A sixth suspect in the Stephen Lawrence murder WAS there, it is claimed today.
Attack survivor Duwayne Brooks insists he could have identified Matthew White – but accuses police of sabotaging the probe. White, now dead, was named last week as a suspect.
Duwayne’s outburst came as he studied a police surveillance photo of White.
During an exclusive interview with us, he accused Met Police officers of “sabotage”. Pointing at the picture, he said: “If they had put him in an ID parade in front of me at the time I would have picked him out 100%.
“There’s no doubt and I’m extremely confident other people at the bus stop would have picked him out and this case would have been solved then.”
Stephen, 18, was stabbed in Eltham, South East London, in April 1993.
Five suspects were in the frame for murder – but Duwayne, who fled for his life, always insisted there were six.
He only became aware of White by name a month ago as part of a BBC probe which aired last week.
Only two men were convicted of murder and a public inquiry into the botched investigation found institutional racism in the Met Police.
Duwayne fears corrupt officers may have protected White. He wants to:
- Head a six-month review into the police’s failings in the case.
- Receive a direct apology from Met Commissioner Mark Rowley.
- Know why the CPS have still not ruled whether four detectives should face criminal charges, two-and-a-half-years after being passed the files.
- Learn why Stephen’s killers were never charged with attacking him.
White escaped justice amid police blunders and missed opportunities, before dying of a drugs overdose in 2021. Duwayne, 48, is convinced rogue officers made White a witness, instead of a suspect, to make sure he was not included in ID parades.
The surveillance photo of White was taken shortly after the murder.
Duwayne told us angrily: “These are the pictures the police took themselves. They had these at the time. I was let down as a victim and a witness. You focus on who’s chasing you and in the beginning you can just see if it’s five or six people.
“I looked at them, but then you focus on the one nearest you and he [White] was the one I focused on.
“He worked as a scaffolder and in my statement I described one of the attackers carrying a bar, like a scaffold pole, which was found.
“I said there were six from the beginning and was baffled there were only five names. There were rumours somebody sent their son to Australia, but nobody knew who that sixth person could have been.
“We now know the police always knew. The description I gave didn’t match the five suspects we got told about, but the police knew it was remarkably similar to this guy. It’s sickening. I believe it was deliberate. Thirty years on it’s impossible for me to say from memory this is the person, but from the e-fit and my description it’s clear it’s the same person. That’s him.
“I did my best as an 18-year-old who had gone through a horrific experience to ensure the right things could have been done if the right people were involved.”
Duwayne also remains mystified that no one was charged with attacking him. He said: “Despite convicting two men with Stephen’s murder, no one from the police or CPS ever explained why they didn’t charge the same individuals with attacking me. Clearly, they didn’t believe I was of any value. My life wasn’t of any value.” The BBC probe included police files and surveillance images linking White, then 22, to the case.
It revealed Jack Severs told police in 1993 that his stepson White admitted being present during the attack. But Mr Severs’ name was recorded wrongly and he was only spoken to in 2013. The probe also found White was arrested twice but not charged. Duwayne said: “I believe the investigation team were corrupt and made decisions they knew would be fatal to the investigation.
“Matthew White was placed in the witness bracket when he should have been a suspect. I took part in three or four ID parades and they brought before me every man and his dog, and cat and rat and mouse and hamster.
“But this guy was never put before me. It was a deliberate act of sabotage. He died without having faced court. It’s disappointing. He should have been brought before a jury.”
David Norris, 46, and Gary Dobson, 47, got life for murder in 2012 after a forensic breakthrough. Three other suspects – Luke Knight, 46, and brothers Neil, 47, and Jamie Acourt, 46 – have not been convicted and deny involvement.
Duwayne believes corrupt officers were influenced by organised criminals. He adds: “These are senior experienced police officers. There’s no way they can look me in my eyes and say ‘it was a genuine mistake’. These are not mistakes.”
Duwayne admitted he has “no hope” of more convictions. He wants to carry out his own review with the help of a 10-strong team, including his lawyer Jane Deighton and ex-Met officers Clive Driscoll and Peter Franklin.
He said: “I want to look at everything. I should be given all the files. Nobody has more credibility than me. It won’t take longer than six months.” Duwayne also wants to know why the Crown Prosecution Service has taken more than two-and-a-half years to decide whether four detectives in the initial inquiry should face charges.
Supporters of the officers claim they are victim of a “politically motivated witch-hunt” and say no evidence of racism or corruption has been proven.
Duwayne said: “Why is it taking so long? It’s delayed, delayed and delayed and then it dies away. It doesn’t take more than a week to decide whether charges are to be brought.”
And of the Met, he said: “I want a public apology from the Commissioner. I feel let down they refuse to apologise to me for the way they treated me.”
Nick Price, for the CPS, said: “This is a complex case, with a substantial amount of evidence and material to consider. It is vital prosecutors review the case carefully and thoroughly.” Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said: “Unfortunately, too many mistakes were made in the initial investigation and the impact of them continues to be seen.
“On the 30th anniversary of Stephen’s murder, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised for our failings and I repeat that apology today.”
A Met Police statement said: “White first came to our attention as a witness in 1993. He was arrested and interviewed in March 2000 and in December 2013 and a file submitted to prosecutors in May 2005 and October 2014.
“On both occasions the CPS advised there was no realistic prospect of conviction of White for any offence.
“In February 2020, White was spoken to again. There was insufficient witness or forensic evidence to progress.”
30 years of pain
APRIL 22, 1993: Stephen is stabbed to death by gang of white youths in Eltham.
APRIL 23: Informant names Neil and Jamie Acourt and David Norris as the killers.
APRIL 24: Two anonymous letters accuse the Acourts, Norris, Gary Dobson and Luke Knight.
MAY, JUNE: Neil Acourt and Knight charged with murder.
JULY 29: CPS drops prosecution of Acourt and Knight after meeting between CPS and senior police officer.
SEPT 1994: Lawrence family begins private prosecution against Neil Acourt, Knight and Dobson.
DEC 1994: Covert police camera films suspects using violent racist language.
APRIL 1996: Murder trial begins. Judge rules out Duwayne’s identification evidence. All three acquitted.
FEB 1997: Inquest concludes Stephen was “unlawfully killed” in a racist attack by five white youths. Daily Mail puts pictures of gang on front page under headline “Murderers”.
JULY 1997: Home Secretary Jack Straw orders judicial inquiry.
FEB 1999: Macpherson Report accuses police of “incompetence, institutional racism and failure of leadership”.
APRIL 2005: Government scraps double jeopardy legal principle, which prevented suspects being tried twice for the same crime.
SPRING 2007: Private forensic science firm LGC
finds Stephen’s blood on Dobson’s jacket.
DEC 2009: Retired constable and police worker arrested for perverting justice by failing to pass information to inquiry.
MAY 2011: Court of Appeal quashes Dobson’s acquittal. Norris and Dobson charged with murder.
JAN 2012: Pair are convicted.
MARCH 2014: Review finds that an undercover Met officer worked within the “Lawrence family camp” – plus reasonable grounds to suspect at least one detective was corrupt.
OCT 2015: National Crime Agency confirms it has been investigating alleged police corruption during the 1993 murder inquiry.
APRIL 2018: At service to mark the 25th anniversary, then PM Theresa May said Stephen Lawrence Day would become an annual national commemoration.
JUNE 2023: Matthew White named as suspect.
