Baroness Lawrence calls for new investigation after killer admits attack

Stephen Lawrence was killed in a racist attack in 1993

Stephen Lawrence's mother has said the Metropolitan Police must urgently investigate his murderer's admission to being part of the group who took part in the racist attack that killed him.

A public parole hearing for David Norris, who is bidding to be released from his life sentence for Stephen's murder, heard that he admitted his involvement on several occasions since being jailed, the first in 2018.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence said on Wednesday it was "deeply shocking" that police had "known for years that he now accepts being part of the attack" in south-east London in 1993.

The Met said officers remained committed to achieving "the arrest, prosecution and conviction of all of those responsible for Stephen's murder".

Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday, Baroness Lawrence told reporters: "The Met Police stopped investigating Stephen's murder five years ago and have done nothing since, despite everything that has been revealed in that time.

"The police must now urgently investigate."

Stephen, 18, was stabbed by a gang while waiting at a bus stop in Eltham.

Norris, 49, and one other man, Gary Dobson, are the only people to have been found guilty of the murder - after an Old Bailey trial in 2012 - with four other suspects never convicted.

Norris's admission marked the first time any of Stephen's killers publicly said they had taken part in the attack - but he has refused to name any of the others involved, saying that doing so would pose a risk to him and his family.

Baroness Lawrence said: "This person can name the other killers and says he would love to do so.

"The police must do everything in their power to obtain that evidence and bring all of Stephen's murderers to justice.

"This man owes me the truth and the Met owe me justice. The police now have no excuse not to act."

The Met said it had commissioned an independent College of Policing team to review the investigations into the murder since October 2013, and also examine whether there are opportunities to bring more of Stephen's killers to justice.

Deputy assistant commissioner Matt Ward said the force gave the review its "full backing and support".

"The review is being led by an experienced investigator working for the college and will focus on identifying any outstanding lines of enquiry which could reasonably lead to a suspect being brought to justice."

Baroness Lawrence was speaking after the second day of Norris's public parole hearing, which was shown at the central London court via video stream.

The parole board panel will have to decide whether Norris is safe to be released from prison on licence, recommend a move to an open prison or conclude that he should remain in a closed prison.

Of his own involvement, Norris described punching Stephen but denied stabbing him.

'Careful about what he wants to admit'

At the hearing on Wednesday, a prison psychologist said Norris was not safe to be released from prison - and should instead be moved to a lower security, closed prison where his behaviour could be tested.

The psychologist had spent nine hours interviewing Norris and told the hearing he was an "unreliable narrator of his own life".

He said some details of Norris' confession had been inconsistent, including different accounts of the number of punches thrown and whether or not he had kicked Stephen.

The psychologist was asked by the panel if Norris was an unreliable narrator because of poor memory or due to "deliberate rewriting of history".

He replied: "I don't know the answer to that, but I would say probably a combination of these."

"He's careful about what he wants to admit to."

The psychologist said his recommendation was that Norris did not reach the threshold for release from prison or a move to an open prison.

David Norris is one of two people to have been found guilty of Stephen's murder

The hearing was told on Tuesday that Norris used racially abusive language in prison, according to intelligence reports from different facilities.

It heard that Norris had been involved in clashes with Muslim prisoners, including claims that he had thrown excrement and used derogatory terms, which he denied.

The psychologist said on Wednesday: "I find it unlikely that, across prisons, staff are making things up."

He said Norris had a lack of racial awareness and was more likely to use racist language during times of mental ill health or frustration.

Separately, he said he believed Norris had expressed genuine remorse for the killing - adding that some of it had been expressed "nowhere near a parole hearing".

He said people could still feel remorse but "lapse" in certain situations.

Stephen's mother Baroness Doreen Lawrence watched Norris give evidence to the hearing via video stream on Tuesday

A second psychologist, requested by Norris, made the recommendation that he was safe for release.

She told the hearing that he had made sufficient progress in prison to improve his violent impulses and racist attitudes such that "it wouldn't be something which would emerge in the community".

But she said the contribution of risk factors such as contact with former "gang members" could increase the risk of serious harm in the community.

She added that she had considered the years Norris spent in the community prior to his conviction, in which she said "he had already made decisions to not commit violence".

Norris's community offender manager, or probation officer, also gave evidence - and recommended that he remain in "closed conditions" but moved to a less secure prison environment.

The hearing is taking place in an unnamed prison with a video stream to the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Norris appeared with his back to the screen and occasionally used a hearing loop.

The court heard that he had been in his current prison for around two years and worked in the servery, where food is prepared and distributed.

A prison key worker said he had come to the unit wanting to work on "reactions and perceptions of rudeness towards him".

The hearing is set to continue, with the parole board deciding whether to release Norris later this month.