New Stephen Lawrence suspect named as Met Police makes rare decision

26 June 2023 , 05:55

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A new suspect has been named in the Stephen Lawrence murder (Image: PA)

A new suspect has been named in the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence after police admitted "many mistakes" were made in the initial investigation.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that Matthew White, who died in 2015 at the age of 50, was a major suspect at the time following the killing in Eltham, south east London in April 1993.

The 18-year-old was killed at a bus stop while trying to go home with friend Duwayne Brooks, who said six assailants surrounded Stephen and stabbed him repeatedly before running off.

Stephen's injuries were so catastrophic that he died before making it to the hospital 20 minutes after the attack. Only five men were ever formally identified in connection with the attack.

Matthew White died in 2015 at the age of 50

The force made the unusual admission about White on Monday after the BBC identified that key inquiries had been mishandled in the force's initial 1990s investigation.

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While five prime suspects were identified in the aftermath, a later public inquiry found there had likely been as many as six attackers based on eyewitness testimony.

Failures during the investigation into White reportedly included officers entering the wrong information about him into a police database when a relative came forward, and the Met not following up a lead when another force recommended that his role in the murder was established.

Both White's relative and another witness also told police that he himself had admitted to taking part in the killing. Police surveillance photos taken of White meanwhile resembled a fair-haired attacker described at the scene by witnesses.

The year before White died, the BBC reports he pleaded guilty to an attack on a black shop worker near the site of Lawrence's murder.

David Norris was convicted of Stephen Lawrence's murder under joint enterprise in 2012 (PA)

Gary Dobson was the other man convicted of murdering black teenager Stephen Lawrence (AFP/Getty Images)

The victim claimed that he had referenced the murder during the incident and told him he would be "Stephen Lawrenced".

Responding to the new claims, the Metropolitan Police said Matthew White first came to their attention as a witness in 1993, and was arrested and interviewed on two occasions in March 2000 and in December 2013.

Files were submitted to prosecutors on two occasions in May 2005 and October 2014, but on both occasions the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) advised there was no realistic prospect of conviction of White for any offence.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said: “The impact of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence and attack on Duwayne Brooks, and subsequent inquiries, continues to be felt throughout policing.

“Unfortunately, too many mistakes were made in the initial investigation and the impact of them continues to be seen.

“On the 30^th anniversary of Stephen’s murder, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised for our failings and I repeat that apology today.”

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Only David Norris and Gary Dobson, now 46, were ever convicted of the Stephen Lawrence murder 19 years after his death.

Brothers Jamie and Neil Acourt and Luke Knight were also named publicly as suspects in the killing but have never been convicted of his murder.

The sixth mystery attacker has remained unknown despite years of campaigning from his activist mother, Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

The Macpherson report published in 1999 concluded that Met was "institutionally racist" and had seriously mishandled the case, prompting an apology.

The Metropolitan Police commissioner at the time, Cressida Dick, declared the Stephen Lawrence case "inactive" in 2020, and said all lines of inquiry had been followed.

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas