This article explores the ongoing efforts to bring justice for Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in 1993. Despite two convictions, others responsible remain free. The Metropolitan Police's handling of the case has been heavily criticized, and recent developments offer a potential opportunity for further charges.
Amid the Metropolitan Police ’s many failures, Stephen’s murder has never been fully solved and the 31 years since have been stolen, too, from his family, whose campaign for justice has been unceasing.
In 2020, the Met announced it was closing the murder investigation and that it had exhausted all viable lines of inquiry.For a long time, the suggestion that Stephen’s murder could ever be fully solved has seemed fanciful to many. Stephen’s family want a far broader review, with no limits on what can be examined - meaning much earlier decisions and investigations stretching back to 1993 would be in scope.
This complexity is now being held up by the Met as a reason why it is impractical to carry out a full review or reinvestigation - but of course the Met’s own failure to deliver full justice is central to this complexity. The suspect we named last year, Matthew White, was treated as a witness by the first investigation and was repeatedly referred to as such under an alias during Macpherson. But he was really a major suspect and the failure to identify him as one is arguably the worst of all those committed by the first investigating team.
Mr Driscoll was in the process of investigating White when he was made to retire early the next year and, from my own research, it is clear the Met did not subsequently fully pursue the lines of inquiry he was following, something the Met disputes. The Met has said it twice passed files on White to the Crown Prosecution Service. They ruled out murder charges, but my research has shown not everything possible was done prior to those files being submitted.
The Met’s focusing of the blame on what happened in 1993 and 1994, deflects from a critical examination of the various later investigations.After the Macpherson report was published in 1999, a major investigation codenamed Operation Athena Tower took place. It was vast and costly, and employed techniques typically associated with counter-terrorism, including surveillance and bugging.
Given what we now know about what was missing from the investigation into White prior to his death, Stephen’s family now questions what has not been done in relation to the outstanding living suspects - namely Luke Knight and brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt. They have always denied murder. “The terms of reference for the review are currently being discussed with Baroness Lawrence, Dr Lawrence and Duwayne Brooks."
Stephen Lawrence Murder Justice Metropolitan Police Review
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