The Metropolitan Police has issued an apology to Baroness Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence. The apology came after the police broke their promise to answer questions following a BBC investigation into the murder, which identified a major suspect with whom the police had failed to investigate. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised and admitted that “on top of the failures over the decades this is totally unacceptable”. Stephen Lawrence was murdered in a racist attack in April 1993, and only two of his killers have been convicted due to the Met’s mishandling of the case.
Last year, the BBC identified a sixth suspect, Matthew White, who died in 2021 aged 50. Speaking to the BBC ahead of the 31st anniversary of her son’s death, Baroness Lawrence said that Stephen’s murder inquiry should be reopened. “He’s probably the key one who probably caused Stephen’s murder, and they [the Met] did nothing about it,” she said. Only David Norris and Gary Dobson were convicted for Stephen’s murder in 2012. The other three original prime suspects – brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, and Luke Knight – have not been convicted and deny involvement in the murder.
After promises to answer Baroness Lawrence’s questions were broken, last Thursday her solicitor Imran Khan KC wrote to Sir Mark to highlight the failure to communicate. The letter stated that Mr Ward had treated Baroness Lawrence with “complete and utter contempt”, adding that he had “joined a long line of Metropolitan Police officers who have completely failed her and her family”. The letter stated that a formal complaint would be made about Mr Ward’s conduct unless the commissioner personally provided a “satisfactory response” to the original questions.
The Met stopped investigating the murder in 2020, stating that all available lines of inquiry had been exhausted. But the BBC investigation showed not everything possible had been done – something the Met denies – and that key witnesses had not been seen for years before White’s death. Baroness Lawrence does not trust the Met when it says everything possible has been done to bring outstanding suspects to justice. “I can’t believe anything they say,” she added. She said the others responsible for killing Stephen are “definitely getting away with murder
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