Scotland Yard said detectives have nothing left to pursue unless handed fresh information about the 1993 case of the murder of Stephen Lawrence (pictured)
The investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence will now be shelved unless new leads are found, police confirmed last night.
Scotland Yard said detectives have nothing left to pursue unless handed fresh information about the 1993 case.
They said every possible line of inquiry has been run down and without advances in forensic techniques its work will be placed on hold.
But Chris Le Pere, who leads the inquiry, said he remains hopeful that publicity around the 25th anniversary could yet throw up clues.
A three-part documentary, Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation, examining the murder, the botched first investigation and the repercussions for British policing, will be broadcast on BBC1 next week.
Last night Mr Le Pere said: ‘We understand that 25 years is a poignant anniversary of the tragedy of the murder of Stephen, and our thoughts remain very much with those who loved him, and feel his loss.
‘With the approaching anniversary and airing of a documentary, there is still the opportunity for someone who knows what happened that night to have a conscience and come forward. I would say to you, it is never too late to do the right thing.’
Last week the Daily Mail revealed Stephen’s mother Doreen (pictured) had suggested the inquiry had run its course
Last week the Daily Mail revealed Stephen’s mother Doreen had suggested the inquiry had run its course.
Baroness Lawrence said police should shelve the investigation if they have no more significant leads.
She urged officers to be ‘honest’ about the probe, saying she was conscious it was funded by taxpayers.
Steven’s father Neville said he still hoped someone would come forward. ‘The threat of anything happening to them now isn’t as great as it was in the early days.
‘I’m pleased that they [the police] tried all different options and are still trying after all these years.’
Stephen was stabbed by white thugs at a bus stop in Eltham, South-East London, on April 22, 1993. He was 18. Two of the student’s killers were jailed in 2012, but three others have dodged justice.
Stephen was stabbed by white thugs at a bus stop in Eltham, South-East London (pictured), on April 22, 1993. He was 18
Gary Dobson, now 42, and David Norris, 41, were convicted and jailed for life in 2012 when DNA and fibre evidence linked them to the murder.
The third suspect, 42-year-old Neil Acourt, is behind bars for masterminding a £4million cannabis smuggling ring.
His brother Jamie, 41, who is wanted for his links to drugs crime, is believed be on the run in Spain. The only suspect on British streets is 41-year-old Luke Knight.
In February 1997, after an inquest delivered a verdict of unlawful killing, this newspaper named the five men on its front page with the headline: ‘Murderers.’
Two years later, an inquiry led by Sir William Macpherson accused the Metropolitan Police of institutional racism, professional incompetence and bad leadership.
Pictured: The front page of the Daily Mail on February 14 1997 that accused the five suspects in Stephen Lawrence’s case of killing him
A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed the force is ‘reviewing the status’ of the investigation into Stephen’s killers.
He said: ‘Despite previous public appeals, rigorous pursuit of all remaining lines of inquiry, numerous reviews and every possible advance in forensic techniques, the Met investigation team is now at a stage where without new information the investigation is unlikely to progress further, and this was explained to the family earlier this year.’
The decision is sensitive for Met Commissioner Cressida Dick who has vowed to fight to bring Stephen’s killers to justice ‘as long as I am alive’.
In previous roles she spent 13 years as the most senior detective responsible for the murder investigation.
The blunders made 25 years ago and how Yard fought to put them right
Scotland Yard spent years battling to right the wrongs committed in the first months of the inquiry into Stephen Lawrence’s murder.
More than £50million was spent as seven investigations and countless reviews poured over every possible lead, clue and piece of evidence.
Meanwhile, a landmark public inquiry led to changes in ‘double jeopardy’ laws which barred suspects being tried for the same crime twice.
In the 1993 murder inquiry detectives failed to act quickly on tip-offs made within days identifying the key five suspects. Four days after the stabbing surveillance officers stood by as a young man left the Acourts’ family home carrying clothing covered in a black bin liner.
Over the next six years, police faced a private prosecution, inquest and public inquiry into their failure to bring the men to justice.
Pictured: Murdered London teenager Stephen Lawrence
Two further murder inquiries were launched, however in 2004 prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to put anyone in the dock.
A bold decision two years later to submit every exhibit for a full forensic review by a private firm led to a breakthrough.
In 2007 experts at LGC Forensics began working through 30 items of clothing seized from the homes of the suspects.
The discovery of tiny flakes of Stephen’s blood and fibres from his clothes ultimately led to Gary Dobson and David Norris being arrested in 2011 and charged with his murder. On January 3, 2012, they were found guilty and jailed for life.
Police vowed to continue fighting to bring the remaining three suspects to justice. In 2016 police released CCTV of a man seen close to the murder scene and appealed for help identifying a woman whose bag strap was found nearby.
It led to 30 calls from the public but despite extensive inquiries any new leads came to nothing.