'We will continue to fight' - Ryan Passey's family says as new evidence ruled insufficient for retrial

Justice minister David Lammy is being urged to intervene in the case of Ryan Passey following the revelation ‘compelling new evidence’ discovered by police will not spark a retrial.

Ryan was stabbed to death in a Stourbridge nightspot in August 2017 at the age of just 24.

Almost nine years on and his family remain embroiled in a fight to bring his killer to justice.

A police investigation was reopened in the summer of 2023 following a huge campaign by the Justice For Ryan group that began in February 2018 after Kobe Murray from Dudley walked free from court despite having admitted that he had stabbed Ryan during a scuffle in Chicago’s in the Ryemarket.

The verdict was deemed a ‘perverse acquittal verdict’ where the jury failed to convict contrary to the evidence presented in court.

A civil case later followed in 2021 and ruled self-employed window cleaner and talented local footballer Ryan was unlawfully killed, with the family awarded £10,000 in damages.

This was a small but significant step towards justice for Ryan’s heartbroken dad Ade, mum Gill and step-dad Phil but the fight continued and eventually police agreed to reinvestigate the case.

A number of key points were raised in an independent review by West Yorkshire Police which prompted the reinvestigation by West Midlands Police - and Ryan’s family were starting to think maybe, just maybe, they were getting somewhere when they were eventually informed that new and reliable evidence had been uncovered and it was being considered by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

However, their hopes for justice have been dashed yet again with news that the Director for Public Prosecutions has declined to grant consent for an application to the Court of Appeal.

In a statement the family said: “While we respect the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the gravity of such decisions, we cannot accept the reasoning behind this outcome.

“We want to place on record our sincere thanks to the DPP for meeting with us face-to-face on Monday March 31. We recognise and appreciate the time taken to engage with us directly, and we acknowledge the seriousness with which the DPP approached that meeting — even though we profoundly disagree with the decision made.”

A spokesperson for CPS said: “Our thoughts remain with Ryan’s family, whom the Director of Public Prosecutions met personally to provide a detailed explanation of his decision-making.

“We never hesitate to pursue cases under double jeopardy legislation when the legal tests are met, and will engage fully with any further proceedings in this case.”

Ryan’s family have said they have now taken steps to challenge the decision, although this could cost them tens of thousands of pounds.

A pre-action protocol letter has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and legal papers outlining their claim has been served on the Administrative Court - a branch of the High Court - seeking permission for a judicial review.

The family said: “The acknowledgement that new, credible evidence now exists only deepens our sense of injustice. It strengthens our belief that the full truth surrounding Ryan’s death has never been properly tested in court.”

Family friend Jason Connon, spokesman for the Justice For Ryan campaign, said it had been “especially difficult” to hear from the DPP that the crucial evidence which was uncovered during the WMP reinvestigation - ‘could have been found earlier’.

The family’s statement continued: “Alongside the emotional toll, we now face the harsh reality that pursuing this judicial review will cost our family tens of thousands of pounds. After years of campaigning, examining evidence, and engaging respectfully with every available process, we are once again being told that access to justice comes at an extraordinary financial price.

“No family that has lost a loved one in such brutal and harrowing circumstances should be forced into such financial hardship simply to have the lawfulness of official decisions properly examined.”

They said “the emotional impact of this journey cannot be overstated” - having had to relive Ryan’s death over and over again - through the civil trial, media interviews, reviews, meetings and correspondence - adding: “Being repeatedly told that the truth exists, but cannot yet be acted upon, is both exhausting and deeply distressing for us all.

“We have been persistent. We have followed every available process to us. Yet time and again, we are met with explanations that appear to prioritise institutional protection over accountability.

“Our fight is not only for Ryan. It is for every family that has been told that a clear injustice must simply be endured. This is not about anger or revenge — it is about fairness, transparency, and public confidence.

“We will continue to speak out. We will continue to ask difficult questions. And we will continue to fight for Ryan by challenging the DPP’s decision in court — because Ryan deserves nothing less, and because no other family should have to endure what we have.”

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said of the news: “We cannot imagine the pain and grief that Ryan’s family have endured in the years since his tragic death in 2017.

“Following the 2018 acquittal of the man who was charged with his murder, the case was subject to review by an external force, and a subsequent reinvestigation by our own officers.

“Last year, we sent new material which had been uncovered as part of the reinvestigation to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

“Earlier this year, we were advised that the Director of Public Prosecutions did not have sufficient grounds to quash the acquittal and lodge an application for a retrial.

“We understand that that decision is now subject to a Judicial Review by Ryan’s family, and we await the outcome.

“As always, our thoughts remain with Ryan’s family and all of those affected by his death.”

Former Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb, who has backed the family since she was elected in 2019 and even after her term ended in 2024, said she has been “appalled by the many obstacles” the justice system has presented and she said she would now be calling on the man at the top to intervene.

She said: “There is no doubt in my mind that the family have been failed by the very legal system that is there to deliver justice and protect victims’ rights.

“I have seen the family endure unimaginable grief, not only because they lost their son, but because justice was not delivered in 2018, when the case first came to trial.

“The emergence of new and credible evidence should surely now open the door to justice.

“I am therefore calling on the Minister for Justice, David Lammy, to intervene so the truth can be heard. I will be liaising with his office to facilitate a meeting at the earliest opportunity with the family and with Claire Waxman, the Victim’s Commissioner.

“Ryan’s family deserve to have the truth heard at last, and the criminal justice system must now make that possible.”