Stephen Lawrence’s parents ‘sad’ and ‘disappointed’ as murder investigation shelved

The parents of Stephen Lawrence have said they are “sad” and “disappointed” that the investigation into their son’s murder has been shelved by police. 

Police investigating the racist murder said all “identified lines of inquiry have been completed” and it has moved to an “inactive phase”.

Stephen was 18 years old when he was murdered by a gang of up to six men in Eltham, southeast London, on 22 April 1993.

Two people – David Norris and Gary Dobson – are serving life sentences after being convicted of murder nearly 20 years after the crime, but the rest have never faced justice.

Neville Lawrence, who has campaigned for justice for over two decades, said: “I am disappointed to hear this news but not surprised.”

“I had hoped that the conviction of two of the killers in 2012 would lead to new evidence coming to light and a prosecution of the other suspects,” he said.

“This has unfortunately not happened and, over the last few years, I have had to come to terms with the reality that some of the killers of Stephen may never be brought to justice for what they did.”

His former wife, Baroness Lawrence, said “whilst the Metropolitan Police have given up, I never will”.

“I am very sad that a line has now been drawn into the investigation… despite this, I would still urge anyone who has any information that could help me get all of Stephen’s killers convicted, to come forward,” she said.

She added: “It is never too late to give a mother justice for the murder of her son.”

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said that Scotland Yard has given Stephen’s family “the assurance that we will continue to deal with any new information that comes to light”.

“This was an appalling racist murder and I am sad that we have been unable to secure further convictions for Stephen, his family and friends,” she said.

When Scotland Yard said two years ago that the investigation was unlikely to progress without new information, Stephen’s mother Baroness Lawrence said she wanted the probe closed.

But Mr Lawrence said he would never give up and that he wanted “total justice”.

In his latest statement, he said he did not regret his fight for justice, “although the burden has at times felt too heavy for a family to bear”.

Dame Cressida said the investigation would still be “periodically reviewed” in case it could be picked up again, for example if there are advances in technology.

She said it was “deeply frustrating” the other suspects have not been convicted, but added that “as a result of ceaseless campaigning for justice by Stephen’s parents, profound changes have happened in policing, the law and wider society”.

Later inquiries found the original murder investigation was hampered by incompetence, racism and claims of police corruption.

Mr Lawrence told of how “police failures meant that we as a family had to fight a system as well as deal with the grief of losing our son”.

In 1994, the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution, and later that year Stephen’s family mounted an unsuccessful private prosecution against the five original suspects.

An investigation by the Police Complaints Authority three years later, undertaken by Kent Police, found there were missed opportunities in the original police investigation.

A public inquiry was launched and two years later the McPherson report concluded the police made mistakes and were guilty of “institutional racism”.

Norris and Dobson were found guilty of murder in 2012 after tiny traces of forensic evidence were discovered years after the crime, and a change in the law meant that Dobson was allowed to be tried twice for Stephen’s murder.

Investigators have continued to review evidence and appeal for further witnesses, and launched a larger appeal to commemorate 25 years since the crime.

But despite receiving some new information, there were no major breakthroughs and the investigation has moved to an inactive phase.

(c) Sky News 2020: Stephen Lawrence’s parents ‘sad’ and ‘disappointed’ as murder investigation shelved