BRITISH police today said they had no further lines of inquiry to pursue in the 1993 murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, viewed as a watershed moment in British race relations.

The investigation into the 18-year-old’s murder will be moved to an “inactive phase”, Metropolitan Police chief Cressida Dick announced today.

Lawrence was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths at a London bus stop on April 22, 1993. 

Five suspects were arrested within days, but state prosecutors concluded that there was insufficient evidence to progress with murder charges against any of them.

Two of the men, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were finally convicted in January 2012 on the basis of new forensic evidence and sent to jail for a minimum of 15 and 14 years respectively.

“We secured two convictions but (it is) well known that other suspects were also involved – it is deeply frustrating that we have been unable to bring them to justice,” Scotland Yard said in a statement.

“This was an appalling racist murder and I am sad that we have been unable to secure further convictions for Stephen, his family and friends,” added Dick. 

“I have given Stephen’s family the assurance that we will continue to deal with any new information.

“As a result of ceaseless campaigning for justice by Stephen’s parents, profound changes have happened in policing, the law and wider society.” 

Two of the three remaining suspects, brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, have since spent time in jail time for drug dealing, while Luke Knight has remained free.

The Macpherson inquiry in 1999 found the police investigation into Lawrence’s murder six years earlier was seriously flawed and marred by “institutional racism”. – AFP, August 11, 2020.