Stephen Lawrence BBC documentary: All you need to know

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Ahead of the BBC documentary on Stephen Lawrence’s death, his mother Baroness Doreen Lawrence has asked for the police inquiry into her son’s murder to be closed after 25 years.

Doreen Lawrence, conscious that the probe is being paid for by taxpayers, has urged officers to be ‘honest’ about the investigation into Britain’s most notorious race murder.

Scotland Yard have spent more than £50 million trying to find all the suspects, but three of the five have managed to dodge justice after Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty of murder and jailed for life in 2012.

The BBC documentary will look into Stephen Lawrence's death, 25 years after his murder

After being briefed on the developments, Doreen revealed she does not believe the Met have any more lines of inquiry.

'They say they’re carrying on the investigation, but carrying on doing what? If they’ve come to the end they should be honest, say they’ve come to an end and stop. I think they’re carrying on pretending everything’s fine because they don’t want to hear what I’ll say if it is stopped.'

A new BBC documentary will look into his death and will mark the 25th anniversary of his murder. But when is Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation on?

Who was Stephen Lawrence?

Born on September 13, 1974 in south east London to Neville and Doreen Lawrence, Stephen had two younger siblings, Stuart and Georgina and grew up in Plumstead.

A bright student, Stephen developed an interest in drawing and decided to become an architect at the age of seven. His interest in design resulted in Stephen setting up a business with a friend selling t-shirts, caps and jackets of famous people.

Stephen was an extra alongside Denzel Washington in For Queen and Country and at the time of his death, was studying A-Levels in English, craft, design and technology and physics.

He is buried near Kingston, Jamaica in the Clarendon Parish next to his great grandmother.

What happened to Stephen Lawrence?

Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack on April 22, 1993 by a gang of white youths while he waited for a bus in Eltham with his friend, Duwayne Brooks, according to the BBC. 

A day after Stephen was killed, a letter with names of the suspects was left in a telephone box and police began surveillance on their homes soon after. The suspects named were Neil Acourt, Dave Norris, Jamie Acourt and Gary Dobson.

From May to June 1993, following a press conference held by the Lawrence family, the suspects listed on the note, as well as another named Luke Knight, were arrested and their homes subsequently searched.

Stephen's friend and witness to the crime, Duwayne Brooks, identified Neil Acourt and Luke Knight at ID parades of the gang responsible and they were charged with murder. They denied the charges.  

However, in July the CPS dropped the prosecution, stating that the ID from Duwayne Brooks was unreliable. Southwark coroner, Sir Montague Levine, went on to halt the inquest after the family's barrister, Michael Mansfield CC, said there was new evidence. 

The CPS refused to prosecute because of this and said that there was 'insufficient evidence to bring charges based on the new evidence, which was believed to be the identification of further suspects'.   

Doreen and Neville launched a private investigation against Gary Dobson, Luke Knight and Neil Acourt, but they all denied the charges. A few months later, police surveillance caught the suspects using strong racist and violent language.

After the private prosecution failed, the murder trial began on April 18 to April 25 1996, but all three were acquitted after Mr Justice Curtis ruled that the identification evidence that Duwayne Brooks provided was unreliable.

The inquest resumed in February 1997, but the suspects refused to answer questions and a verdict of unlawful killing ‘in a completely unprovoked racist attack by five youths’ was given by Sir Montague Levine.

On February 14 1997, the Daily Mail used its front page to name the five suspects and dared them to sue if the statements were wrong. A month later, a probe was launched by the Kent Constabulary which found that there were ‘significant weaknesses’ in police conduct during the investigation.

While the five suspects were asked to provide evidence or face prosecution, a public inquiry was opened and the Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon was forced to apologise and admit to failures. Notably, in 1999, the Macpherson report was published, accusing the Met of institutional racism.

In 2002, both David Norris and Neil Acourt were jailed for 18 months after an attack on a black police officer and three years later, the UK government dropped the double jeopardy law, which means that suspects can now be tried twice for the same crime.

Doreen (pictured) launched a private investigation against the suspects but all denied charges

In 2008, a £10 million architecture centre was opened in honour of Stephen by his mother, but was later vandalised in a suspected racist attack. 

Soon after this, Gary Dobson was jailed for supplying a class B drug and in 2011, he and David Norris faced trial over Stephen’s murder after forensic evidence was reviewed. Stephen’s DNA was found on both the defendants’ clothes, and they were both found guilty of his murder and received life sentences.

In 2014, the then-Home Secretary Theresa May announced a public inquiry looking into undercover policing after claims emerged that the police had attempted to smear the Lawrence family.

When is Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation on?

Stephen: A Murder That Changed a Nation will air on BBC One in three parts, the first being shown on Tuesday, April 17 2018 at 9pm and will mark the 25th anniversary of his murder.