Police believe reported admissions by David Norris that he took part in the attack that killed Stephen Lawrence may offer a “significant” chance of a breakthrough in the racist murder.
Norris was convicted in 2012 of being part of a gang that racially abused and then stabbed Stephen near a south London bus stop.
He has apparently admitted being part of the attacking group in April 1993, and is trying to convince the Parole Board to release him from prison.
Dr Neville Lawrence, Stephen’s father, said Norris should be kept in prison until he named the other gang members involved in his son’s murder: “If he wants to get out he should divulge who the others are, everybody who was there.”
Parole Board documents report Norris has admitted punching Stephen, and therefore being present at the scene of the attack.
A senior police source said detectives were considering challenging Norris to prove he was serious and not just trying to game the system, by naming the entire group he was part of.
Detectives believe about six people were part of the gang. Two have been convicted – Norris and Gary Dobson – one is dead, and three are yet to be prosecuted for the racist murder.
A senior police source said: “This could be a significant breakthrough. It is definitely of interest. There’s always the potential for individuals to change loyalty. We’re desperate not to miss this opportunity.”
The Metropolitan police want to check the alleged admissions of involvement made by Norris. The source added: “We want to know more and are keen to do it sooner rather than later. We’d want to ask him who he went out with that night. After his arrest he ‘no commented’ [in the police interview].”
The force’s investigation seeking to bring at least three remaining suspects to justice is no longer active. After checking whether the reports of the admissions by Norris are correct, the Met is considering re-interviewing the convicted murderer in prison.
During his Old Bailey murder trial, Norris, 48, denied all involvement and being at the scene of the attack. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years and three months for murder.
Stephen, 18, was killed in south-east London after being set upon by a white gang as he waited for a bus home. They shouted racist abuse and then attacked the teenager, who suffered two stab wounds. Duwayne Brooks, the surviving victim of the attack, managed to escape.
Forensic evidence tied Norris and Dobson to the scene of the attack, with the jury accepting the prosecution view that being present when Stephen was set upon meant all those there were guilty of murder by joint enterprise.
Neville Lawrence said: “The fact there were so many people surrounding my son means everybody was guilty, no matter who wielded the knife.”
Lawrence added of Norris: “I don’t know what he’s up to. He had so many chances, before the trial and after, he denied being involved. He’s trying to impress the Parole Board to let him out of prison.”
The Met bungled the investigation into Stephen’s murder after suspects were named to them by the local community within hours.
A long battle for justice by Stephen’s parents, Doreen and Neville Lawrence, resulted in the Met being shamed after a public inquiry, where it was found to be incompetent and institutionally racist.
Norris’s father, Clifford, was at the centre of suspicions from the Lawrences and Brooks that corruption had blighted the investigation. In 2018, relatives of Clifford Norris told the Guardian he was well known for corrupt contacts with the police.
Victoria and Naomi Smith, who are related to the Norris family by marriage, said Clifford Norris used a network of corrupt Metropolitan police officers to protect himself and his close relations from justice.
At the trial that convicted David Norris, the prosecutor Mark Ellison KC said: “The way in which the attack was executed indicates that this group were a group of like-minded young white men who acted together and reacted together. They shared the same racial animosity and motivation.”
In the Parole Board document where Norris’s admissions are reported, he is described as denying being a racist or wielding the knife.
The document is written by Peter Rook KC, who said: “After the trial, Mr Norris continued to deny the offence. Recent reports now suggest he has accepted he was present at the scene and punched the victim but claims that he did not wield the knife. He does not accept he holds racist views.”
Covert video recorded in 1994 and shown at the murder trial showed Norris talking about “skinning” black people and setting them alight, using racist terms and fantasising about violent acts against Asian and black people.
Dobson was recorded also uttering racist remarks and the court heard that he had carried a knife and threatened to use it against a black man.
