What can the Lawrence family expect from a new inquiry?
Doreen and Neville Lawrence have endured several inquiries into the racist murder of their son and the police handling the case. What can they expect from the latest investigation?
The former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Paul Condon denied authorising undercover officers to target the family of Stephen Lawrence.
However, the peer, who held the top post at Scotland Yard between 1993 and 2000, has backed plans for a wider public inquiry into the activities of police moles.
His comments follow a damning report by barrister Mark Ellison QC which found that an undercover officer operated as a “spy” working in the “Lawrence family camp” during the judicial inquiry led by Sir William Macpherson.
Read more: 'Shocking' findings prompt new police corruption law
Timeline of inquiries
The first public inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence was announced in July 1997, four years after he was stabbed to death while waiting for a bus in south east London.
Then home secretary Jack Straw promised a judicial inquiry chaired by Sir William Macpherson, which would identify lessons for the police on how to deal with racially motivated crimes.
When the Macpherson report was published in 1999 it found the police to be “institutionally racist” and made 70 recommendations for reform.
The Lawrence family registered a formal complaint with the Police Complaints Authority in 1997. In 1999 the officers who worked on the case were cleared of racism allegations.
One officer was ordered to face disciplinary charges for neglect of duty and four other officers retired before the inquiry concluded.
‘Complacent’ authorities
In 2006 the Independent Police Complaints Commission announced the Metropolitan Police had been asked to look into claims of police corruption that may have aided the killers of Stephen Lawrence.
In June a cold case review was initiated involving a full examination of the forensic evidence, and the following year police confirmed they were looking into new scientific evidence.
In 2009 a report from a member of the Macpherson inquiry panel, Dr Richard Stone, reported the police were making progress in reforming, but claims of racism remained.
Doreen Lawrence responded by saying authorities were “complacent” and that little had changed since Stephen’s death.
In November 2011 a trial against Gary Dobson and David Norris began at the Old Bailey, where the jury was presented with new DNA evidence found during the cold case review. Both were found guilty of murder in January 2012 and given life sentences.
In June 2013 David Cameron called for an immediate investigation into claims of police seeking “disinformation” to smear the Lawrence family after a Dispatches investigation into undercover policing.
Read more: 'Shock' over smear claims in Stephen Lawrence inquiry
Mr Ellison’s report found that one of the officers in the original investigation into the murder, Detective John Davidson, may have acted corruptly.
It was claimed he had links to Clifford Norris, the father of David Norris, one of the two men finally convicted of the teenager’s racist murder.
Lord Condon has stated: “I always wished the Macpherson inquiry to have full access to all relevant information and documents held by the MPS, and was dismayed and saddened to read the findings about the alleged withholding of information.”