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| Lawrence police smear claims: Mark Ellison QC to lead review | Lawrence police smear claims: Mark Ellison QC to lead review |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Reports the police wanted to smear the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence are to be examined by a senior barrister, the home secretary has said. | |
| Mark Ellison QC is already looking into allegations of police corruption in the initial investigation of the murder. | Mark Ellison QC is already looking into allegations of police corruption in the initial investigation of the murder. |
| Undercover officer Peter Francis says he was instructed in 1993 to find information that could discredit the family and anti-racism campaigners. | Undercover officer Peter Francis says he was instructed in 1993 to find information that could discredit the family and anti-racism campaigners. |
| Scotland Yard has refused to confirm or deny the claims made in the Guardian. | Scotland Yard has refused to confirm or deny the claims made in the Guardian. |
| Prime Minister David Cameron said he wants to "get the full truth out" about "horrific" allegations and has called for an immediate investigation. | Prime Minister David Cameron said he wants to "get the full truth out" about "horrific" allegations and has called for an immediate investigation. |
| Home Secretary Theresa May told MPs that the latest allegations will be looked into by Mr Ellison and also as part of Operation Herne, which is an investigation into undercover policing at the Metropolitan Police. | |
| She said the Lawrence family "experienced an unspeakable tragedy". | |
| She continued: "Their pain was compounded by the many years in which justice was not done and these allegations still coming 20 years after Stephen's murder only add to their suffering." | |
| Any investigations should be "ruthless in purging" corruption and wrongdoing from police ranks, Ms May said. | |
| Mr Ellison was the lead prosecutor in the trial of Gary Dobson and David Norris, who were convicted of Mr Lawrence's murder in January 2012. | |
| Their convictions came 18 years after the black teenager was killed at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths. | Their convictions came 18 years after the black teenager was killed at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths. |
| 'Tarring the campaign' | 'Tarring the campaign' |
| Mr Francis told the Guardian and Channel 4's Dispatches programme that after the killing he posed as an anti-racism campaigner in a hunt for "disinformation" to use against those criticising the police. | Mr Francis told the Guardian and Channel 4's Dispatches programme that after the killing he posed as an anti-racism campaigner in a hunt for "disinformation" to use against those criticising the police. |
| He said the Metropolitan Police were concerned the reaction to the Lawrence murder might result in rioting similar to that following the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles. | He said the Metropolitan Police were concerned the reaction to the Lawrence murder might result in rioting similar to that following the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles. |
| Working as part of the Met's now-disbanded Special Demonstration Squad, which specialised in gathering intelligence on political activists, he said he came under pressure to find "any intelligence that could have smeared the campaign" - including whether any of the family were political activists, involved in demonstrations or drug dealers. | Working as part of the Met's now-disbanded Special Demonstration Squad, which specialised in gathering intelligence on political activists, he said he came under pressure to find "any intelligence that could have smeared the campaign" - including whether any of the family were political activists, involved in demonstrations or drug dealers. |
| Mr Francis, who used the name Peter Black while under cover, says the aim of his operation was to ensure that the public "did not have as much sympathy for the Stephen Lawrence campaign" and to persuade "the media to start maybe tarring the campaign". | Mr Francis, who used the name Peter Black while under cover, says the aim of his operation was to ensure that the public "did not have as much sympathy for the Stephen Lawrence campaign" and to persuade "the media to start maybe tarring the campaign". |
| Mr Lawrence's mother Doreen Lawrence said she was shocked and angry at the disclosure. | Mr Lawrence's mother Doreen Lawrence said she was shocked and angry at the disclosure. |
| "Out of all the things I've found out over the years, this certainly has topped it," she said. | "Out of all the things I've found out over the years, this certainly has topped it," she said. |
| "It just makes me really, really angry that all of this has been going on and all the time trying to undermine us as a family." | "It just makes me really, really angry that all of this has been going on and all the time trying to undermine us as a family." |
| While the Metropolitan Police would not confirm or deny the allegations, the man who was in charge of the Met between 1993 and 2000, former commissioner Lord Condon, told BBC News he had no knowledge of any campaign to smear the Lawrence family. | While the Metropolitan Police would not confirm or deny the allegations, the man who was in charge of the Met between 1993 and 2000, former commissioner Lord Condon, told BBC News he had no knowledge of any campaign to smear the Lawrence family. |
| "I can say categorically that at no time during my time as commissioner did I authorise or condone or was aware of the sort of smear operation that's been described in the Guardian," he said. | "I can say categorically that at no time during my time as commissioner did I authorise or condone or was aware of the sort of smear operation that's been described in the Guardian," he said. |
| "I don't know if it's true or not, but I can certainly say that from a senior level, as far as I'm concerned, there was no such operation." | "I don't know if it's true or not, but I can certainly say that from a senior level, as far as I'm concerned, there was no such operation." |
| 'Getting to the truth' | 'Getting to the truth' |
| An independent investigation into a number of allegations against former undercover police officers, codenamed Operation Herne is under way. | An independent investigation into a number of allegations against former undercover police officers, codenamed Operation Herne is under way. |
| In a statement the Met said: "At some point it will fall upon this generation of police leaders to account for the activities of our predecessors, but for the moment we must focus on getting to the truth." | In a statement the Met said: "At some point it will fall upon this generation of police leaders to account for the activities of our predecessors, but for the moment we must focus on getting to the truth." |
| London Mayor Boris Johnson, whose responsibilities include oversight of the Met, said he had already spoken to current Met commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan Howe about the claims and pledged to "leave absolutely no stone unturned". | London Mayor Boris Johnson, whose responsibilities include oversight of the Met, said he had already spoken to current Met commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan Howe about the claims and pledged to "leave absolutely no stone unturned". |
| Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the investigation had to be both rapid and independent of the police. | Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the investigation had to be both rapid and independent of the police. |
| And former Labour Home Secretary Jack Straw told the BBC he would be asking the Independent Police Complaints Commission to investigate the latest allegations. | And former Labour Home Secretary Jack Straw told the BBC he would be asking the Independent Police Complaints Commission to investigate the latest allegations. |
| Dispatches is broadcast on Channel 4 on Monday 24 June at 20:00 BST. | Dispatches is broadcast on Channel 4 on Monday 24 June at 20:00 BST. |