Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, has urged politicians not to reverse the progress made on racial equality in the United Kingdom following the murder of Henry Nowak. The Labour peer made her comments in the House of Lords after Conservative politicians invoked her son's memory to question whether the Government would be "scrapping the police anti-racism commitment."
Doreen Lawrence's Condolences and Criticism
Lady Lawrence expressed her condolences to the Nowak family and criticised the police response to the incident. "My condolence goes out to Henry Nowak's family. I think what's happened with him should never have happened. And the police should be at fault for what happened on that night," she said. She also reflected on her decades-long battle for justice for her son Stephen, who was murdered in 1993 at the age of 18 by a group of white teenagers in southeast London.
Political Exploitation of Stephen Lawrence's Memory
Lady Lawrence lamented that her son's name was being used to justify policy reversals. "Now, when my son was murdered, there was nobody standing up and asking for judgment to happen for him. And the mere fact that the leader of the Opposition [Kemi Badenoch] in the other place can use my son's name in referring to reform – it took 20 years and more for anybody to understand the murder of my son and to have anybody convicted," she stated. Conservative leader Ms Badenoch had earlier said, "Henry's murder and the police's botched response must be a seminal moment for Britain on a par with the murder of Stephen Lawrence."
Progress on Racial Equality
Lady Lawrence argued that many peers have "no idea what race equality means" and that attempts to revert to previous policies would be detrimental. "I think to be in here and you stand in a position of power that you can say that you want to change and go back to what it was before – for me, what we've moved on to is a much better equality for all in this country," she added.
Details of Henry Nowak's Murder
Henry Nowak, also 18, died from a fatal stab wound while handcuffed by police after his attacker, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed to be the victim of a racial attack. Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years. Nowak's death has sparked debates and protests over the role of the police and the use of racism claims to alert officers.
Protests and Calls for Calm
Protests erupted in Southampton yesterday, where Nowak was killed in December last year. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Hampshire Police station before moving towards the Digwa family home. However, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Donna Jones stated that Nowak's family were "disappointed" by the violent protests. "They do not support protests, they do not support the kind of unrest that we saw on the streets. They've called for calm, and if you recall back to Mark Nowak's statement on the steps of the court on Monday this week, when his son's murderer was sentenced to life imprisonment, he actually said quite the opposite - he asked for calm and he asked for reflection. What they don't want is hate and division coming off the back of the tragedy of Henry's death," Jones told the BBC.
