NEW POLICE FORCE TO REVIEW MET'S HANDLING OF STEPHEN LAWRENCE CASE
A new police force will be called in to review the Metropolitan Police's handling of any new evidence regarding the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Stephen's family 'has been let down over the last three decades by police officers' when asked if he had confidence in the Met to deal with the case moving forward.
Stephen, 18, an aspiring architect, was murdered on his way home in an unprovoked attack by a gang of racists in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993.
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, Sir Mark Rowley, issued an apology to Stephen's mother for not fulfilling a promise to answer questions stemming from a BBC investigation into the murder of her son.
Baroness Doreen Lawrence was promised an explanation after the BBC last year named Matthew White as the sixth suspect in the case - decades after Stephen's murder. Despite initial correspondence with Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, no update or explanation has been given.
Sir Mark previously admitted the force has 'racists, misogynists and homophobes' in its ranks – as Home Secretary Suella Braverman blasted 'serious failings of culture, leadership and standards' at Scotland Yard.
Mr Khan has told BBC News: 'Dame Louise Casey in a recent report found that the police service was still institutionally racist. I think there are lessons to be learned.
'I had a frank conversation with Sir Mark Rowley today. He'll be asking a separate police force to look into the assessment that the Met Police have made in relation to the fresh evidence.
'I'm hoping that reassures the Lawrence family, Doreen in particular, that under the new leadership in the Met Police service, they will redouble their efforts to make sure that Doreen and the family think that this police service has learned the lessons from yesteryear.'
Sir Mark last week issued an apology to Stephen's mother, saying: 'On top of the failures over the decades this is totally unacceptable.'
Stephen was murdered as he ran to catch a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks.
Only two of his killers - Gary Dobson and David Norris - have ever been brought to justice.
The original investigation into Stephen's death was hampered by institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police, and claims that corrupt officers had sought to protect Norris, whose father Clifford Norris was a notorious drug dealer.
Last June, the BBC named White, who died aged 50 in 2021, and outlined the bungled handling of the evidence against him.
Two witnesses said White had confessed to being present during the attack, one of whom, his stepfather, was not spoken to by police until 20 years after the murder because officers had previously misidentified him.
The Met said White was arrested twice in connection with the murder, but on both occasions there was not enough evidence for a prosecution.
Baroness Lawrence told the BBC: '(White)'s probably the key one who probably caused Stephen's murder, and (the Met) did nothing about it.
'I'm not sure what they're hiding behind, why they can't come and tell me exactly what they knew then.'
Sir Mark said: 'We recognise this is a particularly difficult time for the Lawrence family and Duwayne Brooks. I am sorry our failure to respond in a timely fashion has added to this.
'On top of the failures over the decades this is totally unacceptable.
'Restoring trust in the Met is one of my top priorities and that includes how we work with those affected by the failures of the past.
'I apologise to Baroness Lawrence who must have answers to all her questions. I have written to her and offered to meet.'
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