In Pursuit of the Truth, by DCI Clive Driscoll

I have recently finished reading In Pursuit of the Truth, by DCI Clive Driscoll chronicling his time with the Met and in particular, in the last quarter of the book, his investigation into the Stephen Lawrence murder.
 
An interesting read from someone who certainly comes across as an ‘open and honest copper’, much to the apparent chagrin of his superiors and it highlights not only the direct corruption involved in the original police investigation, but what I can only call the ongoing ‘direct and indirect corruption’ (no doubt they would call it just being ‘economical with the truth’) from these superiors in their efforts to forestall his investigation with the array of obstacles placed before him.
 
I have highlighted below a number of snippets from the book, which to my mind draw parallels with many of the actions we have seen in the MM case, other than that the OG investigation does not appear to be focused on a truthful result and seems to be terminally infected with this ‘indirect corruption’ virus.
 
To someone who has not read the book, it will probably come across as a bit dis-jointed, but I’m sure it will give a flavor of the Lawrence investigation and brings in a number of characters, organisations and methodology known through the MM case:
 
P260
It’s sad to say but I noticed there was a management style developing that actively inhibited the amazing talents the police have at their disposal – managers seemed to be more concerned with protecting themselves than encouraging officers to perform the duties they had joined to carry out. I got sick of bosses asking me, ‘What’s your exit strategy?’
 
P285
HOLMES
….he (the inputter) had been a lazy bastard: crucial information wasn’t checked in properly or wasn’t cross-checked or wasn’t actioned…….
There were probably 40 statements recorded that used that word, but if you searched for it in HOLMES – as we did- you’d draw a blank, because someone hadn’t been bothered to spell it correctly, or the same way twice or even enter it at all.
How to make a wonderful tool and an essential part of modern detective work redundant in one easy lesson.
 
P301
‘…….I have accepted responsibility for the investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.’
…….there were a few dissenters even to that innocuous entry. As far as the Met were concerned, I was leading another ‘review’ and not an ‘investigation’ into young Stephen’s death…….
I never bought that.
If you are making enquiries you’re not reviewing are you?
 
P305
In 1993 FSS, led by Adrian Wain,………..
Wain rightly looked for blood on the suspects but he didn’t search for fibres from Stephen’s clothes………..there had been a two week gap……….so the odds of there being any chance of fibre transfer were low, he reasoned. What would be the point?
I can see two points.
The first is that FSS were told by the senior investigating officer to do everything possible.
And the second is that Wain said the odds were very low.
Low, but not zero.
A slim chance is still a chance.
 
P307
‘I am taking all forensic investigation away from FSS’….. (to a private company LGC)
 
P309
………I got a phone call from FSS.
“It’s a shame you don’t want to work with us because we’ve got the exhibits.’
‘I was hoping you had,’ I said. ‘I need to arrange for them to be picked up.’
‘That’s not going to happen. They belong to us.’…….
‘I will take out a warrant to retrieve them.’
….’You can’t get a warrant against the police.’
‘They’re not police, they’re government.’
But
…..common sense from FSS…. (prevailed and they did release the samples)
‘Why haven’t you sent your notes over?’
‘Because LGC is a private company and they might steal our working methods.’
‘For goodness sake….’
Again though, diplomacy saved the day.
 
P316
Since the FSS had looked at Stephen’s case, there had been massive scientific progress, particularly in the area of DNA testing.
 
P326
…I didn’t have to move desk; the even better news was we were going to Trident – run by Chief Superintendent Helen Ball
 
P329
Even though we hadn’t used them this time around, the bloody FSS was still casting a long shadow on my investigation……..
 
………….A lot of material seemed to have vanished in the transfer from FSS to LGC. In particular items pertaining to 1995-2000. It would be months before the mystery was solved.
It was very simple really…………it had been filed as part of a Brixton burglary.
 
P333
Ed Jarman at LGC……….
We’ve found Stephen’s blood………..on Gary Dobsons jacket.’
 
P336
It was a fibre of Dobson’s jacket, with Stephen’s blood around it……. ‘It means the blood was wet when it went on. It couldn’t have been transferred in any way other than during the attack’.
 
In our defence, - and for once , in FSS’s defence – the evidence was the ‘newest’ there was. The technology to find it had not existed back in the early 90’s……..
 
P343
….at the same time that my investigation was being shot at verbally, it was also being attacked physically. With the investigation in full swing I was told we were being moved again – this time to Tintagel House……….
 
P352
Yet again, external forces seemed to be hellbent on disrupting the smooth running of …… (the investigation). When I was told we had to vacate our offices at Tintagel House, I nearly laughed.
‘It’s being sold.’
Did I believe it? Well the fact they moved another squad in as soon as we left and spent thousands of pounds renovating it to accommodate Firearms soon answered that question.
 
It wasn’t just the timing that concerned me. It was either the worst form of stupidity ever or someone, somewhere was trying to cause problems. I’m sad to
 say that with each passing month on young Stephen’s case, I was getting more and more hardened to the unsavoury truth.
 
P356
Once again an unseen hand above me had intervened and printed in police notices was news that my team would be disbanded after the trial.
I couldn’t believe it. I wrote straight back to Chief Superintendent Stuart Cundy and said ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to disrupt this case.’
 
P360
No one could have heard their evidence, in my opinion, and not been persuaded.
So why was I reading a different version in the papers?......with a negative twist.
…bumped into a crime writer……… ‘Are you in Court 15 today?’ ….. ‘No, I’m in Court 16 covering your case.’
‘Are you sure about that? Because from what you’re writing, I swear you’re seeing a different case to me. I don’t know where you get half your information.’
‘We get it from your press office’……..’The Met press office told us this, that, the other……’
Was it intentional? Was someone still trying to knock us off track, hoping the jury would read a negative story and change their minds? Or was it another error? The trouble with the Met is you’re never far from either.
 
P368
I was left in no doubt that certain people around that table wanted the investigation shut down. If I’m honest, they’d wanted it buried years ago. How else do you explain my team being disrupted the way it was: moved five times, including once to a building without HOLMES computers and briefed against in the press.
 
Compromise was agreed. A murder review panel would investigate all further options………..
 
‘Apparently there’s a report which I recommend you see.’
 
‘Have you seen a copy of this report?’
 
‘No, I’ve never seen it.’
 
A month later I got a call from Cressida Dick. ‘What’s this report the murder review group is chasing me for?’ she asked.
 
‘The report we were told about after the trial.’
 
……if I hadn’t dug my heels in (at the post-trial meeting) the investigation would have been closed, based on a report that didn’t exist.
 
An investigation in police corruption…… had begun in 1998. …. targeted a dozen or so officers of interest. One of them was Davidson (one of the original Lawrence investigators and ‘friend’ of one of the convicted’s father).
 
There are two lightning bolts in this story. The first is that a police officer allegedly scuppered, for his own financial gain, the original investigation into Stephen Lawrence. As Mrs L. said ‘It’s what we suspected all along.’
 
But do you know what’s worse? That we – the Met – tried to cover it up.
 
I’ve always been an advocate of telling the truth………If you try to cover things up, they get magnified when they finally come out. And trust me, things always come out eventually.
 
P373
Peter Spindler (Commander, Directorate of Professional Standards) then tried to talk Mrs L out of going to see the Home Secretary the following Monday. Which was probably a little dodgy in itself. His reason? He had documentation showing the Met hadn’t done the things the papers and everyone was saying we had.
‘Who wrote that report?’ she asked.
He told her.
‘OK.’
He then mentioned the name of a retired senior officer.
‘Hmm,’ she said. ‘There were some concerns about him, if I remember correctly.’
 
…..as far as she was concerned, Monday’s meeting with Theresa May could not come soon enough.
 
P374
When she managed to persuade the Home Secretary to instigate a review into police corruption on Stephen’s investigation, she asked me who I thought should run it.
‘Mark Ellison QC, no question.’
 
Mr Ellison was never intending speaking to me. I had no specific knowledge of Stephen’s case prior to 2006 and the alleged corruption took place in the 90’s.
 
When the DPS struggled to find one or two essential files requested by the enquiry, he got in touch and I stepped in to help. Given that one of the questions Mr Ellison was considering was ‘Was the Macpherson inquiry provided with all relevant material connected to the issue of possible corrupt activity by any officer associated with the initial investigation of the murder of Stephen Lawrence?’ it was outlandish to assume they’d withhold anything from him.
And what do you know? I located everything that was needed within half an hour.
The Job came down on me for this. Everything, I was told in no uncertain terms, had to go through the DPS.
‘But they can’t find anything!’
……..another explosion rocked proceedings. A one time undercover officer, Peter Francis, went public with accusations of surveillance on the Lawrence family carried out in 1993.
………….a concerted effort to discredit the Lawrence’s because of their attacks on the police investigation……………Duwayne Brooks (friend that had been with Stephen on the night of the murder)…arrest and subsequent court appearance were both , he said, ‘arranged’ by the Met.
To Duwayne, this was nothing he hadn’t suspected all along. To Mrs L. however it was a bombshell. She already knew her son’s death had been poorly investigated because of racist attitudes. She knew a corrupt officer had prevented anyone being brought to justice for years. She had even learned that the Met knew about this corruption and had hidden it from Macpherson. But now she was being told that she and her family had been investigated in secret because they were considered dangerous to the police.
You couldn’t make it up.
 
P376
Mark Ellison’s report….published in January 2014 and firmly pointed the finger at the Met for the outrageous way they had treated Mr and Baroness Lawrence and Duwayne in life, and Stephen in death.
 
To me the way to appease a family so publicly wronged by the police force created to serve them would be to say, ‘We apologise for what has gone on in the past and we want to rectify that by throwing everything we have at continuing the investigation into Stephen’s murder.’ (Driscoll wanted to go after the others involved)
What they actually did was wind it all down……..they got rid of me.
 
P379
If they want to pursue the truth about Stephen, I am at their disposal.
I’m still waiting for that phone to ring.
 
P384 Acknowledgements
To Alison Saunders and the CPS team, Mr Mark Ellison QC and Alison Morgan, the junior barrister during Stephen’s case and all the scientists from LGC – from an unworthy and humble police officer, you were simply the best. The word ‘magnificent’ does not do you justice – thank you. 
 
………………………………………………
 
So retired DCI Driscoll is now sat at home twiddling his thumbs, waiting for a phone call which will never come.
 
What would we give for someone like him, not afraid of stepping on people’s toes, to muscle in on OG and actually get to grips with what really happened?

BBC Newsnight
Published on 1 Mar 2016

A detective was removed from his post after telling colleagues he wanted to approach Paul Boateng - then government minister in charge of police. Multiple sources have told the BBC they believe Det Insp Clive Driscoll intended to ask Mr Boateng what - if anything - he knew of a known paedophile, John Carroll. But before Mr Driscoll could approach him in 1998 he was axed from the case. There is no suggestion Paul Boateng - now a Lord - had done anything wrong. Nick Hopkins reports.

Hi Dougd,thanks for the article,Clive Driscoll,Stephen Lawrence Murder?
Now,forgive me,but if a former Police Officer can see how the system was being Perverted by corrupt Police Officers,then what chance do the Public remain to have any confidence in how,they Police the communities,they are supposed to,"Serve and Protect"from criminal elements,when some of the criminals are within the Organisation?

Why hasn't the Metropolitan Police Service not been disbanded due to their Conduct on these Investigations alone,from Mr Driscoll reports to fellow Officers?
Seriously,how can you have Police Officers being paid to protect society,then being corrupted via Money or black Mail,to facilitate knowledge of Police investigations,back to the criminal Under world and think that society will Not become affected?
Yesterdays Evening news,channel 4 16 October 2017, has a family excluded from an"Official Investigation"into a Death of their Son on a Public Highway,via the Police who were chasing a suspect in Three or more Unmarked Police cars,that may have resulted in the Moped driver losing his Life?
The Police Officers were to give their evidence from behind screens,that the"Family"would be placed ina different building from where the evidence was being given,so they couldn't ask appropriate relevant questions to the Coroner or Court,is this Lawful?
It is no wonder the Police are no longer believed to be impartial in day to day dealings in society,this needs to attended to to stop any further break down of civil rights?
I haven't watched the TV video of Mr Driscoll-Paul Boetang,being very quickly diverted from asking any serious pertinent questions on child abuse knowing a Mr John Carrol?
Surely this level of blatant disinformation type of closing down of discussions needs to be addressed?
if the Police or press are stopped from asking questions of people knowing each other,that you cannot investigate within"Public Interest"on issues in regard to child abuse connections,then something is clearly wrong with today's Policing methods,or are the press being suppressed by the state?

Trying to bring this up to date since the book:
 
 
Stephen Lawrence murder: insufficient evidence to prosecute sixth suspect
 
CPS confirms no further action will be taken against man who was arrested last December and who has not been named
 
Press Association
Monday 24 November 2014 11.50 GMT
A sixth man held over the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence will not be prosecuted due to insufficient evidence.
The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed no further action will be taken against the suspect, who has not been named and was arrested 11 months ago.
Lawrence, 18, who wanted to be an architect, was stabbed to death by a group of up to six white youths in an unprovoked racist attack as he waited at a bus stop in Well Hall Road, Eltham, south-east London, with a friend on 22 April 1993.
It took more than 18 years to bring two of his killers – Gary Dobson and David Norris – to justice.
Three other men have also previously been named as suspects but deny involvement.
An inquiry following the murder found failings in how the Metropolitan policehad investigated the crime and led to the force being accused of institutional racism.
Lionel Idan, deputy chief crown prosecutor, said: “On October 21 the CPS decided that no further action will be taken in relation to an individual, identified as a suspect in the ongoing police investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
“A file was received on 31 May 2014 from the Metropolitan police. After careful consideration it has been decided that there is insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.
“The decision has been made in accordance with the code for crown prosecutors.
“Any decision by the CPS does not imply any finding concerning guilt or criminal conduct – the CPS makes decisions only according to the test set out in the code for crown prosecutors and it is applied in all decisions on whether or not to prosecute.”
A Metropolitan police spokesman confirmed the man, who is in his 40s, was arrested on 23 December last year on suspicion of Lawrence’s murder.
The spokesman said: “He was bailed to return pending further inquiries and a file submitted to the CPS for their consideration.
“The individual has now been advised there will be no further action against him.”
It comes as a senior police officer facing claims of discreditable conduct linked to the case prepared to be reinstated to full duties next week.
Scotland Yard confirmed last month that Commander Richard Walton, who was removed from operational duties in March, will resume his role on 1 December, even though he is still facing an inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/24/stephen-lawrence-murder-insufficient-evidence-sixth-suspect
 
Punctuation error led to evidence mistake in Stephen Lawrence murder case


·        Lydia Willgress 
13 SEPTEMBER 2016 • 9:30AM
Awrongly interpreted punctuation mark meant police investigating Stephen Lawrence's murder did not realise a crucial piece of evidence had been found close to the scene for more than 20 years, detectives have admitted. 
A leather bag strap, which has now provided a DNA sample linking a mystery woman to the crime scene for the first time in the case’s history, was wrongly documented as being found up to 90 metres (295ft) away from where the teenager was attacked.
Police have now discovered the strap was actually found just 4.5 metres (14.7ft) away from a pool of Mr Lawrence's blood and eight metres (26.2ft) away from his bag.
Officers believe it may have been part of a weapon used to fatally injure the student as he waited for a bus in Eltham, south east London, in April 1993.  Chris Le Pere, the senior investigating officer, said it was similar to a homemade weapon found in the home of David Norris, one of the men convicted of the murder. 
The admission comes amid an investigation into alleged police corruption in relation to the murder inquiry, which was launched by the National Crime Agency (NCA) last year and is still ongoing.
It also came as the Metropolitan Police revealed on BBC’s Crimewatch that they are offering £20,000 to anyone that can provide information that leads to a successful prosecution.
The episode of Crimewatch, which aired at 9pm last night, also contained an interview with Stephen's father Neville as well as the first reconstruction of the attack, showing a gang of six men attacking the teenager before sprinting away.
Mr Le Pere said the location of the strap was correctly identified by the scene examiner in his notes in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
The change was introduced by a somebody else at a later stage after they were tasked to write the examiner’s statement because he was out of the country.  
Mr Le Pere explained: “The punctuation [from the scene examiner’s notes] hadn’t been read correctly. He described a strap being at the scene on Dickson Road and then the next exhibit is found outside number 290 Well Hall Road and they have joined those two exhibits thinking they are both outside number 290.”
The examiner then signed the statement without noticing the error because his notes were not to hand.
Despite reviews and investigations into the case - including in 2002, when five swabs were taken from the bag - the mistake was not uncovered until 2014 when Mr Le Pere’s team reviewed the evidence.
The 66cm-long strap has now been swabbed 70 times. As well as the female profile, several partial male DNAs have also been discovered, although there is not enough information to take these any further.
“I believe this did not belong to Stephen, I believe it has been left at the scene by the suspects,” Mr Le Pere said. “It is known that David Norris… had an adapted offensive weapon with a hammer head at the end of a strap. I am exploring that it might have also been an adapted offensive weapon.”
Mr Le Pere insisted it was an “honest” and “innocent” error, and said he would be happy to disclose any lines of inquiry to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. “In my judgement there is no misconduct involved in this,” he added.
He said the unknown woman was not being treated as a suspect but instead as a potentially crucial witness. Officers are also exploring whether the bag was stolen and are completing DNA testing in a bid to identify the woman.
   
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/12/punctuation-error-led-to-evidence-mistake-in-stephen-lawrence-mu/

Stephen Lawrence murder suspect 'hiding in Spain'


Jamie Acourt is wanted on drugs charges
 
·       Margaret Davis 
·       Thursday 20 October 2016 12:08 BST
 
A suspect in the murder of Stephen Lawrence who is wanted for drug dealing is among 10 British criminals thought to be hiding in Spain.
Jamie Acourt, 40, from south-east London, was allegedly part of a cannabis-dealing gang between January 2014 and February 2016.
He previously achieved notoriety after he was named as one of the suspects in the investigation into the racist murder of 18-year-old Stephen. The teenager was killed by up to six attackers in 1993, two of whom, David Norris and Gary Dobson, were convicted and are serving life sentences.
 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/stephen-lawrence-murder-suspect-hiding-drug-charges-spain-most-wanted-a7371261.html
 
 
Former Stephen Lawrence murder suspect jailed over £4m drug plot
 
Neil Acourt was described as ‘man at the top’ of a scheme to funnel cannabis into northern England
George Sandeman and agency, Friday 24 February 2017 19.01 GMT
A former suspect in the murder of Stephen Lawrence has been jailed for more than six years over a £4m drug plot.
Neil Acourt was arrested but not prosecuted for the racist murder of the black 18-year-old, who was stabbed to death by a group of white men in Eltham in 1993, but he now faces a spell in prison after he and his six-member gang were caught “red-handed” with 100kg of cannabis.
The 41-year-old, also known as Neil Stuart, was described as the “man at the top” of a scheme funnelling huge amounts of the drug to the north-east of England. He was sentenced on Friday at Kingston crown court alongside his best friend and father-in-law. 
He was jailed for six years and three months for conspiracy to supply a class B drug, with recorder Paul Clements describing the plot as a planned and concerted effort to move substantial amounts of cannabis “that in any estimation would have kept the people of the Newcastle area in spliffs for many a long day”.
The plot took place over two years and involved dozens of 600-mile (965km) round trips from London to the South Shields area, during which they transported drugs and cash. 
Clements told all six men involved in the plot that is was “stupid and criminal”. He said: “The police caught red-handed some of you, with in effect 100kg of cannabis. A substantial amount by any standards.
“There was a sufficient flow of money down the channel that there must have been other transportations of cannabis. Look at you all now sitting there, from the age running from 28 to 63. All thoroughly ashamed and all to one degree or another you have ruined your lives.
“All recognise the depth of the criminality, all apparently recognising how damaging drugs are to the people addicted to them. All of you were involved in a pre-planned concerted conspiracy to move substantial amounts of cannabis that in any estimation would have kept the people of Newcastle area in spliffs for many a long day.” 
Jonas Milner, defending Acourt, who has two previous convictions unrelated to drugs, said his client “genuinely regrets” his actions and was a family man.
Acourt’s role in the plot was to handle bundles of cash, ranging from £15,000 to £40,000 each, in return for 2.5% of the money the gang made. Also jailed were Acourt’s childhood friend James Botton, 45, his father-in-law Jack Vose, 63, and family friend Lee Birks, 55, as well as Paul Beavers, 49, and Daniel Thompson, 28.
Lawrence was killed by a group of up to six white males in an unprovoked attack as he waited at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, with a friend on 22 April 1993. Acourt was arrested but not prosecuted for the killing, while in 2012 two other suspects, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were convicted of murdering Lawrence and jailed for life.
In 2002 Norris and Acourt were jailed for 18 months following a racist attack on an off-duty police officer during which Norris hurled a drink and shouted “nigger” at the officer while Acourt drove a vehicle at him. The attack took place less than a mile away from where Lawrence was murdered a decade earlier.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/24/former-stephen-lawrence-suspect-jailed-4m-drug-plot-neil-acourt
 
Murderer who got away: 20 years ago today, the Mail accused five men of killing Stephen Lawrence. Two have been convicted, one's in jail on a drugs charge and a 4th is on the run. But the 5th still brazenly walks the streets where he committed his crime
 
·       Luke Knight photographed strolling two miles from where Stephen was stabbed
·       40-year-old is unrecognisable from brute who smirked at claims he was involved
·       Stephen was killed in unprovoked gang attack as he waited at a bus stop in 1993
·       Two members of Eltham gang - Gary Dobson and David Norris - both serving life
·       A third, Neil Acourt, is awaiting sentencing for masterminding a £4m drugs ring
·       His brother, Jamie, is wanted for links to drugs crimes and is on the run in Spain
·        
By Stephen Wright and Barbara Davies for the Daily Mail
PUBLISHED: 22:00, 13 February 2017 | UPDATED: 08:41, 14 February 2017

Posing in country casuals, he is the last of Stephen Lawrence’s killers still on the streets of Eltham.
 
Luke Knight, 40, is unrecognisable from the snarling brute who smirked at claims he was one of the five racists behind the black teenager’s death.
 
Twenty years after the Daily Mail accused the gang of murder, he cuts a pathetic figure strolling just two miles from where Stephen, 18, was fatally stabbed. The A-level student was killed in a savage and unprovoked gang attack as he waited at a bus-stop with a friend in 1993.
 
Two members of the Eltham gang, Gary Dobson, 41, and David Norris, 40, are serving life for Stephen’s killing after a forensic breakthrough led to a second murder trial five years ago.
A third, 41-year-old Neil Acourt, is in prison awaiting sentencing for masterminding a £4million cannabis smuggling ring.
 
His 40-year-old brother Jamie, the fourth man we named, is wanted by police for his links to serious drugs crimes. He is on the run in Spain where detectives believe he is being harboured by ‘Costa del Crime’ contacts.
 
That just leaves father of two Knight remaining on the south-east London stomping ground where the murderous gang thought themselves above the law.
 
After a shambolic police investigation, two prosecutions and an inquest all failed to secure justice for Stephen and his family, the Daily Mail went to the extraordinary lengths of naming all five of the gang beneath the headline ‘MURDERERS’.
 
‘If we are wrong, let them sue us,’ we said, throwing down a legal gauntlet to the five men who had all arrogantly refused to answer questions about Stephen’s murder for fear of incriminating themselves.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/13/22/049C7E550000044D-4221150-The_Daily_Mail_went_to_the_extraordinary_lengths_of_naming_all_f-m-44_1487025876226.jpg
 
In accusing them, this newspaper took a monumental risk – but one which ultimately paid off – triggering a public inquiry into Stephen’s death and triggering a change to the centuries-old double jeopardy rule that had prevented cleared suspects being tried for the same murder twice.
 
It sparked massive internal reform of the Metropolitan Police Service which was, at the time of Stephen’s killing, condemned as ‘institutionally racist’. It also heralded the Race Relations Amendment Act requiring public bodies to stamp out discrimination and to promote equal opportunities.

Stephen’s 64-year-old mother Doreen – now Baroness Lawrence – said the Mail’s stand was ‘a proud moment’.
 
‘A national daily newspaper had the courage to put on its front page what others were too frightened to do,’ she said.
 
‘It did the decent thing. From then on, all of Britain would know who the suspects were. They would not be able to hide.’
 
Two decades on, the Mail still has its eye on these ruthless thugs as it continues to fight for justice for Stephen and his long-suffering parents.
 
For while Dobson and Norris are locked up in high security prisons, their three ‘brothers in crime’ are yet to be punished for their part in Stephen’s murder.
 
A shameful veil of silence that has obstructed investigations into Stephen’s murder from the very start still shrouds the truth.
 
To this day, anyone asking questions on the streets of Eltham where the gang’s families still live is met with instant hostility. Knight’s mother shamelessly told us: ‘Nobody here will talk to you.’
 
Friends and relatives of the five men hide behind closed doors, refusing to speak.
 
Letters and phone messages have gone unanswered. Their glamorous girlfriends and ex-partners continue to keep a low profile.
 
The ‘Eltham omerta’, it seems, is as powerful as ever. Potential witnesses fear they may pay a heavy price if word gets out that they have spoken to the police.
 
The name ‘Stephen Lawrence’ is met with an uncomfortable and eerie silence in the pubs, such as the Beehive in New Eltham, where the five suspects used to drink.
 
Scotland Yard is still hoping for a breakthrough that will see the remaining members of the murderous gang finally face justice.

 
But last year when detectives again attempted to crack the case with a mass voluntary DNA screening programme, they managed to obtain samples from less than half of those they approached.
 
They were hoping to find a match with DNA from an unknown female found on a black leather bag strap collected from the murder scene in 1993 and believed to have been used as part of a home-made weapon. A similar custom-made weapon was found at the home of Norris. The strap was disregarded in the early days of the flawed police investigation after it was incorrectly recorded that it had been discovered 80 yards from where Stephen was attacked.
 
In fact it was found just five yards away.
 
To date, officers have spoken to more than 110 people in connection with this particular line of inquiry. Around half have volunteered samples, 46 have declined, 12 failed to respond to police requests and the remainder were eliminated for medical reasons.
Shamefully, the majority of those who declined to offer DNA samples were family, friends and associates of the original five suspects.

Lead investigator Chris Le Pere told a press conference that while associates and relatives of key suspects had been approached and asked to provide DNA, there had been, in terms of responses from those individuals, ‘an awful lot of negatives’.


He and his team are also continuing to appeal for help in tracing a man caught on CCTV in an off-licence at about 8pm on the night of the murder, 100 yards from where Stephen was attacked.
The man was wearing a green jacket with a distinctive ‘V’ emblem on the back but despite the clarity of the CCTV images, appeals for information have again fallen on Eltham’s deaf ears.
 
Market trader’s son Luke Knight, who attended Kidbrooke School with fellow suspect Jamie Acourt, continues to depend on this wall of silence among his acquaintances for keeping himself out of prison.
 
He has never displayed a shred of remorse for Stephen’s killing but has consistently whined about the impact it has had on his own life.
 
Ten years ago he even claimed he was suffering psychological problems brought on by threats from anti-racist campaigners and tried, in vain, to persuade Greenwich Council to rehouse him because of intimidation.
 
Despite his apparent struggle to make ends meet, he has been seen driving around in a £22,000 Nissan Qashqai bought new five years ago shortly before his partners in crime, Dobson and Norris, were jailed. He is currently working as a roofer and casual labourer.
 
Back in 1993, all five men were prime movers in a notorious gang led by the Acourt brothers who liked to refer to themselves as The Krays and who were already known to the police for their racist tendencies and violent knife crimes.
 
Their cold-blooded attack on Stephen as he waited for a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks on April 22, 1993, bore all the hallmarks of the savage racist lynchings once inflicted on blacks living in America’s Deep South.
 
While Mr Brooks narrowly escaped, Stephen, who hoped to become an architect, suffered two stab wounds to the upper torso that severed major blood vessels. He tried to flee with his friend but collapsed and died in hospital.
 
Although the names of the five suspects were given to police virtually overnight, the early investigation was hampered by an appalling assumption by some officers that simply because he was black, Stephen was probably involved in a gang of his own and somehow partly to blame for the violent altercation that led to his killing.
 
All five men were eventually arrested but while both Knight and Neil Acourt were charged with murder, the CPS dropped the prosecution on the grounds that ID evidence from Mr Brooks was unreliable.
 
Outraged that no action had been taken against their son’s killers, Baroness Lawrence and then husband Neville launched a private prosecution in 1994 against Gary Dobson, Luke Knight and Neil Acourt.
 
But the trial, in April 1996, collapsed when the judge ruled that the identification evidence from Mr Brooks was inadmissible.

A year later, at an inquest into Stephen’s death, the five suspects again refused to answer any questions about how he died, angering coroner Sir Montague Levine who gave a verdict of unlawful killing ‘in a completely unprovoked racist attack by five youths’.


In a heart-rending statement she gave at the end of the inquest on February 13, 1997, Stephen’s mother denounced the British justice system for ‘making a clear statement to the black community that their lives are worth nothing’.

The Daily Mail made the decision to publish its historic front page just hours later.
By challenging these five men to sue us if we were wrong, the Mail presented them with an opportunity to speak about what happened that day in a court of a law.
If the men were not – are not – murderers, they would have been entitled to massive libel damages.
 
But they kept their vow of silence knowing that if they told the truth about what happened to Stephen they would have incriminated themselves in his murder. Ever since that day two decades ago, the Stephen Lawrence case has been placed firmly at the heart of public consciousness, holding up an uncomfortable mirror to a society which, in the words of Baroness Lawrence, once supported ‘racist murderers against innocent people’.

When Sir William Macpherson published his official report into the killing and the subsequent investigation in 1998, he accused the Metropolitan Police of ‘institutional racism’ and made far-reaching recommendations aimed at clamping down on discrimination which have created seismic shifts within British society.
 
Today there are three inquiries into the Lawrence case.
 
The National Crime Agency is investigating alleged corruption in the original Lawrence murder inquiry.
 
There is also a probe by the Independent Police Complaints Commission into former Scotland Yard commissioner Lord Stevens amid claims that documents were not passed to Macpherson’s 1998 inquiry. The peer denies any wrongdoing.
 
Most significantly of all, Scotland Yard still has a team of detectives working on Operation Fishpool, the investigation into Stephen’s murder.
 
Clive Driscoll, the retired Scotland Yard detective chief inspector who led the successful reinvestigation of the Lawrence case, is still hopeful that further murder convictions will be secured. ‘It will happen if witnesses who have been too frightened to speak come forward,’ he said. ‘If there are further advances in forensic science and if there is a willingness in the CPS and the police to pursue complete justice.’
 
Scotland Yard told the Mail last night: ‘The Met continues to investigate the murder of Stephen Lawrence and is currently focusing on two lines of enquiry; a bag strap recovered from the scene which contains the DNA of an unknown female who police still wish to identify. Also, a male witness seen nearby at the time of the murder, who was wearing a distinctive green jacket with a V emblem on the back.’
 
One thing is for certain, while those involved in the unprovoked murder, men like Knight, still walk free, the fight for justice for Stephen must go on.
Indeed, at a time when the British Press is under fire like never before, that fight serves as a reminder of the power of courageous journalism and the importance of relentless campaigning.
 
Without them, the monumental police failures which surrounded the murder of Stephen would never have been uncovered. Dobson and Norris would not be in prison serving life sentences.
As for the other three, Knight and Neil and Jamie Acourt – who knows what lies around the corner for them while this newspaper and other truth-seekers continue to snap at their heels? 
 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4221150/Stephen-Lawrence-murderer-got-away.html
 
BBC1 to show series about murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence
 
The makers of Amy tackle the killing that changed modern Britain
·        
By Ben Dowell
Thursday, 24th August 2017 at 10:30 am
 
Oscar winning directors James Gay-Rees and Asif Kapadia are making a landmark documentary about the murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence for BBC1.
The three-part series, provisionally called The Stephen Lawrence Story, will examine the murder of 18-year-old black student by a group of white teenage boys.
It will also probe  the complex and mishandled murder investigation which allowed the suspected killers to evade justice for almost 20 years.
The murder led to the Macpherson Report, which coined the phrase “institutional racism” and led to a revision of the double jeopardy laws in the UK as the police sought to prosecute the suspects.
“For the first time BBC1 will be looking at every aspect of the case including the subsequent inquiries, pulling it into one complete timeline and asking the same relevant questions of a contemporary Britain,” said the BBC in a statement.
The film will air around April 2018, to mark the 25th anniversary of Stephen’s murder on April 22 1993, and promises unprecedented access to people involved in the story.
Baroness Lawrence, Stephen’s mother, said: “My son Stephen was brutally taken from my family nearly 25 years ago. This documentary will be the definitive narrative of the events of the past quarter of a century – a full, frank and comprehensive drawing together of the story that has shaped the lives of both my family and myself since that fateful April night.
“But in addition to that, it is my story – that of a parent’s loss of a child, a sibling taken in unimaginable circumstances from his brother and sister and our family’s fight for justice against the odds and the system that we always believed was there to help and protect us all without the evil of racism. With every story comes an end and this final BBC documentary in conjunction with the On The Corner team will be my final public word on the events.  Whilst Stephen will always travel with us, a new journey is ahead for us all…..”


http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-08-24/bbc1-to-show-series-about-murdered-teenager-stephen-lawrence/
 
…………………………………………..
 
Somewhat strange comments from Baroness Lawrence in the last paragraph.
 
Whilst at some stage it must be nice for her to finally draw a line under the investigations, unless she has been advised that ‘Operation Fishpool’ can go no further, I would have thought she would have wanted to keep hoping that something would turn up in order to get any others involved convicted.
 
There is also the ongoing IPCC investigation, which doesn’t appear to have reported its outcomes yet.

Hi DougD,thanks for your posts on this tragic Murder of Stephen Lawrence.

Congratulations to Clive Driscoll and all of the other Police Officers involved in trying to Right a Wrong,that should never have happened in the First place,in this Murder Investigation.

To all other Police Officers,who knew full well what they were doing in facilitating,colluding with members of the Not innocent parties,as named in the Daily Mail,hope you are proud of the way,that you failed on your"Oaths"as Police Officers in your Civil Duties,"Without Fear, Nor Favour"which you failed drastically,due to your fellow Officers not being corrupted,but you were?

It is quite alarming to think that a Woman,Doreen Lawrence,will have to attend the House of Lords,in the knowledge,that Senior Ranked Officials,who served in the Metropolitan Police Force,will now be able to pass Laws,to protect society,which they have clearly failed as fellow Police Officers,during their time of Police service,Lord Stevens!?

So the IPCC have concluded their investigation into whether information was withheld from the 1998 inquiry (shouldn’t have been too difficult!), but the corruption investigation is ongoing and the first inquiry won’t conclude until the second one does, in case it brings to light any more relevant evidence.
 
…………………………………………………..
 
Update on IPCC investigation into alleged failures relating to Stephen Lawrence Inquiry
 
Jun 20, 2017
 
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has been investigating whether there was a failure of top rank or very senior Metropolitan Police officers to provide full, frank and truthful information on the issue of corruption to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry in 1998. The investigation followed a public complaint to the MPS from Neville Lawrence OBE.

IPCC Deputy Chair Sarah Green, who has been overseeing the investigation said today:

“We have gathered and analysed thousands of pages of documentary evidence over the past two years including evidence not originally available to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry or the review conducted by Mark Ellison QC and published in March 2014. Three former Metropolitan Police officers have been interviewed and at this stage no investigative actions are outstanding.

“We have liaised with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over that period and have been provided with ongoing advice. Following our most recent discussions with the CPS, I have decided the investigation cannot be concluded and a final report submitted until it is clear that a separate and ongoing IPCC managed investigation will not produce further evidence relevant to this investigation. That investigation is considering whether corruption played a part in the original investigation into Stephen Lawrence’s murder and the assault on Duwayne Brooks.

“All concerned parties have been informed of my decision.

“Whilst I appreciate this step is likely to be difficult and disappointing for all of those concerned, it’s vital that we continue to unravel events from many years ago so that we can finally bring these matters to conclusion.”
 
https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/news/update-ipcc-investigation-alleged-failures-relating-stephen-lawrence-inquiry
 
IPCC investigating alleged corruption during original Stephen Lawrence murder investigation
 
Oct 16, 2015
 
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating alleged police corruption during the original investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

The IPCC received a referral from the MPS in April 2014 and decided in August to investigate.

The National Crime Agency was asked, and agreed, to conduct an investigation under the direction and control of the IPCC. The IPCC confirmed the appointment of Roy McComb, NCA Deputy Director for Specialist Investigations, to lead the investigation in March 2015.

The IPCC is updating Stephen’s parents, Mr Lawrence and Baroness Lawrence, and Duwayne Brooks as the investigation progresses.
 
https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/news/ipcc-investigating-alleged-corruption-during-original-stephen-lawrence-murder-investigation

Stephen Lawrence: Mother says Met should be 'honest' about investigation
 
Stephen Lawrence was murdered in 1993
 
The mother of Stephen Lawrence has called for the police to "be honest" about the likelihood that anyone else will be convicted over his murder.
Doreen Lawrence told the Daily Mail she believed detectives had run out of lines of inquiry but were worried about her reaction if they close the case.
 
Two people have been convicted over Mr Lawrence's killing in Eltham, south-east London, on 22 April 1993.
A Met spokesman said "the investigation remains live".
 
In 2012, Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty of murder and jailed for life.

Gary Dobson and David Norris were each jailed for more than 14 years
However, police believe Mr Lawrence was stabbed to death by a group of up to six white men in an unprovoked racist attack as the 18-year-old waited at a bus stop with a friend.
 
Baroness Lawrence said: "They should be honest - say they've come to an end and stop."
 
•   Stephen Lawrence murder: A timeline
•   Profile of teen Stephen Lawrence
•   Stephen Lawrence inquiry probe delayed
•    
"I think they're carrying on pretending everything's fine because they don't want to hear what I'll say if it is stopped," she said.
 
Six years on from the Dobson and Norris' convictions, Baroness Lawrence said she was aware of the cost to the taxpayer of continuing the investigation.

Baroness Lawrence has called on the Met to "say they've come to an end" of the inquiry
 
"I've been on the go for 25 years. I haven't stopped. I don't think I've even completely grieved for Stephen", she told the newspaper.
 
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan described Baroness Lawrence as a "crusader" whose work had led to laws being changed and two men responsible for her son's death being put behind bars.
 
Speaking about her comments he said it was an "operational matter for the police" but expected detectives to "speak to Doreen and the family before taking any steps going forward."
 
A Scotland Yard spokesman said the investigation into the murder "remains in an active phase" and the force "continues to hold regular meetings to update the family."
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43680829

Hi DougD, quite  bizarrely at the same time as Stephen Lawrence trial being highlighted again to the public of who was and wasn't involved in corrupting this case.
A notorious gangster is facing release from Prison for his Conviction of Road Rage incident,where the Gangster produced a weapon to Murder his victim!
The Gangster then fled to Spain,where UK Police had to bring him back to the UK to face Trail for the road rage incident.
One of the witnesses who identified to Police the guilty party,was found dead,but No person has been found guilty of any offence connected to the former witnesses death,was he murdered?
This gangster was seen by undercover Officers meeting a Serving Police Officer in a public house,where the"gangster handed over a brown envelope"to the Police officer,who quickly vacated the premises,followed shortly by the gangster,who had been acting on behalf of the father of One of the four defendants who stood trail for the first Court case?
It is believed this person was One of the Two persons who had never been convicted for the part they played in the Murder of Stephen Lawrence!

Someone please wake me up when the IPCC finally get round to finishing their original investigation into possible corruption in the original Stephen Lawrence murder investigation, so they can then finalise the second corruption investigation against the senior officers.

How can they possibly justify it still going on after all this time?

Maybe they should start a further investigation into whether corruption has caused these delays and then they could say that they cannot finalise anything until the final final investigation is concluded.

They could keep this going forever!

On January 8, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) became the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). This change was set out in the Policing and Crime Act 2017. The change was made because the IPCC had doubled in size since 2013, taking on six times as many investigations – and we asked the Government for structural changes to better suit our much-expanded organisation.
 
https://policeconduct.gov.uk/becoming-iopc

From previous reports we understand that:
 
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating alleged police corruption during the original investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

The IPCC received a referral from the MPS in April 2014 and decided in August to investigate.

The National Crime Agency was asked, and agreed, to conduct an investigation under the direction and control of the IPCC. The IPCC confirmed the appointment of Roy McComb, NCA Deputy Director for Specialist Investigations, to lead the investigation in March 2015.

The IPCC is updating Stephen’s parents, Mr Lawrence and Baroness Lawrence, and Duwayne Brooks as the investigation progresses.
 
…………………………………………….
 
On the IOPC website the furthest they go back is 2015 and there are no cases involving the Met showing for that year.
 
Has this investigation just dropped off the radar?
 
We are waiting for this investigation to be completed in order that the second investigation can be completed, or so we are told.
   
It would be interesting to hear from Baroness Lawrence in this regard.

Hi DougD.  The Irony is that Baroness Lawrence has to sit within the Same Structure as possible Former Police Commanders being made Lords as part of their commitment to a Public Life time service,Lord Stevens,Lord Hogan Howe, spring to mind?

Now bear that in mind when concluding anything to do with Stephen Lawrence's Murder Twenty Five or more years ago,the pompous pious cohorts still draining Tax payers money,could this be construed as"Misconduct in Public Office",eh Mr Cameron,Prime Minister Theresa May, Your Party invited them into the Masters Chambers!

Doug D wrote:Stephen Lawrence: Mother says Met should be 'honest' about investigation
 
Stephen Lawrence was murdered in 1993
 
The mother of Stephen Lawrence has called for the police to "be honest" about the likelihood that anyone else will be convicted over his murder.
Doreen Lawrence told the Daily Mail she believed detectives had run out of lines of inquiry but were worried about her reaction if they close the case.
 
Two people have been convicted over Mr Lawrence's killing in Eltham, south-east London, on 22 April 1993.
A Met spokesman said "the investigation remains live".
 
In 2012, Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty of murder and jailed for life.

Gary Dobson and David Norris were each jailed for more than 14 years
However, police believe Mr Lawrence was stabbed to death by a group of up to six white men in an unprovoked racist attack as the 18-year-old waited at a bus stop with a friend.
 
Baroness Lawrence said: "They should be honest - say they've come to an end and stop."
 
•   Stephen Lawrence murder: A timeline
•   Profile of teen Stephen Lawrence
•   Stephen Lawrence inquiry probe delayed
•    
"I think they're carrying on pretending everything's fine because they don't want to hear what I'll say if it is stopped," she said.
 
Six years on from the Dobson and Norris' convictions, Baroness Lawrence said she was aware of the cost to the taxpayer of continuing the investigation.

Baroness Lawrence has called on the Met to "say they've come to an end" of the inquiry
 
"I've been on the go for 25 years. I haven't stopped. I don't think I've even completely grieved for Stephen", she told the newspaper.
 
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan described Baroness Lawrence as a "crusader" whose work had led to laws being changed and two men responsible for her son's death being put behind bars.
 
Speaking about her comments he said it was an "operational matter for the police" but expected detectives to "speak to Doreen and the family before taking any steps going forward."
 
A Scotland Yard spokesman said the investigation into the murder "remains in an active phase" and the force "continues to hold regular meetings to update the family."
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43680829

Thank you for posting Doug D

2 stab wounds, but police are trying to get six people on a murder charge? Seems unlikely they could make that charge stick.

‘………we are determined to leave no stone unturned….’
 
Now, where have I heard that before?
 
Is this the new ‘urban slang’ for keeping something going forever?
 
Just had a look to see if there is any movement on the police corruption side of the Lawrence investigation, which is holding up the final report of the other side of the inquiry.
 
Surprise, surprise, nothing doing, but at least  the case can be found on the IOPC website now, whereas I couldn’t find it before when they transferred over from the IPCC, with the latest IOPC update dated Feb 2018 pasted below:
 
Stephen Lawrence - Allegations of corruption in original investigation - Metropolitan Police Service
Stephen Lawrence corruption investigation enters new phase
26 Feb 2018
 
A wide-ranging investigation into alleged police corruption during the original enquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the attack on Duwayne Brooks OBE in April 1993 has entered a new operational phase.

The comprehensive investigation, undertaken by the National Crime Agency under the direction of the IOPC, has for the past two years gathered and analysed a vast amount of documentation, information and intelligence covering a period of nearly 25 years since Stephen’s death.

The documentation, running to several million pages of information, has been collected from a number of sources including from the original murder investigation, the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry and over 100 Metropolitan Police historic counter corruption investigations. Lawyers, judges, members of the public and police officers involved in those enquiries make up around 70 individuals who have provided information to investigators.

Officers will now seek to interview serving and former police officers and staff involved in the original murder enquiry, relevant witnesses and others including some journalists who may have had an in depth knowledge of the original investigation.

IOPC Regional Director Sarah Green said:

“An investigation of this scope and complexity is a meticulous process and the past two years has necessarily laid the groundwork to enable investigators to now ask those who were close to the investigation at the time, either as close observers or active participants, valuable questions. It is vital we establish whether concerns that corruption played a part in delaying justice for Stephen are justified and if so, that those involved are held to account.

NCA Senior Investigating Officer, David Cunningham said:

“Currently there are over 50 National Crime Agency investigators and support staff solely dedicated to this investigation. It is comprehensive in its reach, examining all relevant documentation, information and intelligence relating to the murder of Stephen, looking at data spanning a period of almost 25 years. The task was never going to be a quick or easy one but we are determined to leave no stone unturned, and the investigation is now moving into this new phase.”

The Ellison Review, commissioned by the then Home Secretary Theresa May, was published in March 2014. One of its key purposes was to answer the question of whether there was evidence of corruption in the Metropolitan Police during the investigation into Stephen’s murder. Mark Ellison QC found that there remained some outstanding lines of enquiry which could be investigated both in relation to alleged corruption by a specific officer and possibly other officers.

The MPS referred the matter to the IOPC (then IPCC) in April 2014 and the terms of reference were agreed and the investigation commenced in March 2015.
 
https://policeconduct.gov.uk/news/stephen-lawrence-corruption-investigation-enters-new-phase

Hi DougD,there is only One way any report will be wrote down that due to the amount of time between the investigations and review process,the IOPC were Not able to find any wrong doing by any Police Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service?

The public within the UK know the Police are just doing the Governments "Dirty duties"to hide,obfuscate as long as possible anything that may highlight the collusion between the Police,MI5 and the corrupt people within the service!

Prime minister Theresa May is a classic example.
Mrs May must be one of the very few MP's to have served so long in Government positions and have the necessity to know how to keep certain cases "Under review"? 
Prevarication to the "Truth",Daniel Morgan's Un-solved Murder, 10 March 1987,dear Rupert's employees involvement, Metropolitan Police Service given 18 month stay to provide their report on Mr Morgan's case,Six years after Mrs May,stated the "Truth will be Heard" on Mr Morgan's death,D-notice applicable by then,National Security?

Just shows what a "Corrupt World" the public are expected to live in,with the most "Corrupt Politician's" making the Mafia like "Angels with dirty Faces"?

With thanks to Heisenburg over the road:
 
Three detectives who led the bungled Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry 25 years ago to be quizzed over 'misconduct'
 
By IAN GALLAGHER FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
PUBLISHED: 22:30, 27 October 2018 | UPDATED: 14:55, 28 October 2018
 
Three police officers who led the original Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry 25 years ago have been told they will be questioned over alleged misconduct in public office.
They will be interviewed under caution over failings in the widely criticised investigation into the 18-year-old A-level student’s death at the hands of a racist gang.
Dozens of people approached Scotland Yard to name the killers but no arrests were made for two weeks, a decision which meant vital evidence was lost for ever.
 
Detective Brian Weeden replaced Crampton three days after the inquiry began. Now all three men, who are all retired and in their 70s, have been told they will be questioned for alleged misconduct in a public office
 
The three officers – Detective Superintendent Ian Crampton, in charge for the first three days after the murder; Det Supt Brian Weeden, who took over as senior investigating officer; and Det Chief Supt William Ilsley, who oversaw them – have all received letters formally placing them under investigation by the National Crime Agency. 
 
The offence of misconduct in public office – effectively breach of duty – carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
All three men are retired and in their 70s and deny any wrongdoing.
 
 
Doreen and Neville Lawrence, the parents of murdered black teenager Stephen. A series of forensic breakthroughs led an Old Bailey jury to convict two of the five suspects – Gary Dobson and David Norris – in 2012
 
 
Part of the wide-ranging NCA investigation has looked at whether the murder suspects were shielded as a result of corruption. 
However, sources say the NCA does not have any evidence to suggest the officers acted corruptly.
Scotland Yard has spent more than £50 million over 25 years trying to convict the suspects.
A series of forensic breakthroughs led an Old Bailey jury to convict two of the five suspects – Gary Dobson and David Norris – in 2012. 
 
The alleged murderers outside the public inquiry into police handling of the case in 1998, as they are pelted with eggs
The other three members of the gang have never been successfully prosecuted. 
In a BBC documentary screened earlier this year to mark the 25th anniversary of the murder, Mr Crampton defended the decision not to arrest the suspects.
He said: ‘I was made aware that there were phone calls coming in [to the police] naming people. Many of the calls were of a similar nature… At no stage had we actually got any evidence.’
 
Stephen Lawrence who was stabbed to death in April 1993. Three police officers who led the original Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry 25 years ago have been told they will be questioned over alleged misconduct in public office
Theresa May announces Stephen Lawrence Day at a memorial service
 
He also reveals that a surveillance team that was supposed to have been monitoring the suspects failed to turn up, and therefore did not see them removing items from their homes in ‘black bin liners’.
Duwayne Brooks, 44, who was with Stephen when the pair were attacked in Eltham, South-East London, said earlier this year that he had lost confidence in the NCA inquiry, calling it a ‘waste of time and taxpayers’ money’.
Victor Marshall, of the Police Superintendents’ Association, said: ‘We are supporting some former officers who have been informed they are under investigation for misconduct. They strenuously deny any wrongdoing. The officers have given their accounts of their roles thoroughly and consistently many times… and when these were much fresher in their minds than now when the officers are in their 70s.
‘We are therefore surprised they are being asked for a further account given the exhaustive nature of these previous inquiries. We have requested information from the NCA as to the justification and grounds for this new investigation.’
 
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6324565/Three-detectives-led-bungled-Stephen-Lawrence-murder-inquiry-quizzed-misconduct.html
 
………………………………….
 
   
Nothing on the IOPC or NCA sites that I can find.

Hi DougD,thanks for the article on Former Metropolitan Police Officers facing further questioning on Stephen Lawrence Murder.

Note however,"Sources say the NCA does Not have any Evidence to suggest the Officers acted corruptly"?

If these officers were in charge of the case and had information passed to them on person's being named as suspects and the undercover Surveilence Team van never turned up,missing these persons disposing of evidence,is not evidence of failing to investigate the case,something is wrong in the Police service then!

Another case with a long list of questions that Police fail to answer to,Incompetence or turning a proverbial blind eye,Horatio style,"I see No ships"?

nothing will come of this

Aquila's question on the 'Bogus Charity' thread about the Kids Company investigation reminded me that nothing more has been heard on this one.

I have today e-mailed the following to the IOPC, but won't hold my breath for a proper response:

On 26^th February 2018 you published an update advising ‘Stephen Lawrence corruption investigation enters new phase’.

We had also previously been advised that the first inquiry would not conclude until the second one does, in case it brings to light any more evidence.

Nothing further has been issued.

The Mail on Sunday then published an article on 27^th October 2018 stating:

‘Three police officers who led the original Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry 25 years ago have been told they will be questioned over alleged misconduct in public office.
They will be interviewed under caution over failings in the widely criticised investigation into the 18-year-old A-level student’s death at the hands of a racist gang.’

but this did not appear to have come from any press release from yourselves.

No further updates or reports seem to have been published, and on 22^ndApril 2019 your Director General, Michael Lockwood, issued a statement on ‘Stephen Lawrence Day’ making absolutely no mention of any ongoing inquiry.

I shall be grateful if you will advise whether this inquiry has now been quietly shelved or is it still ongoing?

Thanks for spotting it Willow.
 
Full DM article here:
 
Two detectives who bungled Stephen Lawrence murder case are probed for misconduct over why they had suspects' names for TWO WEEKS but failed to arrest them
 
By STEPHEN WRIGHT FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 22:03, 28 June 2019 | UPDATED: 03:17, 29 June 2019
Two former Scotland Yard detectives have been interviewed under caution over alleged criminal offences in the bungled original Stephen Lawrence murder investigation.
Retired Detective Superintendent Ian Crampton, in charge for the first three days of the inquiry, and retired Detective Chief Superintendent William Ilsley, who supervised him, were questioned this week over claims they committed misconduct in public office during the initial stages of the probe.
It follows a multi-million-pound investigation by the National Crime Agency – Britain’s version of the FBI – into why officers in charge of the first Met investigation into 18-year-old Stephen’s murder in 1993 did not make arrests for two weeks, despite officers repeatedly being given the names of suspects.
Two other senior officers involved in the widely criticised first investigation – retired Detective Superintendent Brian Weeden and retired Detective Inspector Ben Bullock – are due to be questioned under caution for alleged misconduct in public office in the coming weeks.
All four former officers strenuously deny committing any offences, with supporters claiming they are victims of a ‘politically motivated witch-hunt’.
Stephen’s campaigning parents, Doreen and Neville Lawrence, say a series of shocking errors in the early stages of the first murder investigation cheated them of ‘complete’ justice. 
 
Baroness Lawrence said last night: ‘I am pleased that finally after so many years, senior police officers who were involved in investigating Stephen’s murder are being put under scrutiny and questioned about their conduct. It is high time that someone is held accountable for what happened.’
A file on the misconduct allegations is expected to be submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which will decide whether charges should be brought.
Two of the original five prime suspects in the Lawrence case, named as Stephen’s murderers by the Daily Mail in February 1997, were jailed for life in 2012 following a belated forensic breakthrough.
Despite the convictions of Gary Dobson and David Norris, three other members of the gang that stabbed Stephen to death in an unprovoked racist attack in Eltham, south-east London on April 22, 1993, remain at large. 
 
For the past four years, the NCA has been investigating whether the Lawrence murder suspects – which also included brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt and Luke Knight – were shielded as a result of corruption and who, if anyone, in Scotland Yard was involved.
According to reports, there is no evidence to suggest that the killers were protected by corrupt officers.
 
But possible offences of misconduct in public office have been identified by NCA investigators.
 
In its 1999 report, the public inquiry into how police failed to catch Stephen’s murderers, chaired by retired High Court judge Sir William Macpherson, was sharply critical of all four former detectives now accused of misconduct. 
Of the Met Police, the scathing report said: ‘The investigation was marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership by senior officers.’
 
A 1997 Police Complaints Authority probe into the murder investigation rubbished claims that a ‘wall of silence’ had foiled the Met’s efforts to bring the culprits to justice. It said vital witnesses did come forward during the early days of the inquiry – but they were not treated properly.
 
‘There is considerable evidence that the people of Eltham came forward with valuable information, albeit in some cases reluctantly,’ it said. 
‘The early information was vital. It could only have come from sources close to the suspects since street rumour and gossip would not have had time to develop. Responding to information in order to produce evidence should have been a primary focus of the murder investigation.’
The Police Superintendents’ Association said: ‘We are surprised and disappointed that our retired members are once again being asked to provide information relating to this case. The association hopes that it will be concluded as quickly as possible.’
The criminal offence of misconduct in public office ‘is committed when the office holder acts (or fails to act) in a way that constitutes a breach of the duties of that office’. 
Questioning under caution does not imply guilt. The maximum sentence is life in prison.
 
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7193859/Scotland-Yard-detectives-bungled-Stephen-Lawrence-murder-case-probed-misconduct.html

No surprises there then!
 
Stephen Lawrence murder: ex-detective cleared of corruption
 
National Crime Agency says no evidence found against prime suspect John Davidson
 
Vikram Dodd  Last modified on Thu 4 Jul 2019 12.11 BST
 
Stephen Lawrence’s best friend has said a multimillion-pound investigation into fears the murdered schoolboy’s killers were shielded by corruption has collapsed.
 
The investigation’s prime suspect, a former detective called John Davidson, has been told no evidence of corruption has been found against him.
 
It follows an investigation lasting nearly four years by the National Crime Agency into longstanding corruption claims in the 1993 murder case. Lawrence, 18, was stabbed to death by a racist gang, three of whom have never been convicted of the murder.
 
In 2014 a government-commissioned report by the barrister Mark Ellison QC said there was reason to suspect Davidson of corruption and an investigation was launched. Davidson denied the claims.
 
The NCA carried out the investigation, called Operation Probitas, on behalf of the police watchdog, the Independent Office for PoliceConduct. It now looks set to close without making an arrest.
 
Duwayne Brooks, who was with Lawrence when he was killed and who survived the attack, said: “The NCA investigation has collapsed. It’s very sad.”
Brooks said he had several meetings with the NCA team and was not impressed: “I never had any confidence in them. Davidson was used as a smokescreen.”
He said the NCA team had spent nearly two years going through old police files in their corruption investigation, which Brooks said was always going to fail. “It was pointless. You are not going to find a smoking gun or someone saying in writing they have been corrupt,” he said.
 
Lawrence was murdered on 22 April 1993 in Eltham, south-east London, by a racist gang of at least five white youths. One of them, David Norris, escaped justice for 19 years. He was convicted of the murder in 2012 alongside Gary Dobsonbut three others have escaped conviction for their role in the attack.
 
The Guardian understands at least two senior detectives who led the Metropolitan police’s hunt for Lawrence’s killers came to fear that corruption had played a part in hampering police efforts.
 
Brooks said of the NCA inquiry: “It’s a slap in the face to myself and the Lawrence family and everyone who has suffered from police corruption.”
 
In a statement the IOPC, for whom the NCA carried out the investigation, said: “We can confirm that we have advised former DS Davidson and all interested parties that, having reviewed and tested all of the available evidence including the lines of inquiry identified by the Ellison review, we have concluded that there is no indication of corruption on the part of Mr Davidson relating to the original Stephen Lawrencemurder investigation. As our investigation is still ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
 
Davidson disputes the allegations. He was criticised by the 1998 Macpherson inquiryfor his handling of potentially significant witnesses in the Lawrence investigation but cleared of any corrupt motive.
 
The NCA is continuing with a spinoff inquiry into claims of misconduct in public office against former officers involved in decision-making in the first Lawrence inquiry.
 
The original murder investigation was controversial because police made no arrests in the first fortnight despite being given the names of most of the suspects. Arrests were made only after Nelson Mandela highlighted the Lawrence case.
 
One of the suspects, Norris, was the son of a local criminal, Clifford Norris, who was alleged to have corrupt relationships with police officers.
 
Brooks was at one point guarded by a police officer alleged to have corrupt links with Clifford Norris.
 
Last April the Guardian reported claimsfrom Clifford Norris’s family members, alleging the career criminal used a network of corrupt Metropolitan police officers to protect himself and his close relations from justice.
 
Ellison’s review of corruption claimswas ordered by the then home secretary, Theresa May, after reports in the Guardian and Independent in 2012 about corruption. Ellison found there was reason to suspect that one officer in the Met’s first botched Lawrence investigation – Davidson – had acted corruptly.
 
The claims against Davidson come from his former colleague Neil Putnam, a corrupt officer turned supergrass. They were part of the “groovy gang” of detectives based at the East Dulwich office of the now disbanded south-east regional crime squad (SERCS).
 
The NCA investigation is expected to produce a final report about its work. It is not clear whether that, or a version, will be made public. The NCA may consider asking prosecutors to consider material.
 
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/02/stephen-lawrence-ex-detective-cleared-of-corruption

Hi DougD, Captain Pugwash, No dishonesty, trying to hide, rewrite history, the other three had nuffink to do wiv it?

The MSM apart from the Daily Mail seem to be in a separate mode on Child Sexual Abuse, either it did or it didn't happen and it's so long ago, most of the guilty are Dead anyway, syndrome, apart from "Grooming Gangs", Girls, they deserved it, eh Jacqui, Gordon?

Daily Mail, "Nick" Mr Carl Beech the "fantasist" name two Dead person's and Army personell, in Crown Court Trail on 11 Counts of Perverting a Course of Justice One Fraud charge?

Mr Lennon had to be found Guilty, endangering a Court Trail, to be silenced by MSM over the actions taken by former Government Ministers enforcing Police not to Investigate the "Grooming gangs", protecting the guilty? 

Swaths of information on a "Who knows who Conundrum", with links to Councils, Government, MI5/6 Officers, Ministers, clergy but No Paedophile ring?

Thee swaths show possible connectivity to America,Europe World wide Abuse of minors all acting alone, that No One knew about?

Queens Song, Bohemian Rhapsody,"Bohemia Grove" actual event?

Sent FoI request today for any further update as nothing about the investigations now since Feb 2018.

The Guardian article from July 2019 did say:

'As our investigation is still ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”

but how long can they actually drag it out for?

Hot on the heels of my FOI request comes this!
Nothing for years and then this. Purely coincidence?
Nothing about the ‘misconduct in public office inquiry’ though.
 
Met Police:
 
‘……….all "identified lines of inquiry have been completed"
 
Got to agree with Mrs (Baroness) Lawrence. If they had left Clive Driscoll on the case, it is just possible he may have secured more convictions, but they clearly did an ‘Amaral’ and sidelined him for political reasons as they wanted the case to go away, so replaced it with a 'pretendy' investigation.
 
Stephen Lawrence racist murder: 'The Met might give up, I never will'
 
·       11 August 2020
 
Racist murder victim Stephen Lawrence's mother has vowed she will never give up on her son despite the Met Police declaring investigations "inactive".
 
Detectives have said all "identified lines of inquiry have been completed" into the 1993 killing.
But Baroness Doreen Lawrence said: "Whilst the Metropolitan Police have given up, I never will.
"I am truly disappointed that those others who were equally responsible... may not be brought to justice."
Stephen, 18, was killed in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993.
Gary Dobson and David Norris were convicted of his murder in 2012.
Met Commissioner Cressida Dick said Mr Lawrence's family had been told about the latest operational developments.
Duwayne Brooks, who was with Mr Lawrence on the night he was murdered, has also been told about the Met's decision, the force said.
 
'We will achieve justice'
Ms Dick said she was sad that the Met had been "unable to secure any further convictions for Stephen, his family and friends".
She added: "The investigation has now moved to an 'inactive' phase, but I have given Stephen's family the assurance that we will continue to deal with any new information that comes to light."
Reacting to the announcement, Stephen's father, Neville, said he was disappointed but not surprised that it had been shelved by police.
He said that he "will always live with the hope that someone might come forward with evidence which will allow us to achieve full justice for Stephen".
 
Baroness Lawrence said: "I am truly disappointed that those others who were equally responsible for my son's racist killing may not be brought to justice.
"It is never too late to give a mother justice for the murder of her son. Whilst the Metropolitan Police have given up, I never will."
She thanked senior investigating officer Clive Driscoll, who secured the convictions of Dobson and Norris after she had campaigned for nearly 20 years.
"Having Clive Driscoll on Stephen's case made all the difference to me and had he had the opportunity of continuing to investigate the murder there may have been more convictions," she said.
The latest phase of the investigation into Stephen's murder began in January 2014, with Det Ch Insp Chris Le Pere taking over as the lead officer.
Since then more than 240 new witness statements have been taken.
 
Another development in the case came from a woman's DNA profile obtained from a bag strap discarded at the scene of the murder.
Despite a significant appeal for information and other investigations, that woman has not been identified.
Officers also sought to identify a man who had been near the murder scene wearing a jacket with a distinctive V-shaped emblem.
 
Police appealed for a man in a distinctive jacket, seen in an off-licence near to the murder scene, to come forward
A third line of inquiry had been to track down a man who had called the BBC's Crimewatch in 2013 to say he had information about the attack.
"The appeal generated more than 40 lines of enquiry for the investigation team to work through," the Met said.
"Despite exhaustive efforts, officers were unable to trace the individuals."
Initial attempts to catch Mr Lawrence's killers were found to have been hampered by incompetence and institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police.
No arrests were made for two weeks after his death, despite five suspects being named by anonymous informants.
 
A bag strap was left on the road near to where Stephen Lawrence was attacked
Dobson and Norris were among a group of up to six men accused of attacking Mr Lawrence and Mr Brooks. Critics of the case say others evaded justice.
The Macpherson Report into the investigation into Mr Lawrence's death found that there had been "institutional racism" in the police.
 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-53722540

Not Steven Lawrence related, but Clive Driscoll gave evidence to the IICSA Lambeth Council Inquiry on 10^thJuly 2020 in respect of another case he was pushed away from back in 1998, seemingly for being too outspoken and unwilling to turn a blind eye to politically sensitive issues.
 
The transcript for the Driscoll evidence and also that of Richard Gargini are here:
 
https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/19914/view/public-hearing-transcript-10-july-2020.pdf
 
I will try and précis them later, but this was from the Mirror:
 
Ex-detective 'blocked from investigating child sexual abuse linked to politicians'
 
Clive Driscoll said at a public inquiry he was told by officials to stop investigating the Angell Road home, which was run by paedophile John Carroll
 
Tom Pettifor
·       22:54, 10 JUL 2020
 
 
A former detective has told a public inquiry he was blocked from investigating child sexual abuse linked to politicians.
 
Clive Driscoll was removed from the probe in Lambeth, South London, in 1998, after naming prominent individuals in a meeting with council staff.
 
Mr Driscoll told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse there had been a “concerted effort” by officials to stop him investigating.
 
He said social services staff tried to steer him away from looking into the Angell Road home, which was run by paedophile John Carroll, despite the council knowing he had a record.
 
Mr Driscoll, who went on to lead a successful investigation into two of Stephen Lawrence’s killers, said: “There was a worry that paedophiles were employing paedophiles. There was a group of people who were going to Angell Road. They didn’t appear to have any right to be there.”
 
John Carroll was arrested in 1998 for child abuse spanning decades 
 
Referring to the work done by the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association, led by Raymond Stevenson and Lucia Hinton, he said: “How is it two people, Mr Stephenson and Ms Hinton, with a fraction of the resources [of the police], have put together 600 plus cases that have reached the evidential test of council lawyers and got £44million paid out?
 
“How has that happened when we [the Met Police] were the agency that should investigate?.” The scale of the abuse in Lambeth has only come to light after SOSA was set up in 2014.
 
More than 1,700 people have described suffering sexual, physical and racial abuse.
 
Mr Driscoll suspected Carroll used blackmail to stay in charge of Angell Road until 1991, despite his conviction coming to light in 1986. He said child protection officer Libby Blake showed him a file suggesting “things got covered up in Lambeth”.
 
Former Met Commander Richard Gargini took over from Mr Driscoll. He told the inquiry he was brought in by Assistant Commissioner Denis O’Connor.
Mr O’Connor had been contacted by Lambeth CEO Heather Rabbatts, who raised concerns about Mr Driscoll.
 
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ex-detective-blocked-investigating-child-22338012

Wow! An FOI response from IOPC that actually answers the questions. 

'In relation to a press release published in February 2018 regarding a new phase in the Stephen Lawrence corruption investigation, you asked:

“I shall be grateful if you will advise whether all enquiries has now been quietly shelved or are there still investigations ongoing?

If the second inquiry has indeed now been concluded, are you in a position to reveal the results of both the first and the second inquiries?”

The investigation into alleged police corruption during the original enquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the attack on Duwayne Brooks OBE in April 1993 is complete and a comprehensive report has been provided to the IOPC by the National Crime Agency (NCA). We must now carefully consider the report to determine whether there is an indication that any individuals may have committed a criminal offence and if so, whether the matter should be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision. The report and underlying evidence are substantial and will require very careful analysis.

In 2017, and following discussions with the CPS, our investigation into a complaint that very senior Metropolitan Police officers failed to provide full, frank and truthful information on the issue of corruption to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry in 1998 was halted until the investigation into whether corruption played a part in the original Stephen Lawrence murder investigation had concluded. This was because evidence could emerge from that investigation which may affect this investigation. We are presently reviewing material that has recently come to our attention through the linked investigation which may be relevant. We will complete the review and then finalise the investigation report as soon as possible.

We will issue updates on the progress of both matters in due course.'

Update on the Daniel Morgan case reminded me have a look at this one. Cressida Dick also confirmed on ITV News that there was nothing more that could be done ‘at the moment’ in respect of the murder investigation.
If only they hadn’t tied Driscolls hands, I’m sure he would have got further by now.
I wonder how long the CPS can prevaricate for before announcing that no further action is going to be taken against anybody?
 
IOPC
Published
03 Nov 2020
File of evidence being sent to CPS following conclusion of Stephen Lawrence corruption investigation
An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into whether corruption played a part in the original investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the attack on Duwayne Brooks on 22 April 1993 is complete. A file of evidence will now be provided to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider whether anyone should face charges.   
This extensive investigation has been undertaken for the past six years by the National Crime Agency (NCA) under the IOPC’s direction and control. 
 IOPC Regional Director Sarah Green said:
 “This has been a vast and comprehensive investigation by the NCA, involving the gathering and analysis of several million pages of information and intelligence spanning over 27 years since the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence and the attack on Duwayne Brooks on 22 April 1993. NCA investigators have also interviewed over 150 people including serving and former police officers and staff involved in the original murder enquiry, relevant witnesses and others, including journalists with in-depth knowledge of the original investigation.
 “In 2014 the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) referred to us the conduct of one former officer, who had some involvement with the original investigation into Stephen’s murder, to consider whether that officer had acted corruptly during that investigation.  The allegations faced were that they were improperly influenced or motivated, to protect at least one of the suspects during the original murder investigation. Following exhaustive enquiries, the officer was advised in early 2019 that they were no longer subject to this investigationbecause there was no indication of corruption on their part in relation to the investigation of Stephen’s murder.
 “Prior to that decision and as the evidence developed, in 2018 we asked the MPS to refer the conduct of four former police officers to the IOPC in relation to their handling of the early part of the murder investigation, and well-documented failings, for consideration of whether they may have committed the criminal offence of misconduct in public office. All four former officers were in senior roles at various times during the first few weeks of the investigation.  
 “At the end of an investigation of this type, the IOPC must determine whether there is an indication that any police officer, during the course of their duties, may have committed a criminal offence. Following thorough and careful analysis of the evidence, we have decided there is an indication that four former officers may have committed the offence of misconduct in public office in relation to their actions and omissions prior to the arrests of the five key suspects for Stephen’s murder in 1993. We will be providing a full file of evidence to the CPS over coming days.
 “It is important to note that a referral to the CPS does not necessarily mean that criminal charges will follow. It will now be for prosecutors to determine, applying the tests set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, whether charges should follow and, if so for whom and what those charges may be.”
https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/file-evidence-being-sent-cps-following-conclusion-stephen-lawrence-corruption-investigation