A review of the Stephen Lawrence murder investigation has concluded that four retired detectives who ran the original case will not face criminal charges for their actions. The review, carried out by a senior Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer, has upheld an earlier decision not to prosecute, which Stephen’s parents and a friend had challenged. The review found that there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, meaning that none of the four will be charged. Stephen was murdered in a racist attack in south London in April 1993.
The first investigation failed to bring anybody to justice, although two men were jailed in 2012 for Stephen’s murder. The officers were investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). However, last year the CPS chose not to pursue a criminal prosecution after examining a file of evidence. The decision to review the charging decision was triggered by Stephen’s friend Duwayne Brooks and his parents, Dr Neville Lawrence and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
Although the CPS review decision has been made, it may take several hours for a public announcement to be made. If the report is confirmed, no officers will have been held criminally responsible for what is widely regarded as one of Scotland Yard’s biggest failures.
The four retired officers investigated by the IOPC were Detective Superintendent Ian Crampton, who was senior investigating officer for the first four days; Detective Superintendent Brian Weeden, who took over as SIO from Mr Crampton and was in charge for 14 months; Detective Inspector Benjamin Bullock, who acted as deputy SIO under Mr Crampton and Mr Weeden; and Detective Chief Superintendent William Ilsley, who oversaw the team responsible for the first murder investigation. In 1999, a public inquiry led by Sir William Macpherson found that the original Lawrence investigation was “marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership by senior officers.”
The Macpherson report criticised the decision not to make arrests immediately after the crime. Although the police were given information implicating four of the prime suspects within 24 hours of the stabbing, it was two weeks before arrests were made. A 1997 investigation into the case by the police watchdog was also damning, but by that time, only Mr Bullock was still in service with the Metropolitan Police and able to be disciplined
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