Feel free to heap scorn and derision on the Met. No doubt they were focused on completely the wrong suspects and kept the case open for as long as they could to keep officers in employment and to save face, not to mention wasting millions of pounds on one case, when there are loads of other murdered children whose cases never got nearly as much money spent on them blah blah blah
Stephen Lawrence: Met police close murder investigation after 27 years
In 2012 Gary Dobson and David Norris were jailed for life after being found guilty of being part of the gang of white youths who fatally stabbed Stephen, 18, in an unprovoked attack as he waited at a bus stop in April 1993.
She said: “This was an appalling racist murder and I am sad that we have been unable to secure further convictions for Stephen, his family and friends.
“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.
“The investigation into Stephen’s murder will also be periodically reviewed for any further investigative opportunities which may arise, for example with advances in technology.”
She added: “ “We were able to secure two convictions following a determined investigation in 2012 but it is well known that other suspects were also involved in the events which unfolded that night and it is deeply frustrating that we have been unable to bring them to justice.”
In 2018, on the 25th anniversary of the murder, the Met said that the investigation was unlikely to proceed without new information. At that time Stephen’s mother, Baroness Lawrence, suggested that police should close the murder inquiry if there was no hope. His father Neville Lawrence said he hoped the family could get “total justice” and would never give up.
Sponsored
The force has been trying to bring the remaining suspects to justice since a new phase in the inquiry began in 2014. It involved more than 240 new witness statements and a mass screening of over 360 women to identify a female DNA profile from a bag strap discarded at the scene of the murder.
A public appeal for information in September 2016 to identify the woman, along with two other potential male witnesses, generated more than 40 lines of inquiry. Ultimately however officers were unable to trace the trio.
The case will now be managed by officers within the Special Casework Team, Central Specialist Crime, and any new information will be fully reviewed.
The original investigation into Stephen’s death was hampered by incompetence, racism and claims of police corruption surrounding Norris's father Clifford and his links to the criminal underworld.
In April 1994 the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution, and in September that year Mr Lawrence's parents unsuccessfully attempted their own private prosecution against Dobson, Knight and Neil Acourt.
Five years later the Macpherson report, produced after a public inquiry into the case, found the Metropolitan Police guilty of institutional racism and made a series of recommendations on changes to policing and wider public policy.
Today there are still ongoing inquiries linked to the case, including an investigation by the National Crime Agency and the Independent Office for Police Conduct into alleged corruption.
That case will also inform part of the public inquiry into undercover policing that is due to start next year, after it was revealed in 2013 that a police mole infiltrated a campaign group supporting the Lawrence family's fight for justice.
Dame Cressida paid tribute to Mr Lawrence's parents for their tireless campaign for justice for their son, with the family waiting nearly 20 years before two of his killers were finally jailed.
Dame Cressida said: “As a result of ceaseless campaigning for justice by Stephen’s parents, profound changes have happened in policing, the law and wider society.
“I pay tribute to them for their courage and achievements.
“And today my thoughts are with them and all Stephen’s loved ones.”
