The Stephen Lawrence murder investigation may never progress further because the mistakes made decades ago were ‘so egregious’ they would be impossible to repair, Scotland Yard commissioner admits
- Sir Mark Rowley said it may be impossible to ever catch up on lost ground
- Only two of original five suspects have been convicted of the 1993 murder
The Stephen Lawrence murder investigation may never progress further because the mistakes made decades ago were so damaging, Scotland Yard’s commissioner admitted yesterday.
Sir Mark Rowley said some errors made by investigators were ‘so egregious’ that they would be impossible to repair, despite detectives ‘moving heaven and earth’ in recent years.
So far only two of the original five main suspects have been convicted of killing Stephen, 18, in Eltham, south-east London in 1993.
A sixth suspect in the racist murder, Matthew White, who died in 2021, was revealed last month to have been twice arrested but never charged amid police blunders and missed opportunities.
And though a forensics review of potential new evidence in the case is being led by deputy assistant commissioner Matt Ward, Sir Mark said it may be impossible to ever catch up on the ground lost during the early days of the botched investigation.
The Stephen Lawrence (pictured) murder investigation may never progress further because the mistakes made decades ago were so damaging, Scotland Yard’s commissioner admitted yesterday
Sir Mark Rowley said some errors made by investigators were ‘so egregious’ that they would be impossible to repair
‘This is clearly a ghastly case completely undermined by some of the awful handling of it at the start and that has compromised subsequent investigations,’ he told the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee.
‘The sad truth is that if you do such a bad job at an investigation in its first weeks and months you lose evidence… some of it can never be recovered.
‘You miss forensic opportunities. You miss witness opportunities and witnesses’ memories degrade.’
Sir Mark continued: ‘I don’t want to pretend that you can necessarily always catch up the grounds that you’ve so badly lost in the early days.
‘That’s what makes it so egregious and makes the error so egregious that they’re not repairable always.
‘And some really top detectives have moved heaven and earth to try to cover some ground and have made some progress but haven’t been able to recover it all.
‘I always keep hoping that we’ll find a new opportunity, but I’m not going to promise that we definitely will because I can’t.’
Stephen, 18, was murdered by a gang of five or six racist attackers as he made his way home with his friend Duwayne Brooks.
Two original suspects, Gary Dobson (left) and David Norris (right), were convicted of murdering Stephen in 2012 and jailed for life after new evidence came to light
Jamie Acourt (left) and his brother Neil (right) were also suspects but were never convicted. They were later jailed for drugs offences
Another Lawrence murder suspect, Luke Knight, remains living in south London. He denies involvement in Stephen’s killing
A sixth suspect in the racist murder, Matthew White, who died in 2021, was revealed last month to have been twice arrested but never charged amid police blunders and missed opportunities
David Norris and Gary Dobson were given life sentences in 2012, but Luke Knight and brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt have never been convicted and continue to deny their involvement.
White, who died of a drugs overdose aged 50 in 2021, was named as a suspect publicly for the first time last month following a BBC investigation.
It also emerged that White’s stepfather Jack Severs told detectives that his stepson had admitted being at the scene, and another witness told police White had confessed to being part of the attack.
Crown prosecutors are yet to decide whether officers involved in the original investigation should face charges for misconduct in public office.
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