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| Stephen Lawrence trial: David Norris denies being there | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Murder suspect David Norris has told the Old Bailey he cannot remember where he was when Stephen Lawrence died but he was not involved in the killing. | Murder suspect David Norris has told the Old Bailey he cannot remember where he was when Stephen Lawrence died but he was not involved in the killing. |
| Mr Norris said he was an "innocent man" and had not been in Eltham, south London, where Mr Lawrence was killed. | Mr Norris said he was an "innocent man" and had not been in Eltham, south London, where Mr Lawrence was killed. |
| Later his mother Theresa Norris was accused of inventing a false alibi by saying he was at home on the night Mr Lawrence died - a claim she denied. | |
| Mr Norris, 35, and Gary Dobson, 36, deny murdering 18-year-old Mr Lawrence. | |
| The black teenager was stabbed after he was set upon by a group of white youths in April 1993. | |
| During questioning by prosecutor Mark Ellison QC, Mr Norris was repeatedly asked what he had been doing on the night the teenager died. | During questioning by prosecutor Mark Ellison QC, Mr Norris was repeatedly asked what he had been doing on the night the teenager died. |
| The defendant said he had not been in the area where the stabbing took place. | The defendant said he had not been in the area where the stabbing took place. |
| He said: "You are accusing me of murder. I am an innocent man." | He said: "You are accusing me of murder. I am an innocent man." |
| Mr Ellison asked Mr Norris how he knew he had not been in Eltham. | Mr Ellison asked Mr Norris how he knew he had not been in Eltham. |
| "Because I am innocent," replied Mr Norris, who was 16 when Mr Lawrence died. | "Because I am innocent," replied Mr Norris, who was 16 when Mr Lawrence died. |
| His mother said her son had had a curfew and would have been at home when Mr Lawrence was killed. | |
| The year after Mr Lawrence's death, Mr Norris was caught on a police surveillance video, shot over several days, which shows the two defendants interacting with various friends and acquaintances. | The year after Mr Lawrence's death, Mr Norris was caught on a police surveillance video, shot over several days, which shows the two defendants interacting with various friends and acquaintances. |
| Mr Norris told the jury: "I apologise for what you've had to listen to in the courtroom." | Mr Norris told the jury: "I apologise for what you've had to listen to in the courtroom." |
| Extracts of the surveillance footage, shot at Mr Dobson's flat in Eltham, were played in court again. | Extracts of the surveillance footage, shot at Mr Dobson's flat in Eltham, were played in court again. |
| He said he was "ashamed" of secretly recorded comments made in 1994 in which he said he would torture black people. | |
| Mr Norris was captured using extreme racist language to describe how he would kill black people, people of Pakistani origin and police officers. | |
| Later, he went on: "I would go down Catford and places like that I am telling you now, with two sub machine guns." | Later, he went on: "I would go down Catford and places like that I am telling you now, with two sub machine guns." |
| Using the same racist language, he said he would take a black person, torture them, skin them alive and set them alight. | |
| "I would blow their two arms and legs off and say 'go on, you can swim home now'. They would be bobbing around like that." | "I would blow their two arms and legs off and say 'go on, you can swim home now'. They would be bobbing around like that." |
| 'Broke my heart' | 'Broke my heart' |
| Mr Norris told the court he had been angry after being accused of murder and "wouldn't dream of doing something like that". | Mr Norris told the court he had been angry after being accused of murder and "wouldn't dream of doing something like that". |
| He said: "I got accused of a murder, a terrible murder, and I was angry, especially with the police force... I'm not saying I'm perfect, I'm far from perfect, but to accuse me of murder. I was angry, very angry." | He said: "I got accused of a murder, a terrible murder, and I was angry, especially with the police force... I'm not saying I'm perfect, I'm far from perfect, but to accuse me of murder. I was angry, very angry." |
| The defendant told the court that people would swear at him and threaten him after he was accused of the killing. | The defendant told the court that people would swear at him and threaten him after he was accused of the killing. |
| "I had to see my mum cry herself to sleep every night and it broke my heart," he said. | "I had to see my mum cry herself to sleep every night and it broke my heart," he said. |
| However, Mr Norris denied being racially prejudiced at the time despite using racist insults. | However, Mr Norris denied being racially prejudiced at the time despite using racist insults. |
| The defendant's barrister, Stephen Batten QC, put it to him: "It's not just using language Mr Norris, it's holding views. Did you as a boy aged 16 not just use impolite language about black people but were you prejudiced against them?" | The defendant's barrister, Stephen Batten QC, put it to him: "It's not just using language Mr Norris, it's holding views. Did you as a boy aged 16 not just use impolite language about black people but were you prejudiced against them?" |
| To this, Mr Norris replied: "No I would say I was not, I just said words and didn't really know what I was saying." | To this, Mr Norris replied: "No I would say I was not, I just said words and didn't really know what I was saying." |
| The court has heard that hair found in an evidence bag used to store Mr Norris's jeans matched Mr Lawrence's DNA. | The court has heard that hair found in an evidence bag used to store Mr Norris's jeans matched Mr Lawrence's DNA. |
| And fibres were found on Mr Norris's sweatshirt which had potentially come from Mr Lawrence's clothes. | And fibres were found on Mr Norris's sweatshirt which had potentially come from Mr Lawrence's clothes. |
| The defence legal team has suggested that the clothes could have been contaminated after they were seized by police. | The defence legal team has suggested that the clothes could have been contaminated after they were seized by police. |
| Mr Norris told the court he could not explain how the fibres and hair were found on clothing taken from his bedroom. | Mr Norris told the court he could not explain how the fibres and hair were found on clothing taken from his bedroom. |
| Clothing questions | Clothing questions |
| The defendant said the clothing was not his and he had moved to the room only a week before. | The defendant said the clothing was not his and he had moved to the room only a week before. |
| The jury was also shown pictures of the defendant's brother wearing the clothes while out fishing. | The jury was also shown pictures of the defendant's brother wearing the clothes while out fishing. |
| Mr Batten asked the defendant: "Did you have anything to do with the death of Stephen Lawrence?" | Mr Batten asked the defendant: "Did you have anything to do with the death of Stephen Lawrence?" |
| Mr Norris replied: "Certainly not sir, no." | Mr Norris replied: "Certainly not sir, no." |
| Asked if there could be an innocent explanation for the clothing link, he told the court: "If I don't know who killed that Stephen Lawrence, then I don't know if I bumped into them." | Asked if there could be an innocent explanation for the clothing link, he told the court: "If I don't know who killed that Stephen Lawrence, then I don't know if I bumped into them." |
| Questioned about whether it could have been one of his friends, Mr Norris replied: "I don't know. They told me they had nothing to do with it and I believe them." | Questioned about whether it could have been one of his friends, Mr Norris replied: "I don't know. They told me they had nothing to do with it and I believe them." |
| Later the defendant's mother Theresa Norris was accused of giving her son a false alibi. | |
| Alibi accusation | Alibi accusation |
| It came after she told the court that her son would have been at home when Mr Lawrence was killed because she had imposed a curfew which meant he would have been at home by 21:30. | It came after she told the court that her son would have been at home when Mr Lawrence was killed because she had imposed a curfew which meant he would have been at home by 21:30. |
| "I had a routine. The routine was my children would be at home," she said. | "I had a routine. The routine was my children would be at home," she said. |
| Mr Ellison QC accused Mrs Norris of inventing the story. | Mr Ellison QC accused Mrs Norris of inventing the story. |
| "The first that we've heard of any suggestion that you can alibi your son for this murder is today," he said, adding that she "made it up". | "The first that we've heard of any suggestion that you can alibi your son for this murder is today," he said, adding that she "made it up". |
| She denied the accusation. | She denied the accusation. |
| When Mr Norris was interviewed by police in the wake of Mr Lawrence's death, his mother did not tell them that she could provide an alibi. | When Mr Norris was interviewed by police in the wake of Mr Lawrence's death, his mother did not tell them that she could provide an alibi. |
| Mrs Norris told the court she had not mentioned the alibi before because, in the past, she had received legal advice telling her not to say anything. | Mrs Norris told the court she had not mentioned the alibi before because, in the past, she had received legal advice telling her not to say anything. |
| The jury has been sent home until Monday. | The jury has been sent home until Monday. |