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| Murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence had ambitions to become an architect when he was set upon by five white youths at a bus stop in Eltham, southeast London, in what an inquest ruled was an unprovoked racist attack (AFP Photo) |
London (AFP) - Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle attended a memorial on Monday marking the 25th anniversary of the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in a killing that triggered far-reaching changes to British attitudes and policing.
The couple
joined Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence, who campaigned tirelessly for justice
after her son was brutally stabbed to death at a bus stop on April 22, 1993.
Prime
Minister Theresa May also attended the service in London, telling the
congregation that April 22 will now be known as Stephen Lawrence Day.
"For
the past 25 years, Doreen and (her husband) Neville have fought heroically to
ensure that their son's life and death will never be forgotten. Their dignity,
their courage and their sheer determination are an inspiration to us all,"
she said.
Five
suspects were arrested within days of the murder but failures in the police
probe into the 18-year-old's killing meant it was not until 2012 that two of
them were jailed, after new evidence came to light.
The case
drew the interest of anti-apartheid icon and Nobel peace laureate Nelson
Mandela, who met the Lawrence family a fortnight after Stephen died, telling
them: "It seems black lives are cheap."
A public
inquiry in 1999 found the initial police investigation was marred by
incompetence, a failure of leadership and "institutional racism".
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Britain's
Prince Harry and his US fiancee Meghan Markle
join commemorations for the 25th
anniversary of the murder
of black teenager Stephen Lawrence (AFP
Photo/Victoria Jones)
|
It led to
an overhaul of policing in Britain, with London police chief Cressida Dick this
weekend noting the "huge and positive change" enacted.
But Jon
Boutcher, a senior officer who leads on race issues for the National Police
Chiefs' Council, warned that concerns remained in some communities.
"Because
of the legacy of the past, we must accept some still view policing as
institutionally racist and we need to work doubly hard to gain trust," he
said.
It has
since emerged that the police also sent an undercover officer to spy on the
grieving Lawrence family in the late 1990s as they campaigned for justice.
The
National Crime Agency (NCA) meanwhile is still investigating allegations of
corruption in the case.
Father
forgives
Harry, who
is due to marry mixed-race TV star Markle on May 19, will read out a message of
support on behalf of his father Prince Charles at the memorial at St Martin-in-the-Fields
Church in central London.
Stephen had
ambitions to become an architect when he was set upon by five white youths at a
bus stop in southeast London in what an inquest ruled was an unprovoked racist
attack.
 |
British
Prime Minister Theresa May speaks with Doreen Lawrence, mother
of Stephen
Lawrence, who was murdered in 1993 (AFP Photo/Victoria Jones)
|
Despite the
early arrests, state prosecutors initially concluded there was insufficient
evidence to progress with murder charges against any of the five suspects.
Two of
them, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were finally convicted in January 2012 on
the basis of new forensic evidence and jailed for 15 and 14 years respectively.
Neville
Lawrence, who split with his wife after the murder and returned to his home
country of Jamaica, said earlier this month that he has now forgiven the men
who killed his son.
"I
have justice and I have freedom from the burden that I have carried for so many
years, through forgiveness," he said.
Doreen
Lawrence, who set up a youth charity in her son's name and was in 2013
appointed to the House of Lords, has also said that it is now time to move on.
"Twenty-five
years is a long time to be out campaigning," she told ITV television,
adding that she would like to spend more time "on positive things",
including her grandchildren.
"For
me, I've not really lived my life in the way that I would have liked to. I'm
always being asked to do something. Now I think, enough."
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