Stephen Lawrence’s father and friend call for reopening of murder investigation | Stephen Lawrence

Stephen Lawrence’s father and best friend have called for a criminal investigation into his murder to be reopened after evidence of fraud by Metropolitan police.

The force named a new suspect in the case on Monday, admitting too many mistakes were made in the initial investigation.

Matthew White, who died in 2021 at the age of 50, was named after Fr A BBC investigation in the murder of a black teenager who was killed aged 18 in a racist attack in south-east London in April 1993.

In 2011, White was named publicly for the first time at the trial of David Norris and Gary Dobson, who received life sentences for the 2012 murder, but only as a witness.

The BBC now reports that it has reviewed the case and found evidence that White was central to it.

It took 19 years for Norris and Dobson to be found guilty of murdering Lawrence and investigation police investigation said it was “clouded by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership”.

White generally fits the description of the first man who attacked Lawrence and his friend Duane Brookswho was with him on the night of the attack. Brooks said: “This is a stark example of a surviving victim and key witness of a major crime being ignored, and because I was a young black man.

“When it comes to the Met, nothing surprises you anymore.”

Lawrence’s father, Dr Neville Lawrence, said: “They should reopen the case, it should be kept open.

“They absolutely did not want to catch the killers because there are so many mistakes, so many things they should have done and didn’t do.”

“I don’t have an iota of confidence in the Met. Closing the case in 2020 was wrong.”

In 2020 Met declared the murder investigation inactive and said there was no further investigation. At the time, law enforcement said the case would be reviewed every two years and reopened if new leads emerged.

White has been billed by the Met for years as a witness, known only as K, who admitted visiting the home of one of the suspects shortly after the attack.

But doubts about him grew and Clive Driscoll, the detective who successfully brought two of the attackers to justice, believed he was more likely to be the sixth attacker.

White’s stepfather told police the young man was involved in the attack in 1993, but it wasn’t until two decades later that a detective followed up, the BBC reports.

Another witness in 2000 also claimed to have information indicating that White was at the scene of Lawrence’s murder, and evidence showed that his alibi for his whereabouts on the night of the murder was false.

Lawrence’s mother, Doreen Lawrence, said: “What is outrageous about this latest revelation is that the man who is said to have masterminded the murderous attack on my son escaped justice because of police failures and yet no one police officer has not faced and will never face action.

“The failure to properly investigate the prime suspect in the murder case is so serious that it should be met with serious sanctions.”

The force told the BBC that White had been arrested twice for murder, in 2000 and 2013, and that files had been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service in 2005 and 2014. But in both cases, prosecutors said there was no real prospect of a conviction.

The Met said the handling of the approach by White’s relative in 1993 was a “significant and regrettable error”.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said: “Unfortunately, too many mistakes were made during the initial investigation and the consequences continue to be seen.”

The prosecutor’s office is considering the matter prosecute the four original senior officers in the Met’s first homicide investigation for the mistakes it made.

It follows an investigation overseen by the Independent Office Police Conduct, which said in a statement: “The issues that were raised were fully explored as part of our investigation into whether corruption played a role in the original investigation.

“Evidence has been provided to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider whether the four former officers committed a breach of duty in relation to their actions and omissions in the early stages of the investigation into Stephen’s murder in 1993. We are waiting for a decision on recovery.”

The Met said it was carrying out a forensic examination of Lawrence’s case to see if the new techniques could provide new opportunities to prosecute the remaining killers.

Driscoll said the Met should be off the case and new forces brought in to pursue the remaining prime suspects – Luke Knight, Neil and Jamie Akurt, all of whom deny wrongdoing.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “There needs to be a full and independent investigation into everything that went wrong.”