The College of Policing (CoP) is conducting a new official review of information held by the Metropolitan Police on Stephen Lawrence’s murder. They will be looking for any outstanding lines of enquiry that could bring Lawrence’s murderers to justice.
Stephen’s mother, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, has issued a plea for witnesses to come forward. She has called the review a “last opportunity” for justice.
A series of failures
Stephen Lawrence was murdered over 30 years ago, back in 1933. Aged just 18, he was the victim of an unprovoked, racist attack in South-East London. In 1999, the MacPherson report found major failings in the Met’s handling of the Lawrence case, and accused the force of institutional racism.
Two of Stephen’s murderers were convicted 19 years later, in 2012. However, at least three remained at large. Scotland Yard officially ended the investigation in 2020. Then, in 2024, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) determined that the four officers who were supposed to investigate the murder would not face charges. At the time, the Canary said that the CPS decision was:
an affront to Black communities in Britain, and a devastating reminder that not only does anti-Black racism kill, it also inflicts violence long after the point of death.
The CoP opened its new enquiry after a BBC investigation named a sixth suspect – Matthew White, who died in 2021 – and exposed even more police failings. Commissioner Mark Rowley also issued an apology to Doreen Lawrence for the Met’s failings. The CoP has stated that it will conduct the review “independently of the Met Police”.
‘Please come forward’
Baroness Lawrence has stated that she hopes anyone holding information about the murder will now come forward and talk. She speculated that there were:
reasons why they felt they couldn’t do it at the time.
This is the last opportunity that we’re going to have to get the complete justice that I think Stephen so deserves.
So I would like to ask them, whatever they felt at the time, or whatever happened if they tried to help, please come forward now.
Doreen also spoke about the ongoing, public nature of her grief, and her lack of closure:
It’s been going on for 32 years, and we haven’t come to an end of it.
Most people have come to the end and [are] allowed to grieve in private. We haven’t been given that opportunity.
A Met spokesperson said:
The review is being led by an experienced investigator working for the College and will focus on identifying any outstanding lines of enquiry which could reasonably lead to a suspect being brought to justice.
After long negotiations with the Lawrence family, the Met conceded to a series of demands regarding the exact subject of the review. Significantly, this included the involvement of the detective who achieved the original two convictions, Clive Driscoll. The CoP review will be led by a newly retired senior detective from outside of the Metropolitan police.
Featured image via the Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.