the son of a private investigator whose murder has remained unsolved for more than three decades criticises the metropolitan police's handling of the case. and england and scotland played out a goalless draw at wembley but both countries keep their hopes alive of reaching euro 2020's knockout stage. now on bbc news, bbc wales investigates the story of the schoolboy who never came home.

christopher enjoyed the outdoors. you know, he wanted to be outside, making friends. my fear was something would happen. the cynon valley was home to 13—year—old christopher kapessa. christopher was a little character, he was. there was never a dull moment, you know, when christopher was around. he was so loving. clever, as well, very intelligent, very smart. we're going to school right now. bye, guys. he was full of too much energy. there was always moments where, you know, you're screaming out his name, you know, "christopher, christopher!" in the spring of 2019, alina and the children moved to the fernhill estate, near mountain ash,

from further up the valley. christopher went to the local school. he was so popular. the door was just constantly children around the estate, knocking for him. you know, "is he allowed to come out?" he was my best mate, you know. like, we argued, obviously, but that's what mates do. l everyone does that, otherwise, he ain't your mate. _ it's like your brother, then, isn't it? - cobi and christopher had become friends through school and football. we always wanted to come over and play football. - he'd always, like, do loads of things and stuff, - to do with football. anything to do with football, like. he wanted to play for tottenham.

that's his dream goal to do, was to play for tottenham. i onjuly 1, 2019, christopher finished school, and asked alina if he could go out. he told me, "mum, i'm going out to play football." and it was a lovely summer's day. i assumed that he was in the pitch, playing football, and he wasn't going to be too long. but christopher ended up here with a group of about a dozen other children, on the banks of the river cynon, about a mile from his home. it's different now. back then, there was a bridge

spanning the water. and this was a popular spot in the summer. but christopher couldn't swim. that day, cobi couldn't meet christopher after school. he had other plans. i went on a bike ride with my dad. we ended up going through, like, an old industrial place, _ over the other side of the railway. and everyone was on that bridge, i didn't totally see them. - i assumed it was them, | cos i could hear people, like, shouting and that. we had a knock on the door to say... ..christopher�*s missing. well, my daughter came upstairs screaming... .."christopher�*s jumped off a bridge." so, i came out through the garden, and i could hear the sound of the helicopter.

i was like, "oh, my gosh, what's he gone and done?" it felt like seconds ago christopher came and told me he's going to play football. all of a sudden...helicopters. "why would he jump off a bridge?" you know, that was what i was thinking. "he's going to get a proper telling off." the police arrived at alina's house. at the river, divers and firefighters were searching for christopher. the policejust shouted out, "alina, they found christopher." "we need to go to the hospital." i came out the house. the sky looked gloomy. looked like something is wrong.

and we started to drive to prince charles. and when they put on the sirens... ..i said, "this is not good." sirens wail. across the valley, cobi discovered what was happening on social media. i saw, like, everyone on stories like, praying and that. - and then theyjust said what was going on, on the group chat. - and then itjust hit me. like, i didn't believe it at first, because... - ..i knew he couldn't swim, anyway. but then, like, everyone was crying and that. - and i was walking in the direction where there was all these cubicles...

..and every step i took, there was a member of staff that had their heads bowed down. and there he was... ..at the end of that hallway. lying there. cold. with all this stuff in his mouth. wrapped up like a baby. i was screaming, "christopher." there was no response. she screamed... ..this scream that i think will always haunt me.

a scream that you think... as a mother, then... as a mother, and you've lost a child, what would you do but to scream? a close friend of alina and the family, faith walker went to support them. i went up to her, give her a hug. she was in shock. she was in shock, and she'sjust going through what had happened. i'm thinking, "what? "christopher? " absolute disbelief. alina says that police told her within a day there was nothing suspicious about christopher's death. they'd spoken to four of the larger group of children at the scene, and they'd concluded that he'd slipped into the river. "he slipped."

he slipped? so, it changed from hejumped to now he slipped into the river... ..and it was an accident. i said, "you've concluded that is an accurate version "of exactly what happened to christopher from four children? "so, are you going to be interviewing the rest "of the other children?" and they said to me, "these four children have already "given us an accurate account." alina's friend wanted to see for herself where christopher had drowned. i went to the scene. we wanted to see where the incident happened. and as we were walking down, i was saying to myself, "it's not cordoned off. "why isn't anything cordoned off?" i think they should have cordoned it off, even if it was an accident,

to investigate further. then locals began coming forward, suggesting christopher may not have slipped, he might have been pushed. more information was coming out from the community than the police, and that information then was passed on to the police. i think that was a good...the community coming together to protect. you know, if that was my child, i would want to know the truth. wouldn't that be right for alina as well? and i think then alina realised that there's more to this and she wanted it to be investigated further. alina was left with big questions about the investigation. i do believe if christopher was a white child and amongst, you know, 1a, however many, you know, children

were there and those children were black, the investigation, from the get go, all the way to the end, would have been very different. the police would have, you know, done things differently, taken it seriously, they would have used so many different approaches to actually serve justice for that white child. their decision to see this justi as an accident without looking at the specific situation led to alina and her family at l a disadvantage to find out exactly what happened to christopher. i alina turned to a london—based anti—racism group to question the facts. so my advice to alina was, let's get a new team - of investigators who may not be able to get back to the preservation - | of evidence, but at least they'd be j

able to interview everyone and get a clearer picture of what happened. alina complained to south wales police about its handling of the case and the force referred itself to the iopc — the independent office for police conduct. they told us their initial assessment of the complaint found no indication that any officer had breached professional standards, but they continued to investigate what took place. they've yet to publish their full findings. alina had had to contact the police before, following what she says were racially motivated incidents involving her children. when we was living in the hirwaun area, the children were being subjected to abuse, physical abuse.

as soon as his younger sister started to go out playing with him, she was the one that would be reporting. you know, "mum, those boys were throwing stones at him. she says, while most people were welcoming, when christopher was 11, he was hit over the head by children. he was left in a pool of blood, strangers by had to intervene to help him. what was the effect on christopher himself? angry. you know, he would have a moment, burst of, you know, angry moments. i would then ground him, you know, making him out as if to feel like as if he's the one causing the trouble. but it was for his protection. alina says she reported almost

a dozen of the incidents to south wales police. it was stressful. instead of, like, dealing with the stresses of within the family, you know, home unit, you're having to, you know, to deal with issues that's been brought by the community. south wales police told us that when complaints were made, they were investigated and there'd been insufficient evidence to prosecute. it says it takes hate crime extremely seriously and that confronting it has been a long—standing priority for the force and it wants communities to have the confidence to report it so that support can be offered and perpetrators dealt with. tributes poured in for christopher.

the community raised money to help pay for his funeral. i rememberjust being held by two family members. it wasn't easy. soon as i saw, like, the carriage thing, ijust started crying, like, proper crying. it felt unreal. i guess it kind of feels unreal now. a week after christopher's funeral, south wales police agreed to put its major crime team on the case. officers discovered christopher hadn'tjumped from the bridge or simply slipped into the water. he'd been standing on rocks and had been pushed into the river by a 14—year—old boy. this time, officers spoke to all of those who'd been at the river with christopher

as well as others in the community. they took 170 statements and conducted 5a interviews with children. one of the most telling things was the information we got i from the second investigation, that the suspect said - that he pushed him. police handed the crown prosecution service a file of new evidence, but seven months after christopher's death, prosecutors told his family the case wasn't going any further. the prosecution service decided. that there was sufficient evidence to look at a manslaughter charge but it was not in the public- interest to do so. the crown prosecution service said the evidence suggested that the teenager who pushed christopher into the river hadn't meant to harm him, it was a foolish prank, and hejumped into the river to try to save him.

the suspect had no previous convictions and was described by teachers as intelligent and mature. the cps also said there was nothing to suggest he would go on to commit further offences and it had to consider the impact a prosecution might have on his future. what about christopher's future? he had a good future ahead of him. when you have an institution like the police and the cps behave in this manner, it influences...the public. to say that it, well, it's all right, you can do anything harsh to black people, you can get away with it. this is the message that they're sending. alina began an online campaign demanding a prosecution. every time i hear the word

"christopher", my heart breaks. you know, it breaks immensely. she sobs. she accused south wales police and the cps of institutional racism. no justice... no peace! the cps says race had nothing to do with this decision and south wales police says racism will not be tolerated in our communities. i ask the question, what is public interest? here is a mother and there are so many other mothers looking at it, especially the black ethnic minority mothers looking at it. that there is public interest — are we not public? good to see you again — are you well? _ ray singh is a retired judge who investigated concerns over institutional racism in the justice system in the wake of the stephen lawrence case. come on in and sit down. the welfare of the other

party is not paramount. but the cps has said that they did have to consider the effect of a possible prosecution on that child. do you not think that is relevant? on that basis, justice is being denied to the deceased person, and i don't think the test should be interest of that child. it should be fairness. justice should be done by a court of law. both families will have to live with the outcome, but she would have had the opportunity of hearing and seeing things done transparently and then she can live with that or at least attempt to live with it. the cps told us a specialist prosecutor had reviewed christopher's case. there was nothing to suggest he died

as a result of a hate crime, and that race played no part in its decision not to prosecute the suspect. it says its prosecutors must always act in the interests ofjustice and not solely for the purpose of obtaining convictions. christopher's mother turned to her local mp who raised his case in the commons. it's a very close community, strong local ties between families and friends, and it has caused divisions because all the young people and families involved are from the community. for me, unless there is an open and transparent investigation with an open court process, those divisions are unlikely to be healed. do you think there are people here who hold a contrary view, that the way to get over this is to leave things as they are? i don't think so, no.

i don't think so. whichever side people land on, there are heartfelt feelings involved. this is not about punishment or retribution. while grieving for christopher, his family reported a new incident. just before the first anniversary of christopher's death, one of his brothers was abused in the street, this time by a local woman yelling racist slurs. the police arrested her. she pleaded guilty to racial harassment and was sentenced to three months�* imprisonment. i think it's terrible, i think it's horrible. i mean, i'm from the valley and i'm keen to promote the positives about the valley, but we do have issues here like any other community, but we have to work with the people in the valley, really dig under those underlying issues, educate, whatever's required to change any negative prejudicial views that exist.

christopher's case is going to the high court. alina wants the cps to be ordered to bring a prosecution. i shouldn't even be in this position, to be having to fight a system. it... she sighs. it's exhausting. it really is. it's painfully exhausting. the iopc�*s full report into alina's complaint hasn't yet been published. south wales police says for that reason they can't comment on it, but they did say they welcome the scrutiny and remain committed to implementing opportunities for learning arising from it. last summer, family and friends gathered to mark the first anniversary of christopher's death.

i didn't realise how much christopher was loved by, you know, and adored by his friends. one in particular, cobi. christopher weren't just a friend — he was more or less family. even when we was down, he'd make us laugh. sobbing. christopher... he was amazing footballer. he... he was always cheeky, but in a good way. christopher kapessa was amazing person, and he didn't deserve this. my heart goes out to him, you know. every day i spare a moment of thoughts to him because it's been

really difficult for him. christopher, we will make sure that your name is never forgotten. peace and love to everybody. please, could everybody raise their hand? - god, please let christopher kapessa getjustice, here, today! _ no justice... crowd: no peace! applause. she's not there for revenge, and, you know, if the jury decides that the suspect should be acquitted, we would just leave it there and we'll say at least that's been done. what about the cps's argument that they would be failing

to properly apply the law if they went ahead with this prosecution? i don't think that is true. you can have an argument about the legal interpretation, depending on how many lawyers you have. the independent report into the initial police investigation is unlikely to be published until after the inquest next january. we're not going to give in. we will look at everything possible, including a private or a criminal prosecution. christopher kapessa is the acid test for the criminaljustice system in south wales. if they fail on this, the damage done for the cps and the police will be irreparable. christopher's family and friends know it could take years for his case to be concluded. meanwhile, the legacy of a life cut

short continues to be felt. after the incident, i done this drawing because drawing, like, helps me, like, cope with things more. ijust put everything like, what i thought and how he was in, like, one picture. i tried not thinking about it, but it's always on my mind. it's just...it�*s empty without him, now, you know? you know, christopher's death can'tjust be in vain. as a mother, you know, you don'tjust stop parenting once they've died. christopher's not allowing me to just sit down there and, you know, give up, so if it's going to take ten years, 15 years,

ijust have to deal with it. i—i've got no choice. hello, it has been a pretty cloudy so far this afternoon. we have seen eight fewer showers as well, the majority over recent hours have been across central and eastern scotland. however, attention is now turning to what is going on a further south, these big storms developing across northern france and will be pushing across southern england. anywhere really from the isle of wight, hampshire across south—east england,

east anglia. looking to spell of heavy with thunderstorms embedded, where we see those at storms move across covering a lot of rain in a short space of time and given how wet the rain has been over recent days, they could be localised flooding. temperature is around ten to 14 flooding. temperature is around ten to 1a celsius and tomorrow, rain across eastern england, claiming to the north sea. left with a lot of cloud again. a future as per scotland, northern ireland, but will be some outbreaks in the cloud, the rest of these across the north of england, north of wales. a bit cooler around the north sea coast. that is your weather.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines. pop—up vaccination centres and walk—in clinics open in england in a major push to offer coronavirus jabs to all remaining adults. hardliner ebrahim raisi has been declared the winner of iran's presidential election in a poll in which most would—be candidates were barred from standing. northern ireland's new first minister, paul givan, has been told he will have to resign when a new dup leader is in place. the son of a private investigator whose murder has remained unsolved for more than three decades criticises the metropolitan police's handling of the case. and coming up in half an hour on this week's click... the team takes in the world's largest video games exhibition, e3, to see what games will be making the headlines over the coming year.