Stephen Lawrence’s mother Doreen has criticised the Metropolitan Police for failing to recruit ethnic minorities, saying the force still fails to represent her and many Londoners.
She spoke out in advance of a meeting with Met chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe today where she was due to discuss allegations by a former undercover officer that police tried to smear her family after her student son’s murder.
At an awards ceremony last night, she said: “Even today when I look at the police I feel that they don’t represent me. When I look at the police I don’t see a force which reflects me or my needs. I saw a black police officer on a motorbike recently and remember thinking that even today that is unusual. There is such a diverse population in London but many of the institutions don’t represent that and that is something we need to change.”
Mrs Lawrence, speaking after receiving an honour at the Westbourne Change Opinion Awards, told how her work with the 1818 foundation for disadvantaged youngsters was “bittersweet” following her son’s death.
She said: “The first time I helped a group of teenagers succeed in the group, it was a very bittersweet moment for me. I remember being very happy for them but also thinking, ‘I wish that could be my Stephen’.”
The trust encourages teenagers from ethnic minorities to pursue careers in sectors with a low rate of applicants from diverse backgrounds.
Mrs Lawrence met Home Secretary Theresa May yesterday to urge her to hold a full investigation in public into undercover policing. Mrs May told her that all options were open. Sir Bernard, speaking at City Hall yesterday, said he would try to answer some of the 13 questions that Mrs Lawrence’s lawyer Imran Khan has put forward to the force, but said that it is not for him to call for a public inquiry.
He added: “All I have to offer is a police inquiry. Whether or not the Government or Parliament is persuaded by that, I can’t really say any more.”
He said he had asked Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley to carry out a second review of all ongoing undercover operations within the Met and the national domestic extremism unit, which is also run by the force.
Two inquiries are now examining the activities of undercover officers. There is a police investigation led by Derbyshire chief constable Mick Creedon and an inquiry led by QC Mark Ellison into allegations of corruption in the original investigation into Stephen’s murder.
Scotland Yard is said to be braced for further revelations about the Met’s former Special Demonstration Squad which allegedly hunted for information to smear the Lawrence campaign.
