'Not a Sunday schoolgirl'

John Waite Presenter of BBC Radio 4's It's My Story

Witness 'Bromley' was a major figure in the trial of the boys accused of killing Damilola Taylor.

A recurrent theme kept cropping up during my meeting with her.

Bromley claimed that she witnessed Damilola's murder

From the moment she entered the Old Bailey she felt the court was prejudiced against her.

As she told me, she was not a "nice", middle-class girl from Sunday school with a posh accent.

She had not been privately educated and everything about the court system conspired to make her feel out of her depth.

Talking with 'Bromley' in her current home, the 39th she has had to move to, the major witness at the centre of the Damilola Taylor trial came across as mangled by her experiences.

She has been accused in the media of causing the trial to collapse by being an unreliable witness.

It is not surprising that 'Bromley' feels angry at how events turned out John Waite

Because of her willingness to take the stand, she has had to move far away from her family and community.

She lives anonymously in a home which is like a fortress.

Blinds and curtains are rarely opened, doors are heavily locked, and a rottweiler, trained to attack, is one of her defences against any unwanted intruders.

It is not surprising that 'Bromley' feels angry at how events turned out.

She told me that although many people on the Peckham estate knew who was responsible for Damilola's death, only she came forward as a witness, firstly by contacting a children's charity, and then by speaking to the police.

But where she comes from, talking to the police is often not a wise move.

Both they and the courts are perceived as "the enemy", a belief that has been borne out in the treatment of 'Bromley' over the past two years.

'Bromley' took the risk of breaking her community's code of silence and now she is dealing with consequences that an adult would find hard to stomach, never mind a teenager.

I spent a long time talking to 'Bromley'.

Confronting the issues

She was very willing to speak openly because she wants to move on with her life, but wants to deal with the traumatic events of the trial first.

Confronting the issues may be her way of doing this.

It certainly was not for money - the BBC did not pay her for the interview.

There were many times during the conversation, when she was willingly answering all my questions, that I was convinced she was telling the truth.

But there were also other points where her details simply did not add up, even though I questioned her repeatedly.

Her story just is not completely consistent and in a courtroom, any evidence that is not cast-iron poses a real problem.

Damilola's murder trial has caused Bromley's life to collapse

But whatever the problems with her evidence, one thing that cannot be doubted is just how bright 'Bromley' is.

Despite not having been to school for the last two years, she is now in the early stages of writing a book.

Her talent is obvious and she is very articulate, but she is worried about what her future holds.

Pessimistically, she sees her future as one of living off state benefits; what else could somebody with no qualifications expect?

'Bromley' has also written a poem to Damilola, which she showed me.

Since the murder and the trial, she has suffered flashbacks and nightmares.

The energy which she displays certainly needs some kind of positive outlet.

A high price

Frustration at her time in the witness box came through again and again.

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Courtney Griffiths QC, she became so angry that she swore and at one point walked out of the court.

Surprising behaviour in the Old Bailey, maybe, but 'Bromley' was merely behaving in the way she had always behaved in Peckham, reflecting the attitudes and language of the street.

And nothing in Peckham prepares you for the strange ritual of being systematically undermined, albeit politely, by a defence barrister.

Bromley lost her temper under questioning from Courtney Griffiths

'Bromley' feels that she would never again try to help the police, and her mother, who at the time of the murder encouraged her to speak out, is of the same opinion.

As I drove back from my meeting with 'Bromley', and after reflecting on what she told me for a few weeks, I have realised I feel very sorry for her.

Is she the author of her own downfall, as her critics claim?

Well, even if she did lie, or partially lie, to the court, the price she has paid is far too high.

And if she was telling the truth?

Then that would mean nothing less than a complete overhaul of the judicial system, so that the next time a vulnerable teenager from the wrong side of the tracks is called on to give evidence, she will not be hounded out of the courtroom.

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