of the case by Essex Police in early 2006, and then the all-important re-investigation which began in December 2006. I am currently helping him with a complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission about the incompetence and possible corruption of the first investigation into Stuart’s death by Essex Police. The IPCC investigation is a top-level, ‘managed’ investigation, which is now well under way.
P.S. I hope you would support all efforts to get at the truth of what happened to Stuart Lubbock
July 5th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Mr Bennett are you the same person that worked for Robert Kilroy Silk.
Do you work for the Lubbock family for ££££????? Whats your Angle or Angenda£££££
June 28th, 2007 at 8:00 am
[...] Preston. And hello Chantelle. And hello Preston. And hello to Celebrity divorce court, starring Michael Barrymore and Jodie Marsh…Share This Opinions? : Add your view now! | In: Big Brother | By: Anorak | Most [...]
June 22nd, 2007 at 10:59 am
We have since learnt that Michael Barrymore will answer to Police bail on Wednesday 1 August. It will presumably be at the same Police Station where he was questioned earlier, South Woodham Ferrers, Essex. But both the venue and date and time could be changed between now and 1 August. The other two suspects of rape and murder, Jonathan Kenney and Justin Merritt, are scheduled to answer to bail on 3 August
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:07 am
The truth will out … quaint old saying …. but ,oh so true!
June 19th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Robert has asked a good question. Even at 5.56am, when the ambulance arrived, it was almost pitch black outside, i.e. before dawn, and Kylie Merritt, one of the party-goers, said this in her first statement to Essex Police: “…the ambulance arrived, they took over and I recall them asking us to find a torch…”.
Strange, isn’t it, that Barrymore and the other party-goers hadn’t even managed to get a torch to illuminate the dead Stuart Lubbock lying on the poolside?
It was in these conditions, with at least 15 feet between Barrymore’s eyes and Stuart Lubbock’s eyes (remember Barrymore claimed he was ‘floating face up at the bottom of the pool’), that Barrymore claimed to be staring into Stuart’s wide-open eyes.
Hmmm.
June 19th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Were the lights on when the police arrived?
June 18th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Even with those underwater lights (and whose word do we have that those were on?), it’s sll hard to stare into someone’s eyes from 15 feet away. Or maybe Barrymore *did* see Stuart’s eyes close up - but under very different circumstances from those described in his book?
June 18th, 2007 at 11:15 am
The pool had underwater lights.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:55 am
[...] Outa My Hair is bothering Barrymore. As a “close friend” tells the Mirror: “He’s amazed he was arrested… He was by the canal smoking a cigarette and the next thing he knew he was bundled into the back [...]
June 18th, 2007 at 12:25 am
The two quotes above (”It was his eyes that I was fixed on…” and “Two girls emerged from the lower part of the garden…”) are in fact quotes from, respectively, pages 182 and 183 of Michael Barrymore’s autobiography: ‘Awight Now’ - and so can be read by anyone who wants to waste £9.99 buying it from Amazon. At least the price is down now from the original published price of £18.99, but then that is hardly surprising whn Amazon says that Barrymore’s autobiography is currently their 8,757th best selling book!
More to the point, how many people can claim to have stared into the eyes of someone six fet or more down *at the bottom of a swimmimg pool* (remember Barrymore claimed he was floating face up at the bottom), in pitch dark (it was around 5.30am (in March) on his own account), standing six feet above the pool. The distance from Stuart’s eyes to Barrymore was around 15 feet (4.5 metres) - in the dark - and at that distance Barrymore would have to be possessed with unusual visual powers to be able to stare into the derad Stuart’s eyes.
Not satisfied with claiming to have stared into Stuart’s eyes, Barrymore in his book continues: “My mouth wanted to form the words: ‘Oh my God’, but nothing came out. Just how much your body goes through in those first few seconds is a time frame unique to the human being. For me, and those of you who can’t swim, it’s that moment that can’t possibly happen to you, because you never put yourself in that situation, because of your inability to swim. ‘Oh God, surely he is resting in that position?’, was my only thought. Any second now he will spin in on himself [sic], pull himself out, start to swim back to the edge and climb out of the pool. My body starts to tighten, in slow motion, frame by frame”.
Pity that Barrymore’s then lover, Jonathan Kenney, told Police he first saw the body in the swimming pool *’at the top, floating face down’*. Oh dear!
Let’s hope the police and the courts force out the full horrible truth before very long.
Tony Bennett
Legal Adviser to Terry Lubbock
June 17th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
How did these “confidential” tapes get leaked? We’re told they were locked in a safe and only released to the police on demand. Does this imply that a second copy (or transcripts thereof) were sold to the Sun? Is it possible that someone was hoping to cash in on them? Perhaps the police should investigate Tony Cowell’s own criminal record.
June 16th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
Hallo, if I may join in, I am the Solicitor representing Mr Terry Lubbock, Stuart’s father. Thanks for the supportive messages to the family above, I will pass them on to Terry, he really appreciates them. As we say in our forthcoming book (available on Amazon): ‘NOT AWIGHT - Getting Away With Murder” (by Terry Lubbock and Tony Bennett), Michael Barrymore’s role in the events of that night has been to cover them up. He knows perfectly well what really happened that night. It may be worse than that, but we don’t know so we won’t speculate. His accounts of what happened that night have frequently been highly inconsistent and do not match other witness accounts. I should add that the now-discredited Dr Michael Heath did the original autopsy and said it was a case of drowning. But all the three other pathologists called in by the Coroner and the police noticed many petechiae - pin-head size blood spots - in various parts of Stuart’s face - a classic sign of asphyxia, not drowning. Without being able to go into detail in a short message, the main case we make in the book is that Stuart Lubbock was never in the swimming pol, and that this was a fabrication by 6 of the 8 other party-goers. Two of the three girls that night did not play any part in a cover-up of the truth.
Tony Bennett