A man suspected of murdering Stephen Lawrence was not investigated after telling the Metropolitan Police he had a “girlfriend” who was a schoolgirl, it has been revealed.
Matthew White was questioned in 2000 as a suspect in the racist murder of 18-year-old Stephen, who had been stabbed to death as he waited for a bus in Eltham, southeast London.
White told detectives he was “going out” with a “young” girlfriend and claimed he was “five or six years older” than her, according to a transcript of the interview.
But the BBC reports that White was actually a decade older than the girl, he had sexually abused her when she was below the age of consent, and got her hooked on heroin.
It is claimed the Met knew the girl’s true age but did not question White on the relationship or carry out further enquiries.
Imran Khan KC, a lawyer for Stephen’s mother Baroness Doreen Lawrence, said the revelation shows the Met “cannot be trusted” on future investigations into the case
“She doesn't believe anything that [the Met police] say”, he said.
The girl herself told the BBC she is “absolutely disgusted” by the police inaction, and “can’t get over the fact that they would just cover that up”.
Two of Stephen’s killers have been brought to justice but three other prime suspects remain free, after shocking failings in the initial investigation into the 1993 murder.
White, who died in 2021, was not classed as a full suspect by police investigators until seven years after the murder, and had been considered instead as a witness.
He had a conviction from four years before the murder for carrying a machete in an Eltham street near to where Stephen was murdered.
Scotland Yard is currently negotiating with Stephen’s parents and his friend Duwayne Brooks over the scope of a planned review of the murder investigation, amid calls from Baroness Lawrence for a totally independent inquiry led by the retired detective who brought two of Stephen’s killers to justice.
The Met has apologised for its handling of the murder probe, and says White was arrested twice on suspicion of murder but was advised there was not enough evidence to charge him.
