David Norris, one of the men convicted of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, has been denied parole after the Parole Board ruled he remains a danger. The 49-year-old had sought release or transfer to an open prison, but evidence showed he continued to hold racist views and engaged in misconduct behind bars.
According to the Parole Board ruling, Norris was found to have used drugs, possessed mobile phones and a weapon, and abused black and Muslim inmates. Prison intelligence in 2023 described him as a “fully fledged member of the English Defence League” and suspected him of grooming a vulnerable young inmate into racist ideology.
Norris claimed he had ceased to be a racist by 2003 and had converted to Buddhism in 2019, but the board rejected this, citing evidence of continued racist attitudes. He had also completed courses on racism, but the ruling noted his partial admissions and denials of the evidence against him.
Stephen Lawrence’s mother, Doreen Lawrence, called the parole application “a gross manipulation of the process” and said Norris “remains, in my view, a dangerous racist who should never be let out of prison.” She urged police to interview Norris after he admitted seeing someone with a knife after the murder, but refused to name the person.
Norris was jailed for life in 2012 with a minimum term of 14 years and three months for the 1993 murder of 18-year-old Stephen Lawrence in a racist gang attack in south-east London. The Metropolitan Police said it remains committed to bringing all those responsible to justice.
