Met’s handling of new evidence about Stephen Lawrence case to be reviewed

A separate police force will report on failures relating to sixth murder suspect, Matthew White, who was never prosecuted

An independent police force will review the Metropolitan police’s handling of new evidence relating to the murder of Stephen Lawrence 30 years after his death, the mayor of London has said.

It comes after the Met commissioner, Mark Rowley, apologised to Stephen’s mother, Doreen Lawrence, for not fulfilling a promise to answer questions stemming from a BBC investigation into the murder of the 18-year-old in 1993.

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Labour’s proposals unlikely to be enough to end race disparities

Voters will welcome announcement of what party’s reforms will look like but structural inequalities run deep

While Britain was still struggling through the Covid pandemic in autumn 2020, Keir Starmer announced that Labour would bring in a race relations act if it came to power.

His promise was driven by concern about the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus crisis on minority ethnic communities, confirmed in a report from Doreen Lawrence, the Labour peer and mother of the murdered black teenager Stephen.

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Amid the Prince Harry circus lies a court battle with the highest stakes

The Daily Mail’s owner, the prince and Elton John could be on the road to one of the biggest media trials in British history

When the Duke of Sussex unexpectedly arrived at the high court on Monday morning he became the most senior royal to appear in a courtroom since Princess Anne admitted being in charge of an English bull terrier that was dangerously out of control in a public space.

Prince Harry was there to allege that Associated Newspapers, the parent company of the Daily Mail, was similarly out of control.

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Daily Mail seeks to delay court allegations of high-profile breaches of privacy

Lawyers for group including Prince Harry, Doreen Lawrence and Elton John filed claims two months ago

The Daily Mail has sought to delay the publication of potentially damaging court allegations about its journalism made by Prince Harry, Doreen Lawrence, Elton John and others.

Lawyers acting for the group of high-profile individuals claim they have “compelling and highly distressing evidence” they have been the “victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy” by Associated Newspapers over many years.

The hiring of private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside people’s cars and homes.

The commissioning of individuals to surreptitiously listen in to, and record, people’s live, private telephone calls while they were taking place.

The payment of police officials, with allegedly corrupt links to private investigators, for sensitive inside information.

The impersonation of individuals to obtain medical information from private hospitals, clinics, and treatment centres by deception.

The accessing of bank accounts, credit histories and financial transactions through illicit means and manipulation.

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More than half of UK’s black children live in poverty, analysis shows

Exclusive: Labour party research also finds black children at least twice as likely to grow up poor as white children

More than half of black children in the UK are now growing up in poverty, a new analysis of official data has revealed.

Black children are also now more than twice as likely to be growing up poor as white children, according to the Labour party research, which was based on government figures for households that have a “relative low income” – defined as being below 60% of the median, the standard definition for poverty.

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Doreen Lawrence says No 10 report gives ‘racists the green light’

Exclusive: Mother of murdered teenager says Sewell report has pushed fight against racism back 20 years or more

Doreen Lawrence, who campaigned for 18 years for justice after her son Stephen was murdered by racists, has said a government-commissioned report that claimed the UK no longer had a system rigged against minorities could allow racism to flourish.

“My son was murdered because of racism and you cannot forget that. Once you start covering it up it is giving the green light to racists. You imagine what’s going to happen come tomorrow. What’s going to happen on our streets with our young people? You are giving racists the green light,” Lady Lawrence said.

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Met closure of Stephen Lawrence case will deny his family justice

Convicting all the suspects would also have offered the police a measure of redemption

​Convicting all of the suspects in the racist gang of five or six people that killed Stephen Lawrence would have delivered justice for his family, and some measure of redemption for the Metropolitan police. Scotland Yard’s decision to close the case means neither will get what they longed for.

For Doreen and Neville Lawrence the loss of their first child, Stephen, was a personal catastrophe that over the years turned into a symbolic case for the nation, and remains so.

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