The mother of murdered Jamie Sanderson has dismissed safety measures introduced at the Oceana nightclub since her son’s death as “a business just trying to stay open”.

Carol Sanderson spoke to the Surrey Comet one year on from the night when her youngest child was stabbed to death in a corridor inside the Clarence Street venue.

Mrs Sanderson marked the anniversary last Friday with a memorial service in Southall, where the family lives, followed by an anti-knife march through the town.

On the same day in Kingston, Stephen Greenhalgh, deputy mayor of London for policing and crime, visited Oceana and declared the venue to be “much safer than a year ago”.

But Mrs Sanderson, who has two other children, said: “They’re just following procedure. They have to do that by law.

“They’re a business. And they want to stay open.”

Mrs Sanderson attended the murder trial in July that ended with Levan Greenfield and Brandon Francis both being given life sentences for killing her son.

She and her daughter saw dozens of CCTV images showing the moments immediately before and after the attack.

She said this week: “When you look at the CCTV, that’s a very dangerous corridor, and there was no security anywhere. I find that disgusting.”

Mrs Sanderson has never visited Oceana, but said she would like to go to the venue one day.

She said: “I’ve seen all the police pictures. I know what it looks like, but I haven’t gone back yet. I would probably go back in time. I would like to go there and face them, but everything takes time.”

Asked how the family had coped in the year since the tragedy, she said: “We’re doing the best we can. It’s been a very difficult 12 months.”

 

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