The mother of Stephen Lawrence has made a fresh plea for witnesses to come forward as a review into the police’s decision to close the investigation into her son’s murder gets under way. Doreen Lawrence said the review, overseen by the College of Policing, represents the “last opportunity” for justice in the case, which dates back to 1993.
Stephen, an 18-year-old black student, was chased, surrounded and stabbed to death by a racist gang near a bus stop in south-east London. Two men, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were convicted of murder in 2012, but at least three other suspects remain free. The Metropolitan Police closed the investigation in 2020, but following a BBC News story naming a sixth suspect, Matthew White, who died in 2021, the force agreed to a review last year.
Speaking to the BBC, Lady Lawrence said key suspects Neil and Jamie Acourt had “been sitting quite pretty” and believed they had “got away with it”, adding that police had allowed them to think that. The Acourt brothers have always denied any involvement. She also noted that after 32 years, the family had not been able to grieve in private like most people.
The review involves former Met Detective Chief Inspector Clive Driscoll, who led the investigation that secured the 2012 convictions. Lady Lawrence described Driscoll as the only police officer she trusted. Driscoll left the Met in 2014, despite wanting to pursue leads that could have led to charges against the remaining suspects.
