Doreen Lawrence: Stephen’s story ‘as important and relevant as ever’
Doreen Lawrence has said her son Stephen’s “story remains as important and relevant as ever”, at a central London memorial service to mark the 30th anniversary of the teenager’s killing.
The murder victim’s family gathered for the anniversary at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square on Saturday, with the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also in attendance.
Lady Lawrence said she was “filled with immense pride to witness all that has been achieved in his name”.
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“From launching education initiatives to opening up career pathways and inspiring community engagement, Stephen’s legacy has touched countless young lives and moved us closer towards a more just and equitable society,” she said in a statement.
“Yet, we must also acknowledge the work still to be done. Inequality persists, and our mission to create a world free from discrimination continues.”
She said: “We will ensure that Stephen’s legacy endures, inspiring change and uniting us in the pursuit of justice and equity for all.”
The anniversary comes after the Metropolitan police commissioner, Mark Rowley, apologised for failings in the aftermath of the killing. The force’s response to the investigation was branded institutionally racist in the 1999 Macpherson report.
Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death on 22 April 1993 in an unprovoked, racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Eltham, south-east London. He was set upon by a gang of white youths shouting racial slurs and brandishing weapons.
The bungled original investigation – hampered by racism and alleged police corruption – meant it took nearly two decades for two of the 18-year-old’s five killers to be brought to justice, with three never prosecuted.
Starmer was the director of public prosecutions when two of Lawrence’s killers were brought to justice. On Saturday, he made a short speech and read a poem by Maya Angelou at the request of Doreen, a Labour peer.
He told the memorial that “contrasted against the very worst side of Britain, Stephen represented the best”, as he lamented the loss of “a life which shone with the light of potential”.
Speaking outside the church, Khan repeated his assertion that the Metropolitan olice Service remained “institutionally racist”.
He said: “It’s 30 years since Stephen Lawrence was brutally murdered; I remember it well as a south Londoner. For those of us who are people of colour, it had a ripple effect on us, ripples of hate but also the appalling way that the family was let down by the Met police service, by the media and by some politicians.
“Thirty years on, we’ve not made the progress we’d hope to have made. It’s really important that we recognise that 30 years on, Dame Louise Casey has found the Met police to still be institutionally racist; we can’t ignore that or equivocate on that, we’ve got to make progress.”
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The Casey review into the Met, published last month, found the force to be institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic, in the wake of a series of scandals.
Jessica Neil, the chief executive of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation, said the anniversary was “an incredibly difficult time” for Lawrence’s loved ones but said she was “feeling hopeful for the next 30 years”. She said the teenager’s legacy was one of “hope and change”.
“He was an ordinary young man who’s life and death has inspired extraordinary change in the fabric of British society and so his legacy is one of hope and change and inspiring other young people like him to fulfil the breadth and depth of their potential,” she said.