Stephen Lawrence's family to mark 30 years since his death

They will gather in central London today

Author: Adam FawcettPublished 22nd Apr 2023
Last updated 22nd Apr 2023

The family of Stephen Lawrence will gather in Trafalgar Square today to mark 30 years since his death.

The murdered teenager's loved ones will gather for the memorial at St Martin-in-the-Fields church.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is expected to attend alongside the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Yesterday, the Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised for failings in the aftermath of the killing, which led to the force's response to it being branded institutionally racist in the 1999 Macpherson Report.

The Met commissioner said a failure to robustly confront "cultural and systemic" failings, which were exposed by the force's response to the murder, had undermined its ability to fight crime, and he pledged to "finally" make the Met determinedly anti-racist.

The Casey Review into the Metropolitan Police published last month found the force to be institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic in the wake of a series of scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer and Pc David Carrick being unmasked as a serial rapist.

The bungled original Lawrence murder investigation was hampered by racism and alleged police corruption, which meant it took nearly 20 years for two of the 18-year-old's five killers to be brought to justice, with three never prosecuted.

Sir Mark Rowley, the Commissioner, said black people still feel "over-policed and under-protected", with "disproportionalities and systemic biases" in policing continuing.

"This failing has undermined the experience of our increasingly diverse workforce and compromised the trust of Londoners and our ability to protect them from crime.

"We have let black communities down. They feel over-policed and under-protected.

"We are deeply sorry for these failings.

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