Britain's Got Talent: Tokio Myers witnessed murder of headmaster Philip Lawrence

In 1995, the nation was left shocked when headmaster Philip Lawrence was stabbed to death outside of his school as he tried to protect a student from being attacked by a gang.

Now Tokio Myers, who appeared on last night’s episode of Britain’s Got Talent, has revealed that he witnessed the brutal murder when he was just 11 years old.

Recalling the horrifying incident, Tokio explained: “I was in the music room practising piano when the door gets kicked open and my teacher [Mr. Morgan] drags me off the stool.

“As I’m carried out I see my headmaster coming into the atrium next door. He escorts me out the back and just says ‘Just go home, go’.”

Paying tribute to his music teacher, Tokio continued: “I’ve grown up in rough backgrounds and estates and schools, so you do grow a thick skin.

“Looking at the people I grew up around, I’ve had people I went to school with who are no longer here today because they’re either literally dead or in jail. It’s still going on.

“Music and having that thing kept me out of a lot of trouble. I could have probably ended up in gangs, or been dead or in jail or whatever.

“Ever since that day I just feel like me and (Mr Morgan) had some kind of bond, not just through music, but that moment.

“I don’t think he’d seen anything like that, I hadn’t seen anything like that. It resonated between the two of us. He’s not just a teacher, he’s an amazing guy and man and friend. He was a massive, massive influence.”

Father-of-four Mr. Lawrence died of a single stab wound at St George’s School in Maida Vale, West London, aged 48.

He was trying to save a young pupil from a gang when 15-year-old Leacro Chindamo attacked, Chindamo was convicted of murder in October 1996 and jailed indefinitely.

Last night, Tokio performed a poignant piano medley on Britain’s Got Talent, winning a standing ovation from the judges.

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