Stephen Lawrence's family say killer must stay in jail

The family of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence have urged parole staff not to release one of his killers.

- Jamie Grierson

A gang chased, surrounded and stabbed Lawrence, who was 18, near a southeast London bus stop in April 1993. Two men - David Norris and Gary Dobson - were convicted of his murder in 2012, but at least three members of the gang remain free.

A public Parole Board hearing began yesterday and will continue today, as well in private on Friday, to decide whether Norris, 49, should be freed, or moved to an open prison.

Stephen’s mother, Doreen Lawrence, told the hearing she feared for her family’s safety and that it was her “firm view” that Norris should not be released. Stephen’s father, Neville, and brother, Stuart, said they did not believe the killer should be released without revealing what happened on the night of Stephen’s murder.

Imran Khan, a lawyer for Lady Lawrence, read a statement in which she said her son was killed in the “most brutal and callous fashion”.

She said the killers were “murderous thugs” and she had battled for decades for justice for her son.