Second British inquiry ordered into Stephen Lawrence police after 'profoundly shocking' revelations
Minister describes claim that undercover officer spied on victim's family as 'profoundly shocking'
Two decades after the racist murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence shook Britain, the government yesterday ordered a second inquiry into the role of the police after "profoundly shocking" new revelations.
The Macpherson Inquiry in 1999 found the police investigation into Lawrence's murder six years earlier was seriously flawed and marred by "institutional racism", a finding viewed as a watershed moment in British race relations.
But a fresh review has now revealed further concerns about the police's actions, including their use of undercover officers to spy on the Lawrence family as they campaigned for justice.
It found London's Metropolitan Police had an agent working close to the Lawrence family who passed information to officers compiling the police submission to the Macpherson Inquiry.
The government-commissioned review by leading lawyer Mark Ellison also found evidence to suggest that one of the officers involved in investigating Lawrence's murder was corrupt.
But Ellison said he was unable to confirm or deny claims made by one undercover policeman that he had been tasked to find intelligence to "smear" the Lawrence family after the murder.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Home Secretary Theresa May said the findings were "profoundly shocking" and announced a judge-led public inquiry into the work of undercover police.