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| Leveson-style inquiry should examine police ethics, Lawrence lawyer says | Leveson-style inquiry should examine police ethics, Lawrence lawyer says |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Leveson-style inquiry is needed to investigate the ethics of the police, according to a lawyer who represented the family of Stephen Lawrence. | A Leveson-style inquiry is needed to investigate the ethics of the police, according to a lawyer who represented the family of Stephen Lawrence. |
| The home secretary has said claims that police tried to smear the family will be looked at by two existing inquiries. | The home secretary has said claims that police tried to smear the family will be looked at by two existing inquiries. |
| But Michael Mansfield QC said broader issues of "accountability and transparency" must be examined. | |
| Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said if the government began a public inquiry he would support it. | |
| Black teenager Stephen, 18, was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths as he waited at a bus stop in south-east London in April 1993. | Black teenager Stephen, 18, was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths as he waited at a bus stop in south-east London in April 1993. |
| A number of suspects were identified soon after the attack but it took more than 18 years to bring his killers to justice. An inquiry accused the police of institutional racism and found failings in how they had investigated the murder. | A number of suspects were identified soon after the attack but it took more than 18 years to bring his killers to justice. An inquiry accused the police of institutional racism and found failings in how they had investigated the murder. |
| Undercover officer Peter Francis told the Guardian and Channel 4's Dispatches programme that after Mr Lawrence's killing he posed as an anti-racism campaigner in a hunt for "disinformation" to use against those criticising the police. | Undercover officer Peter Francis told the Guardian and Channel 4's Dispatches programme that after Mr Lawrence's killing he posed as an anti-racism campaigner in a hunt for "disinformation" to use against those criticising the police. |
| Working as part of the Metropolitan Police's now-disbanded Special Demonstration Squad, which specialised in gathering intelligence on political activists, he said he had come 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 Metropolitan Police's now-disbanded Special Demonstration Squad, which specialised in gathering intelligence on political activists, he said he had come 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. |
| 'Not good enough' | 'Not good enough' |
| Mr Mansfield told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's a squad that existed for a very long time. A squad of that size, involving those numbers, involving public expenditure of this kind does not go without authorisation from a very high level. | Mr Mansfield told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's a squad that existed for a very long time. A squad of that size, involving those numbers, involving public expenditure of this kind does not go without authorisation from a very high level. |
| "I think that's why the public need to have something like the Leveson inquiry in relations to the ethics of the police in a so-called democracy." | "I think that's why the public need to have something like the Leveson inquiry in relations to the ethics of the police in a so-called democracy." |
| Asked about the time and expense involved in such an inquiry, he said: "It can be achieved provided you have the right judge with the right focus and the right resources. This can be done quickly." | Asked about the time and expense involved in such an inquiry, he said: "It can be achieved provided you have the right judge with the right focus and the right resources. This can be done quickly." |
| And he added: "Where was Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary throughout all these years? Why weren't questions being asked?" | And he added: "Where was Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary throughout all these years? Why weren't questions being asked?" |
| Home Secretary Theresa May said barrister Mark Ellison QC - who successfully prosecuted Gary Dobson and David Norris for Stephen's murder in 2012 - would look into the smear allegations are part of his ongoing examination of police corruption during the original investigation into the killing. | Home Secretary Theresa May said barrister Mark Ellison QC - who successfully prosecuted Gary Dobson and David Norris for Stephen's murder in 2012 - would look into the smear allegations are part of his ongoing examination of police corruption during the original investigation into the killing. |
| She said they would also be looked at as part of Operation Herne, which is an investigation into undercover policing at the Met Police, being led by the chief constable of Derbyshire police, Mick Creedon. | She said they would also be looked at as part of Operation Herne, which is an investigation into undercover policing at the Met Police, being led by the chief constable of Derbyshire police, Mick Creedon. |
| 'Layers of independence' | |
| But Stephen Lawrence's father, Neville, said: "I am convinced that nothing short of a judge-led public inquiry will suffice and I have no confidence that the measures announced today will get to the bottom of this matter." | |
| Sir Bernard told radio station LBC there were "two or three layers of independence" in the inquiries already set up, but he understood why Mr Lawrence was calling for a wider probe. | |
| "I hope that we can persuade him that the investigations that have already started and will continue are objective." | |
| He continued: "I think a public inquiry is possible, I don't think it's for me to call that... I would be content either way. | |
| "If we have a public inquiry it can take a long time and it's not always conclusive." | |
| Sir Bernard also said that if there was wrongdoing it would still have to come back to the Independent Police Complaints Commission or the police to investigate further and take either criminal or disciplinary action, so "we might end up having two parallel things". | |
| But he added: "If the government or Parliament decides they would prefer a public inquiry, of course we would support that." | |
| Sir Bernard said he had ordered a review of undercover operations after taking charge two years ago and was confident things were "running correctly now". | |
| "I have to make the case for undercover officers. They are very courageous and where they are deployed properly and according to the law they go out and target serious organised crime, they target terrorists. | |
| "The only thing we have to be careful about is what relationships undercover officers are forming day to day." | |
| Former Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick has also criticised the government's response. | |
| "We need a laser-focused investigation to come up with answers quickly, to try and prevent further damage to the reputation of the police." | "We need a laser-focused investigation to come up with answers quickly, to try and prevent further damage to the reputation of the police." |
| Meanwhile, the Guardian has published fresh claims that Met officers infiltrated political groups protesting about police corruption in the 1990s. | Meanwhile, the Guardian has published fresh claims that Met officers infiltrated political groups protesting about police corruption in the 1990s. |
| One operative was said to have penetrated the Colin Roach Centre, an organisation named after a 21-year-old black Briton who died in the foyer of Stoke Newington police station, which campaigned on behalf of those who believed they had been mistreated or wrongly arrested. | One operative was said to have penetrated the Colin Roach Centre, an organisation named after a 21-year-old black Briton who died in the foyer of Stoke Newington police station, which campaigned on behalf of those who believed they had been mistreated or wrongly arrested. |