Father of man found dead at Michael Barrymore’s home praises the media

The father of a man found dead in entertainer Michael Barrymore's swimming pool has praised journalists for keeping the case in the public eye.

Terry Lubbock, 74, of Harlow, Essex, says he could not have carried on a fight for justice without the media.

He says people do not understand how important the media is.

Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found dead at Barrymore's then-home in Roydon, Essex, on March 31 2001.

Mr Lubbock has taken part in a new Channel 4 documentary about his son's death.

The documentary, Barrymore: The Body In The Pool, will be broadcast on Thursday evening.

It charts the police investigation and details Barrymore's attempts to regenerate his career.

Mr Lubbock hopes the documentary will persuade someone who knows what happened to come forward.

"I could not have kept going all this time without the media," Mr Lubbock told the PA news agency.

"Journalists have been great.

"They have never let this go.

"I don't think people understand how important journalists are."

He added: "Journalists are as important as the police."

Last year, Barrymore spoke about Mr Lubbock's death.

He told Piers Morgan's ITV show, Life Stories, that he "couldn't be more sorry" and that he was "100% innocent".

Barrymore was arrested in 2007 but never charged with any offence.

He sued Essex Police and claimed that a wrongful arrest had cost him about £2.5 million in lost earnings.

But Court of Appeal judges concluded he should get nominal damages.