At the end of April, just two months ago, we marked 30 years since the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, who was killed in a racist attack in south-east London in 1993. There was an anniversary memorial service at St Martin-in-the-Fields church and much reflection about how the Metropolitan Police had behaved so poorly and failed the Lawrence family.
The Macpherson report concluded in 1999 that the investigation into the killing had been “marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership”. And yet here we are again in 2023 with more revelations about the case which indicate more unforgivable police failure.
