The Metropolitan police have named a major new suspect in the Stephen Lawrence murder, admitting too many mistakes were made in the initial investigation.
Matthew White, who died in 2021 aged 50, was named after a BBC investigation into the killing of the black teenager, who was murdered in a racist attack in south-east London in April 1993.
The BBC reported that five prime suspects became widely known after the murder, but the public inquiry said there were “five or six” attackers.
In 2011, White was named publicly for the first time at the trial of David Norris and Gary Dobson, who were given life sentences for the murder in 2012, but only as a witness.
It took 19 years for Norris and Dobson to be convicted of Lawrence’s murder and an inquiry into the police investigation said it had been “marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership”.
The BBC says it re-examined the case and found evidence that White was central to the case.
The BBC’s inquiry found that witnesses had said White told them he had been present during the attack on Lawrence, evidence showed his alibi was false and police surveillance photos of White showed a resemblance to witness accounts of an unidentified fair-haired attacker.
A statement given to the BBC from Scotland Yard said that “unfortunately, too many mistakes were made in the initial investigation … the impact of them continues to be seen”.
Dr Neville Lawrence, Stephen’s father, said any further police inquiry should be conducted by another force. “They must be able to find a decent police force who could investigate,” he told the BBC.
Stephen’s mother, Doreen Lawrence, told the BBC that police officers who failed to investigate White should face serious consequences. “Only when police officers lose their jobs can the public have confidence that failure and incompetence will not be tolerated and that change will happen,” said Lady Lawrence.
The BBC investigation reportedly found that a relative of White tried to speak to the Met after the murder but the lead was not pursued. When the relative did speak to police, 20 years later, they said White had admitted being present during the attack.
Another witness reportedly told police in 2000 that White had admitted being part of the attack.
The Met said the handling of the approach by White’s relative in 1993 was “a significant and regrettable error”.
The force told the BBC that White was arrested twice over the murder, in 2000 and 2013, and that files were sent to the Crown Prosecution Service in 2005 and 2014. But on both occasions prosecutors said there was no realistic prospect of conviction.
In 2020, the Metropolitan police declared the murder investigation inactive and said there were no further lines of inquiry. At the time, the Met said the case would be reviewed every two years and it would be reopened if new leads were to emerge.
