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20 years on, Stephen's sacrifice 'has made Britain a better place'



Stephen Lawrence’s family still feel ‘raw’ and emotionally scarred by his loss, they said yesterday.

But on the 20th anniversary of his racist murder Stephen’s mother also spoke of the positive impact of the tragedy: that Britain had become a fairer place after her son made the ‘ultimate sacrifice of losing his life’.

She said significant progress had been made in race relations and equality since the public inquiry into Stephen’s murder – which labelled the initial police investigation ‘incompetent’ and the Met ‘institutionally racist’.


Together: (l-r) Policing Minister Damian Green, Home Secretary Teresa May, DPM Nick Clegg, Doreen Lawrence, her son Stuart Lawrence, PM David Cameron, Labour leader Ed Miliband and London Mayor Boris Johnson



Remembered: Doreen Lawrence (left), mother of Stephen Lawrence, with Prime Minister David Cameron (right) before a memorial service at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, central London







Sadness: Doreen Lawrence lays flowers at the spot in Eltham, south-east London, where Stephen was killed


Memories: An order of service for the memorial is shown outside St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London

However the 60-year-old added that much still needed to be done.

The Prime Minister, his deputy Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband were at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in central London as Mrs Lawrence spoke at a memorial service for her son.




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Also there were Home Secretary Theresa May, London mayor Boris Johnson, police minister Damian Green and Scotland Yard chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, who has vowed to hunt down and lock up the remaining killers of Stephen who continue to evade justice.

Mrs Lawrence was joined by friends, relatives and supporters of the charitable trust she set up in her son’s name.



Family: Doreen Lawrence (right) with her son Stuart (left), brother of Stephen, before the service in London






Attending: Premier League footballer Jermain Defoe (left) and singer Emeli Sandé (right) were at the service




Support: Former Premier League footballer Sol Campbell arrives at the service at St Martin-in-the-Fields



Stronger together: Doreen Lawrence with singer Beverley Knight (right) before the memorial service in London

A-level student Stephen was 18 when he was attacked by five white youths as he waited for a bus in Eltham, South-East London, on April 22, 1993.


Shocking case: Stephen Lawrence was murdered by racists in Eltham, south east London, in April 1993

Police bungled the initial probe and it was nearly 19 years before the Lawrence family had the satisfaction of seeing some of his killers jailed.

Two of the original five prime suspects named by the Daily Mail in 1997 as being Stephen’s killers - Gary Dobson, 37, and David Norris, 36 - were convicted of his murder last year after a belated forensic breakthrough in the case.

But the other three young men accused of his murder by this newspaper - Neil and Jamie Acourt, and their friend, Luke Knight - remain on the streets.

Mrs Lawrence told the congregation that in the aftermath of Stephen’s murder police had been hostile to her and her family and had made them feel ‘like criminals’ during their ‘darkest hour’.


‘I want to believe Stephen’s death and what followed his murder was not in vain. He made the ultimate sacrifice of losing his life,’ she said. ‘I like to believe Stephen’s death has given us hope as we grieve.

‘What happened should not be repeated again although we have a long way to go to achieve that.

‘I’ve always tried to look forward and to focus on the positive since Stephen’s murder, and looked to see how I can make the lives of others better.


'The pain of losing someone never goes away, you just learn to live with it at cost.








Political leaders: Doreen Lawrence with Deputy PM Nick Clegg (left) and London Mayor Boris Johnson (right)



Talking: Doreen Lawrence speaks to David Cameron (right) as they leave the service with Stuart (centre)





Photographed: Doreen Lawrence with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe (left) and Home Secretary Theresa May (right)




Going in: Doreen Lawrence and her son Stuart (second left) attend a service at St Martin-in-the-Fields


In respect: London Mayor Boris Johnson lights a candle during a service for Stephen Lawrence

‘Over the years as a family we have mourned in our separate ways, not daring to speak out loud about our feelings. My pain is raw, and that of my children.’

She gave a brief history of the case including her family’s ill-fated private prosecution of the five prime suspects in the mid 1990s, the controversial inquest into Stephen’s death and the Macpherson public inquiry.

‘Macpherson gave us foundations to make significant changes around race relations and equally since then a lot has been achieved but we must not fall into a false sense of security that all is well and no more needs to be done,’ she insisted.

The first candle at the service was lit by Mrs Lawrence and her surviving son Stuart, 35, and dedicated to building hope in memory of Stephen.

Mr Cameron read Our Last Awakening by John Donne, while Mr Miliband and Mrs May gave readings from the Bible.

Stephen’s brother Stuart, who earlier this year complained about alleged racial harassment by police, also urged police not to shelve the murder inquiry.






Emotional: Doreen Lawrence makes a speech during a memorial service for her son Stephen Lawrence


Thoughts: Prime Minister David Cameron gives a reading during a memorial service for Stephen Lawrence






Solemn: Prime Minister David Cameron is pictured reacting to the service in Trafalgar Square, central London


Thoughtful: Prime Minister David Cameron (centre), Labour leader Ed Milliband (right) and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (second left) inside the church during a memorial service for Stephen Lawrence


Speaking: Bishop of London Dr Richard Chartres during a service for Stephen Lawrence at the London church


At his grave 4,000 miles away, father’s silent tribute



So often has he wept over the past two decades that Neville Lawrence has ‘no tears left’. Instead he simply bowed his head and stood in silent reflection yesterday after placing a small pot of flowers on his son Stephen’s grave.

While his ex-wife led a remembrance service in London, Mr Lawrence marked the 20th anniversary of Stephen’s murder with a private visit to his place of rest, 4,500 miles away in Jamaica.

The 71-year-old returned to live on his native island to try to escape recurring memories of the brutal racist stabbing.


But, as he arrived at the secluded plot where Stephen lies, accompanied only by a Methodist minister who helped him to pray, those thoughts came rushing back with a vengeance.



Dad: Neville Lawrence visits his son Stephen's grave in Jamaica yesterday on the 20th anniversary of his death

‘Never a day goes by that I don’t think of Stephen but on an occasion such as this my mind is just flooded,’ Mr Lawrence said yesterday.



'Never a day goes by that I don’t think of Stephen but on an occasion such as this my mind is just flooded'

Neville Lawrence

‘I’m remembering it all so strongly today that it is as if I am back in that hospital (where Stephen was pronounced dead) and I can still see the doctors and the police officers.

‘Then all the other thoughts start going through my brain. What would Stephen be doing now? What would he look like? Would he have children? I may not shed too many tears now – but the pain is still there and it will never go away.’

At the simple white stone grave, marked by a fading photograph of Stephen in his favourite striped T-shirt, Mr Lawrence contemplated how his own life has been ruined.





Tribute: Mr Lawrence visted his son's grave in Jamaica two decades after he was murdered by racists in 1993

Once a family man with a wide circle of friends, he now leads a solitary existence and badly misses his three grandchildren, aged between two and eight, by his surviving children Stuart and Georgina, who live in London.

That is one reason why he disagrees with those who argue that, after 20 years, and with two of Stephen’s killers behind bars, it is time to abandon the hunt for the other gang members.

A newspaper article at the weekend suggested that this was the view of Stephen’s friend Duwayne Brooks, who was with him when he died. Yesterday he claimed those words had been twisted out of context.

‘Duwayne is entitled to his opinion, whatever it may be, because his life was affected too – but only I can make that decision (to call off the investigation) and nobody else,’ Mr Lawrence said. ‘The search should carry on.’



A PRAYER BY JOHN DONNE, A SONG FROM BEVERLEY KNIGHT AND A CANDLE LIT IN MEMORY OF A FALLEN SOLDIER: THE 20-YEAR ANNIVERSARY SERVICE



The first candle at the service at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, central London, was lit by Doreen Lawrence and her surviving son Stuart, dedicated to building hope in memory of Stephen.

Prime Minister David Cameron read Our Last Awakening by John Donne, while Leader leader Ed Miliband and Home Secretary Theresa May gave readings from the Bible.


There was also an address by Bishop of London Dr Richard Chartres, who said he would have liked to have known Stephen.

The music spanned traditional hymns, through to Gospel and a rendition of Fallen Soldier by singer Beverley Knight who has performed the same song, especially written for Stephen Lawrence, at previous memorials.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson told the congregation: ‘On a dark street in Eltham 20 years ago there took place a crime that caused shock and pain, and disbelief, and outrage.

‘And it was left to those who had suffered the greatest pain and loss, the family of Stephen Lawrence, to search for the truth and for justice.’

But he said that the success of the Olympics had shown the best of the diversity of London, stating: ‘The world was watching us, and they saw that incorrigible happiness and that unity in diversity.

‘And what people prophesied five decades ago would be a defect and difficulty in our society has been alchemised into the genius and magic of London.



Address: Doreen Lawrence and her son Stuart (centre) during a memorial service for Stephen Lawrence

‘Of course it has not happened easily. It is thanks to the work of countless thousands. It is thanks to Doreen and of course to Stephen, too, because it was the campaign for justice in his name that became the blueprint for change.


'On a dark street in Eltham 20 years ago there took place a crime that caused shock and pain, and disbelief, and outrage'

Mayor of London Boris Johnson

‘And that benign change has happened, and is happening and will keep happening And out of that dark night 20 years ago has come great hope, and it is in a spirit of hope for London, the greatest city on earth, that we remember Stephen Lawrence today (Monday).’

The service yesterday included the hymn Be Still for the Presence of the Lord, which has been sung at every memorial service for Stephen since he died.

Guests included pop star Emeli Sande, Duwayne Brooks - Stephen's friend who was with him on the night that he died, and lawyers Michael Mansfield and Imran Khan who have represented the Lawrence family throughout their battle for justice.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe also attended the service, the theme of which was ‘building for the future’. His predecessors have been invited to the event, despite the troubled history of the investigation into Stephen's murder.

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