The head of Scotland Yard has told the racist thugs who continue to dodge justice over Stephen Lawrence’s murder: ‘We are after you.’
On the eve of the 20th anniversary of Stephen’s killing, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe renewed his pledge to catch the rest of the gang.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner offered to place anyone who has vital information about Stephen’s murder in the police witness protection scheme.
He insisted he was confident his force would make further progress in the inquiry, and hinted his officers might one day visit one of the men already convicted of Stephen’s murder in prison.
Sir Bernard’s bold words came in an interview marking the 20th anniversary next Monday of the A-level student’s murder.
Asked what his message is to the killers who are still at large, he said, without referring to any suspects by name: ‘We are after you.’
His statement will pile pressure on unconvicted prime suspects Neil and Jamie Acourt, and their friend Luke Knight, who were famously named as Stephen’s killers by the Daily Mail 16 years go.
Last year, two other men named under our front page headline ‘Murderers’ in February 1997, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were found guilty of Stephen’s murder after a forensic breakthrough in the case.
Sir Bernard said the Lawrence investigation remains active with a dedicated team determined to nail the rest of the killers. A new appeal for information will be made later this month.
‘What we are hoping is that witnesses will come forward who are able to help to fill in the gaps that we have in our account of what we believe happened in the murder of Stephen Lawrence,’ he said.
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On the issue of witness protection, he said: ‘We are used to helping people who want to provide information sometimes confidentially and therefore protecting their anonymity and also providing security for them.
'We are also able, if that information culminates in them becoming a witness, to protect them during that process.’
He added: ‘There must be people out there who know more than what they have told the police so far and we need them to help us even more now.
‘We continue to dedicate resources to the investigation. And we are confident that we will be able to make progress.’
Stephen, 18, was stabbed to death by a gang of racist youths in Eltham, South East London, shortly after 10.30pm on April 22, 1993.
Jailed: Gary Dobson, left, and David Norris, right
He had been waiting for a bus with a friend when they were approached by the gang who were heard to shout ‘what, what n*****’.
The initial police investigation was mired in controversy and the Macpherson Inquiry into Stephen’s murder later branded the Met ‘institutionally racist’.
But in January last year, Dobson, 37, and Norris, 36, were convicted of Stephen’s murder and jailed for life.
Last month drug dealer Dobson dropped his appeal against his conviction. Asked about the significance of this, Sir Bernard told the Mail: ‘Presumably it means he accepts the finding of guilt which was made against him.’
Sir Bernard hinted that his officers might seek to interview Dobson in jail, in their quest for information about Stephen’s murder.
Legal experts say Dobson could receive a significant reduction in his prison sentence if he agrees to become a ‘supergrass’ and testifies against fellow, un-convicted members of the murder gang.
Sir Bernard would only say: ‘We are always prepared to talk to any witness who may have information about a crime. But of course not all witnesses will talk to us.’
On Monday, a poster will be put up in the foyer in New Scotland Yard, bearing a personal message from Sir Bernard about the Lawrence case. It will include the words: ‘Twenty years ago the Lawrence family lost their loved son, Stephen. We let them down by not catching his murderers. Then last year we finally brought two of his killers to justice. The Met won’t forget Stephen Lawrence.’
Sir Bernard said he hoped the Met is no longer institutionally racist. ‘But it is for other people to make their judgements,’ he added.
‘I hope that the Metropolitan Police is far more professional now. We are more diverse. We used to have, at the time (of Stephen’s murder), 600 officers who were from black and minority ethnic groups. Now we have over 3,000 people.’
But Sir Bernard admitted he was ‘shocked’ and ‘disappointed’ after Stephen’s younger brother complained in January this year that he had been stopped by police on up to 25 occasions, simply because of the colour of his skin.
Teacher Stuart Lawrence, 35, described how he had been the victim of a sustained campaign of police harassment. His lawyers have lodged a devastating race discrimination complaint against Scotland Yard.
Sir Bernard said: ‘I have to be careful because they are allegations and the Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating. I hope it doesn’t paint the picture of how the Metropolitan Police is today.’
Mail's 'courageous campaign'
The Daily Mail’s marathon Stephen Lawrence campaign was praised in the highest terms by Met chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.
He described the newspaper’s landmark ‘Murderers’ front page in February 1997 – which accused five young men of being Stephen’s killers and challenging them to sue – as being ‘courageous’.
Our subsequent campaign exposed police failings, and led to the setting up of a public inquiry that branded the Met ‘institutionally racist’ and changes in the justice system that allowed Gary Dobson, previously acquitted of Stephen’s murder, to stand trial again.
Sir Bernard said the Mail’s role in the Lawrence case had been ‘vital’.
He continued: ‘It started the campaign on behalf of the family. It named and shamed five people it said were responsible for the crime – some of which have gone on to be convicted. It was a courageous thing to do on two counts.
‘One is the initial story. It wasn’t easy at the time to run a campaign which was supporting the interests of minorities.
'It was always easier to support the interests of the majority, particularly if you have got a newspaper which has to sell newspapers to the majority.
'Number two: there was obviously a massive risk in naming and identifying people who until then had not been named – and with the risk of defamation high. Civil litigation might have led to very serious damages.’
Following the recent arrests of journalists suspected of phone hacking and bribing police and public officials for information, critics have accused the Met of being anti-media under Sir Bernard.
But he said this was ‘unfair’. Stephen’s case was a ‘really good example’ of how the police need the media to expose their failings.
‘Your newspaper led it,’ he said.
‘We need the Press. The public needs the Press. We need to explain what is happening in terms of crime. We need to seek help.
‘We need the newspapers to give us feedback, critical or otherwise. If we get it right, if we get it wrong. It’s a vital relationship for us.’
Sir Bernard refused to be drawn into the row on proposals to ban newspapers from naming people who have been arrested, but not yet charged, over crimes.
‘Clearly it is an important issue for us to think carefully about,’ he said.
‘What we want to do is protect the rights of the journalists to identify suspects in cases but equally we need to protect the privacy of some people who deserve that privacy if they should be arrested.’