New suspect in Stephen Lawrence case named for first time
A major suspect in the Stephen Lawrence murder has been named for the first time following an investigation.
The Met have responded to a BBC investigation naming Matthew White as a suspect in the racist attack that killed the 18-year-old in Well Hall Road, Eltham in April 1993.
Mr White died in 2021, aged 50. He first came to the police as a witness in 1993 and was later arrested and interviewed in March 2000, and again in December 2013.
In 2011, Mr White was named publicly for the first time at the trial of David Norris and Gary Dobson, who were given life sentences for the murder in 2012, but only as a witness.
The Met passed all evidence on Mr White to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in May 2005 and October 2014, who advised there was no realistic prospect of a conviction.
The BBC has reported that the Met seriously mishandled key inquiries related to him.
Today, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said: “On the 30th anniversary of Stephen’s murder, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised for our failings and I repeat that apology today.”
In May 1993, Mr White told officers he visited the home address of two other suspects on the night of Stephen Lawrence’s murder.
He was again seen by officers when he refused to attend the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. In November 1999, during the post-inquiry investigation, Mr White was re-interviewed.
Between March and April 2000, Mr White was arrested and interviewed following new information the police had from a new witness. He denied any involvement in the murder.
In May 2005, prosecutors advised that there was no realistic prospect of conviction of Mr White for any offence.
The BBC investigation has found evidence of Mr White’s central role in the case. Initially he was given the alias Witness K, despite never really co-operating with police.
The report shows witnesses had said Mr White told them he had been present during the attack, that evidence showed his alibi was false, and that police surveillance photos of him showed a resemblance to eyewitness accounts of an unidentified fair-haired attacker.
A relative of Mr White also tried to speak to the Met after the murder, but wrong information was entered into the police database and the lead was not pursued.
When eventually traced by police 20 years later, the relative said Mr White had admitted being present during the attack.
A Met spokesman described this as a “significant and regrettable error”.
In 2020, the Met declared the murder investigation inactive and said there were no further lines of inquiry.
In May 2023, the Met commissioned a routine forensic review of key exhibits to consider whether new scientific processes could advance the case.
Pictured top: Stephen Lawrence (Picture: PA)
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