Investigators from the College of Policing have begun an independent review of Metropolitan Police material into the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence, and his mother, Doreen Lawrence, urged anyone with information to come forward, calling the exercise the "last opportunity" for full justice.
The review, launched after a BBC investigation that named a previously unpublicised sixth suspect and detailed alleged police failings, will examine whether any lines of inquiry were missed, not properly pursued or now require a fresh approach. The College of Policing said the work is being "conducted independently of the Met Police" and will identify viable leads that could be passed to an independent investigative body.
Doreen Lawrence told BBC News she hoped people who had previously felt unable to speak would now come forward. "This is the last opportunity that we're going to have to get the complete justice that I think Stephen so deserves," she said, adding that she cannot grieve until justice is achieved. The review team can be contacted at [email protected].
The review follows a series of BBC reports that named Matthew White as a sixth suspect; White died in 2021. Those reports also alleged a pattern of failures by the Metropolitan Police and prompted an apology from Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to Doreen Lawrence for broken promises. A lengthy negotiation between the Lawrence family and the Met secured some of the family’s demands for the scope and leadership of the review, including the full involvement of Clive Driscoll, the retired detective who led successful prosecutions in the case but was removed as senior investigating officer by the Met in 2014 before his inquiry was completed.
Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was fatally stabbed in a racially motivated attack in Eltham, south London, in April 1993. His friend Duwayne Brooks said at the time that there were six attackers. Failures in the original investigation became central to a landmark public inquiry that concluded the Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist. Two men were convicted of the murder in 2012, but other suspects have not been prosecuted.
Doreen Lawrence specifically criticised brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, whom she described as believing they had "got away with it". The Acourt brothers have consistently denied any involvement. The murder investigation was formally closed by the Met in 2020, with the force saying it had done all it could, a position the Lawrence family has repeatedly challenged.
A Met Police spokesman reiterated the force’s objective "to achieve the arrest, prosecution and conviction of all of those responsible for Stephen's murder" and said the College-led review will focus on identifying any outstanding lines of enquiry which could reasonably lead to a suspect being brought to justice. The review will be led by a recently retired senior detective who spent his career outside the Met.
The Lawrence family has long campaigned for a full accounting of investigative failures and for any remaining suspects to be brought to justice. The BBC’s reporting last year prompted renewed public attention and led to the decision to commission an independent review of material held by the Metropolitan Police, with the family saying it hopes the process will finally resolve unanswered questions about who was involved and whether further prosecutions are possible.