Stephen Lawrence murder will be reviewed to see if new forensics can bring other killers to justice

THE murder of Stephen Lawrence will be reviewed to see if forensic advances can bring any more of his killers to justice, police confirmed ahead of the 30th anniversary of his death. Stephen's mother Baroness Doreen Lawrence said yesterday his "story remains as important and relevant as ever" at a memorial service in central London. Stephen was stabbed to death on April 22 1993 in an unprovoked, racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Eltham, south-east London, after he was set upon by a gang of white youths. The bungled original investigation hampered by racism and alleged police corruption meant it took nearly 20 years for two of the 18-year-old's five killers, David Norris and Gary Dobson, to be brought to justice in 2012, with three never prosecuted. In August 2020 the force closed the active investigation after exhausting lines of inquiry and there has been no review since. A Met spokesman said: "It will be subject to periodic review to see if matters can be progressed with the passage of time and advances in technology and forensic work." Relatives of Stephen gathered for the anniversary at St Martin-in-the-Fields church, Trafalgar Square, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. Baroness Lawrence said in a statement: "Stephen's legacy has touched countless young lives and moved us closer towards a more just and equitable society. "Inequality persists, and our mission to create a world free from discrimination continues". Sir Keir said that "contrasted against the very worst side of Britain, Stephen represented the best", as he lamented the loss of "a life which shone with the light of potential". Mr Khan said: "For those of us who are people of colour it had a ripple effect on us, ripples of hate but also the appalling way that the family was let down by the Met Police Service, by the media and by some politicians. "It's really important that we recognise that 30 years on, Dame Louise Casey has found the Met Police to still be institutionally racist, we can't ignore that or equivocate on that, we've got to make progress." Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley also apologised in a statement for failings in the aftermath of the killing, with the force's response to the investigation being branded institutionally racist in the 1999 Macpherson Report - while the force faced similar criticism in last month's Casey Report. Sir Mark said: “Thirty years on from Stephen’s murder, we offer our sympathies to the Lawrence family on their unimaginable loss. "I apologise again for our past failings which will have made the grief of losing a loved one all the more difficult to endure. "While significant progress was made against Macpherson’s recommendations, it is now clear that we did not dig deep enough to confront the cultural and systemic failings that allow discrimination to propagate. "We have let black communities down. They feel over policed and under protected." ReplyReply to allForward