After Lawrence ‘smear’ claims, 13 questions for the Met

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe is to meet Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered schoolboy Stephen Lawrence on Friday, writes Channel 4 News Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Israel.

It follows a letter from her in which she lists 13 questions arising out of allegations made by former undercover officer Peter Francis on Monday’s Channel 4 Dispatches programme.

Independent investigation

Earlier on Thursday, in a face to face meeting with Home Secretary Theresa May, Doreen Lawrence called for a public inquiry into claims that the Met attempted a smear campaign against the family following the 1993 murder.

After a 45-minute meeting, Mrs Lawrence emerged from the Home Office to say she didn’t trust the police and only an independent investigation would do.

“The fact that this family has had to go through another revelation, how many more are there? We’ve no idea, but I think unless we have a public inquiry that goes through the whole thing we’ll never get to the bottom of this.”

Confidence knocked

I felt a sense of déjà vu standing outside the Home Office.

13 years ago I was doing the same thing when Mr and Mrs Lawrence walked into the Home Office to see the then home secretary, Jack Straw, to ask for the same thing. Then, in 1997, they got what they wanted – the Macpherson inquiry – but today they feel it wasn’t enough.

Theresa May was non-committal today. She’s awaiting the findings from a legal team she appointed to look at alleged police corruption aspects of the case, but which has now turned its attention on the smear allegations against both the family and Stephen’s friend Duwayne Brookes.

That team met with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan Howe this afternoon to discuss progress and resources.

The commissioner said today he recognised people’s confidence in his force has been knocked. “The overall impact is profoundly damaging,” he said.