Official: Police corruption in Lawrence murder case

Until now, the Metropolitan police shamefully hid the true extent of police corruption which involved the lead Detective John Davidson who was investigating the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

But an investigation by The Independent newspaper has uncovered that Met Police chiefs had detailed information which suggested Detective Sergeant John Davidson was involved in large-scale corruption and illegal activity, including stealing Class A drugs from a drug dealer. Their findings also claim that a former Police officer turned super-grass informed them that Davidson had told him he gave vital assistance to Clifford Norris, a known underworld criminal and father of one of Stephen's murderers, David Norris, to help his son avoid conviction. This, the super-grass pointed out, enabled Davidson to receive ‘a nice little earner’.

It was the Lawrence family’s gross misfortune to have a ‘ bent copper’ leading the investigation into their son’s death. This was exacerbated by police chiefs who undermined the family’s Private prosecution and the subsequent Stephen Lawrence Public inquiry by holding back crucial information from the public domain. Significantly, at the time of the Lawrence Inquiry, it concluded that, in the handling of the murder inquiry the Met were ‘incompetent in their investigation but not corrupt’. The Met were acutely aware that this was not the case.

As for John Davidson, he retired early and, like many of his elk, he retired to Spain to run a bar, still pleading his innocence.

What most people suspected at the time but could not prove clearly occurred: Police corruption at a very senior level blighted the investigation of the Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry. What is equally disturbing is how our law enforcement chiefs conspired to conceal the truth to avoid reputational damage. The question therefore, arises, how are we supposed to have faith in what the Metropolitan Police tells us is the truth?

Simon Woolley