Prime Minister David Cameron said the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence 20 years ago sparked “monumental change” in British society, ahead of a memorial service on Monday to mark the teenager’s death.
Lawrence, 18, was stabbed to death near a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London on April 22, 1993 by a gang who had shouted racist abuse.
Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty of the murder January 2012 and are both serving long prison sentences, bringing some closure to a long-running case which the judge said had “scarred the conscience of the nation”.
The case sparked an overhaul of the police after a damning report in 1999 found the original investigation was hampered by “institutional racism”, and is viewed as a milestone in race relations across Britain.
Despite the convictions, police still describe the probe into Stephen’s death as “live” and have said they will follow any new leads that emerge.
Cameron praised the tireless efforts of the teenager’s family in their campaign for justice, but acknowledged “more still needs to be done”.
“The senseless killing of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 was a tragedy,” Cameron said.
“It was also a moment that sparked monumental change in our society — change that has been brought about by the tireless efforts of Stephen’s family in challenging the police, government and society to examine themselves and ask difficult questions.
“I believe that many of those questions have been answered: from improved community relations to more accountability in policing. Much has been achieved, but we know that more still needs to be done. We owe this to the memory of Stephen.”
Stephen’s mother Doreen will be joined by friends and relatives at the memorial service at St Martin-in-the-Fields church near Trafalgar Square in central London, while Stephen’s father Neville has chosen to remember his son privately at his graveside in Jamaica.
A number of high-profile supporters of the charitable trust that she set up in her son’s name are also expected to attend as well as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.
A poster was put up in New Scotland Yard on Monday featuring a personal message from Hogan-Howe about the investigation.
It reads: “Twenty years ago the Lawrence family lost their loved son, Stephen. We let them down by not catching his murderers. Then last year we finally brought two of his killers to justice. The Met won’t forget Stephen Lawrence.”
Doreen Lawrence believes others responsible for killing her son are still at large.
“Just having two of them caught will never be enough,” she told the Daily Mirror. “If there were five within the group that killed Stephen, all of them need to be behind bars.”
The detective leading the investigation has said that his team will follow any leads that come up.
Detective Chief Inspector Clive Driscoll said: “It’s a live investigation. All avenues of the investigation will be left open and we will revisit them whenever we feel we have to. You never close your mind to anything.
“We will endeavour to follow all the leads that we can.”
Stephen Lawrence death remembered 20 years on
