David Norris, one of Stephen Lawrence’s killers, will stay in prison after the Parole Board rejected his bid for release.
The 49-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years and three months in January 2012, almost 20 years after Stephen was stabbed to death in a racist attack.
Gary Dobson was also found guilty and jailed after the trial at the Old Bailey, but the rest of the gang of up to six youths involved have never been brought to justice.
Norris spoke publicly for the first time about his role in the attack on Stephen and his friend Duwayne Brooks as they waited for a bus in Eltham, southeast London, on 22 April 1993, at a parole hearing earlier this month.
Stephen Lawrence. Pic: PA
He told Stephen’s family he was “deeply sorry” after he punched Stephen in the back of his head while he was crouched on the ground on his knees.
But Norris, who was 16 at the time, refused to name the rest of the gang, including the member he saw holding a 22cm-long knife after the murder, claiming he feared for his family’s safety.
The other suspects, brothers Jamie and Neil Acourt, were later jailed for unrelated drug offences, while Luke Knight has remained free.
They have previously denied being involved in the attack on Stephen, while Matthew White was not named as a suspect until after his death in 2021.
Baroness Doreen Lawrence. Pic: PA
Stephen’s mother Baroness Doreen Lawrence, 72, called Norris a “coward” and a “liar” after the two-day hearing, which was live-streamed from his prison to the Royal Courts of Justice.
Norris said he was no longer the “16-year-old horrible violent racist” and told Stephen’s family “I’m so sorry and please forgive me”.
He was moved back up to a category B prison after he was caught with two mobile phones and a screwdriver in his cell in 2022.
The hearing was told he has used racist language, including calling a female prison officer the N-word in October 2023, and was involved in “grooming” a vulnerable young prisoner to join the English Defence League.
(left to right) David Norris, Jamie Acourt and Luke Knight leave the 1998 public inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence
Norris said he first confessed to being involved in the murder to a Catholic priest in 2018, but Stephen’s family only found out earlier this year as part of the decision that his parole hearing should be held in public.
Baroness Lawrence said it was “deeply shocking” that the police and authorities had known for years and said the Metropolitan Police “now have no excuse not to act”.
The force closed its investigation in 2020 but the College of Policing has since launched a review of the force’s handling of the case, following allegations of racism, incompetence and corruption.
The Met said they remain “committed to achieving the arrest, prosecution and conviction of all of those responsible for Stephen’s murder”.
In a 40-page document rejecting Norris’s application for release from prison, the Parole Board panel said it was not satisfied there is “no more than a minimal risk” of Norris “committing a further offence that would cause serious harm”.
“It therefore continues to be necessary for the protection of the public that he remains confined. Consequently, his release is not directed,” it said.
The panel also said Norris should not be moved to an open prison because of “concerns about his behaviour” and “the lack of consolidation of the work to address the key risk factor of his racist attitudes of beliefs”.
