Met commander is moved after Lawrence police report

The Counter Terrorism Command chief has been temporarily moved to a non-operational role after the report into the original Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry.

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Finding who ordered undercover Lawrence officer might be difficult due to 'mass shredding' of evidence

Home Secretary Theresa May MP said it might be difficult to find out who ordered the "spy" Credit: PA/PA Wire

Home Secretary Theresa May has suggested it may be difficult to find out who was responsible for authorising an undercover police officer to spy on the family of Stephen Lawrence following the black teenager's racist murder.

Hackney MP Diane Abbott wants assurances that whoever ordered the undercover officer is revealed Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

But Mrs May assured MPs that "every effort" will be made to ensure the truth comes out in the numerous investigations and inquiries into the police's conduct after Stephen was killed.

She said that Scotland Yard's record keeping on its own investigations into police corruption may make it difficult after the review also revealed the mass shredding of key evidence in 2003.

She spoke after Labour Hackney MP Diane Abbott called for an assurance that the identity of whoever authorised the Special Demonstration Squad's "spy in the Lawrence camp" will be revealed.

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Baroness Lawrence: Met must 'take action'

Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, has written directly to the Met's Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan Howe to call for him to take action on revelations that officers had spied on her family.

Baroness Lawrence has written directly to Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan Howe Credit: Reuters

A report released yesterday found that an undercover 'spy' working for the Met had been embedded within the Lawrence family camp during the Macpherson Inquiry, which examined the Met's original investigation into the murder.

In the letter Baroness Lawrence asks for the Met to take decisive action against the individuals involved, and for the Commissioner to respond to her directly.

She also said that any confidence she had in the force had been shattered.

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Lawrence family verdict on police 'corruption'

Several of today's papers lead with strong headlines after the report into the police inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence uncovered evidence of corruption.

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Officer 'revealed details about Lawrence marriage split'

An undercover officer who allegedly "spied" on the Lawrence family disclosed details concerning the separation of Stephen Lawrence's mother and father, Doreen and Neville.

Doreen and Neville Lawrence pictured in 1999. Credit: PA Wire

The officer - known as N81 - reportedly "touched on personal details" concerning the family to the Special Demonstrations Squad (SDS) during the 1998 inquiry into Stephen Lawrence's death, according to the Ellison report.

Neville Lawrence labelled the claims as "disgusting", telling the Daily Mail: "It's unbelievable. They have mocked everything we have done, telling us to our faces that they are listening and things will change, and all the time laughing behind our backs.

"I think they are actually worse than criminals because these officers get paid with taxpayers' money for what they do."

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Hogan-Howe: Vital action is taken on Lawrence claims

The head of the Metropolitan Police said it is vital police take action on the allegations resulting from the Ellison report into Stephen Lawrence's murder investigation.

The report concluded that a "police spy" had been working within the Lawrence family camp and that one of the officers in the original murder investigation may have acted corruptly.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "This sort of allegation shocks me, it shocks my colleagues and it clearly shocked the public so it is vital that we take it seriously and do something about it."

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Met Police chief: 'Pretty awful' to read Lawrence report

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has told ITV News that it was "pretty awful" to hear the findings of the report into Stephen Lawrence's murder investigation.

"As a professional police officer and then to see the reaction of Mr and Mrs Lawrence who were clearly distraught by what it had heard having lost their son so many years ago, at any level, human or professional, it is pretty awful to hear that list of terrible events," he said.

The head of the IPCC has apologised to the Lawrence family for the police watchdog's part in prolonging the "family's search for the truth".

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IPCC aplogises to Stephen Lawrence's parents

Dame Anne Owers, Chair, Independent Police Complaints Commission. Credit: PA Wire

The chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) Dame Anne Owers said today that she has apologised to Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Neville Lawrence, parents of murdered teenager Stephen, for the police watchdog's part in prolonging the "family's search for the truth".

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