Stephen Lawrence's father 'appalled' by decision to return body to UK from Jamaica 31 years after racist murder

3 August 2024, 07:21

Stephen Lawrence's father has said he is shocked and upset by the decision to return his son's body to the UK from Jamaica 31 years on.

Dr Neville Lawrence, whose son was murdered by a gang of racist thugs in south-east London in 1993, said he had been "at peace" on the Caribbean island.

The decision to move Mr Lawrence's body back to the the UK was made by his mother, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, so he would be "closer to us". The two parents divorced in 1999.

He had originally been buried in Jamaica, her country of birth, because the family felt "he would not be at peace" in the UK.

But Dr Lawrence said he had not been told of the decision to exhume his son's body, and only found out after he was shown a video of the damage done to his son's grave by his body being moved.

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He said his son had been "at peace" in Jamaica, and that he would not take his son back to the place he was murdered. "I would not desecrate and leave my son's grave in the terrible way it was left after his body was exhumed," he said.

"Stephen was at peace in Jamaica and he has now been disturbed and taken away from what I believed would be his final resting place. I am appalled that my son's grave has been vandalised in this way and left in such a terrible mess.

"I would not take my son back to the place where he was murdered."

But he said he was confident that his son's legacy would be sustained.

"I am confident, regardless of the decisions made without my knowledge and consent, that Stephen's legacy will be sustained," he said.

"I also reaffirm my commitment to keep fighting until I secure justice for my son."

Mr Lawrence was murdered by a gang of racists in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993 as he went to catch a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks, and only two of his five or six killers have been brought to justice.

In a statement issued through her lawyer, Baroness Lawrence said: "My family and I have been made aware of the recent images of my son's grave that have been circulated on social media.

"Following Stephen's passing, we made the decision to have him laid to rest in Jamaica, as we felt he would not be at peace in this country.

"After 31 years, we have decided as a family that we would like to bring Stephen home to be closer to us."

She added: "The images that are circulating were taken after the funeral home exhumed Stephen's body.

"However, we would like to express our distress at the funeral home's lack of regard for our feelings and privacy, as evidenced by the decision to leave Stephen's grave open to the public, rather than closed off.

"We are disheartened by the individual who chose to take images and post them on social media without consideration for the potential impact on our family.

"We had hoped to have carried out this sensitive task privately, but due to unforeseen circumstances, this was not possible.

"We apologise for any distress caused by those who saw the images and kindly request that, out of respect for us and our privacy, these are removed from all media platforms.

"We kindly request that our privacy be respected during this time."

It comes after Baroness Lawrence said in June that she was "bewildered, disappointed and angry" at an upheld decision not to charge four officers involved in the original bungled investigation into her son's murder.

She said the decision marked "a new low" in how her family has been treated by the criminal justice system.

She added that no police officer will ever take responsibility for the failures in the case.