Sir Mark Rowley apologises to Stephen Lawrence’s mother over police 'failures'

The Met Police has apologised to the mother of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence after failing to update her on an aborted probe into a sixth suspect.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence was promised an explanation after a BBC investigation named Matthew White as a major suspect last June. White died in 2021 aged 50.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised to Baroness Lawrence and said "on top of the failures over the decades this is totally unacceptable".

The BBC found that the Met Police seriously mishandled key inquiries related to White. The evidence it found raised questions about Scotland Yard’s 2020 decision to stop investigating the case and implicated other suspects who remain free.

Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death at the age of 18 by a gang of young white men in Eltham, south-east London, on April 22 1993. Lawrence was waiting for a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks.

The murder has become the UK’s most notorious racist killing, and the handling of the first police investigation into the murder prompted a landmark public inquiry which concluded the  Met was ‘institutionally racist’.

David Norris and Gary Dobson were given life sentences for the murder in 2012. However, the other three suspects, Luke Knight and brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, have not been convicted of the crime.

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In 2020, Commissioner Cressida Dick declared the case "inactive", saying that all identified lines of inquiry had been followed. At the time, the commissioner said she assured Lawrence’s family that any new information would be investigated

The BBC investigation revealed new evidence of White’s, initially known as Witness K, central role in the case. White was named publicly for the first time in 2011 as a witness in the trial of Norris and Dobson.

However, the BBC found evidence to suggest that White’s alibi was false, saying: “White lied to police about where he had first heard about the attack and his alibi was false, but detectives accepted his claims.”

The investigation found that in 1993 White looked like the prominent unidentified attacker described by Stephen’s friend Duwayne Brooks, but the Met failed to share the description with all investigators. The force said the handling of the approach by White’s relative in 1993 was "a significant and regrettable error".

At the time, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward promised to explain to Baroness Lawrence why White had not been prosecuted.

Speaking ahead of the 31st anniversary of her son's death, Baroness Lawrence said "He's  (White) probably the key one who probably caused Stephen's murder, and they [the Met] did nothing about it," she said.

"I'm not sure what they're hiding behind, why they can't come and tell me exactly what they knew then".

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We recognise this is a particularly difficult time for the Lawrence family and Duwayne Brooks. I am sorry our failure to respond in a timely fashion has added to this.

“On top of the failures over the decades this is totally unacceptable. Restoring trust in the Met is one of my top priorities and that includes how we work with those affected by the failures of the past.

“I apologise to Baroness Lawrence who must have answers to all her questions. I have written to her and offered to meet.”

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said the way Baroness Lawrence has been treated is “totally unacceptable”.

Mr Khan is meeting Sir Mark on Monday where the mayor will be "making clear to the commissioner that he believes the family and wider community need to know that everything possible is being done to bring justice for Stephen", his spokesperson said.

They added that it was "vital" any new lines of inquiry were "properly investigated".