Jamie Acourt: Lawrence murder suspect jailed for drugs plot

Jamie Acourt was never convicted of any offence relating to Stephen Lawrence's death

A suspect in the 1993 racist murder of Stephen Lawrence has been jailed for nine years for conspiring to supply "huge quantities" of cannabis resin.

Jamie Acourt, 42, pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial after previously denying the charge.

Acourt, originally from Eltham, south-east London, had fled to Spain where he was living under the alias "Simon Alfonzo" until his arrest in May.

He was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court.

Acourt was never convicted of the racist attack on Mr Lawrence and has always denied any involvement.

Jurors had been told of the allegation against him and warned they should consider him solely on the trial's evidence.

In 2012, Gary Dobson and David Norris were convicted at the Old Bailey of murdering Mr Lawrence and jailed for life.

Jamie Acourt was one of the five named suspects of killing black teenager Stephen Lawrence

Acourt pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to supply drugs in the period between 1 January 2014 and 2 May 2015.

His 43-year-old brother Neil Acourt has already been jailed for more than six years for the same drugs plot.

Prosecutors believe both brothers were ringleaders and they enlisted family members to the scheme that saw drugs transported between London and South Shields, Tyne and Wear.

Both Acourts were arrested after the racist stabbing of 18-year-old Mr Lawrence by a gang of white men in Eltham, but have always denied involvement.

Acourt was arrested by armed officers as he left a gym in Barcelona on 4 May

Acourt had spent more than two years on the run until his arrest in May, during which he lived in Spain under the alias "Simon Alfonzo".

He fled the country after police raided the home where he lived with his partner and their two children in Bexley, south-east London, in February 2016.

On 4 May this year Acourt was arrested by armed officers as he left a gym in Barcelona and extradited back to Britain.

Seven men, including Neil Acourt's father-in-law, have now been convicted or found guilty over the drugs conspiracy.