'MET HAS FAILED TO CHANGE'

30 years after Lawrence murder, his mother says:

- Anthony France

THE mother of Stephen Lawrence today said that the Metropolitan Police has failed to change in the 30 years since his murder.

Doreen Lawrence claimed officers can be “as brutal as they want” without being held to account and black people are never seen as individuals “that should have justice”.

Stephen, 18, was stabbed to death by a racist gang at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London on April 22, 1993. The original police investigation was hindered from the start amid allegations of racism and corruption. The 1999 Macpherson report into the killing labelled the force “institutionally racist” and made a number of recommendations.

But weeks after Baroness Casey’s bombshell review found evidence of Met institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia, Baroness Lawrence told BBC Breakfast: “It’s no surprise because it’s always been there. I don’t know how many more inquiries and how many reviews you need to have to say the same thing — and still no changes, and still denials. Officers [are] able to be as brutal as they want, and nobody holds them to account. Until that happens, there’s no way the police are going to move forward.”

David Norris, 46, and Gary Dobson, 47, were convicted of Stephen’s murder in 2012. Norris will become eligible for parole next year and Dobson in 2025. Of the three remaining suspects, brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt have since served time for drug dealing, while Luke Knight has remained free.