The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry 20 years on. What have we learnt? What still needs to be done?

Keynote Speaker – Dr Neville Lawrence, OBE, with John Azah, OBE

Venue: Great Hall (The Rocket Entrance), London Metropolitan University, London N7

On February 24 1999, the report of the Inquiry into the murderous racist attack on Stephen Lawrence and his friend Duwayne Brooks, was published. The enquiry was led by Sir William Macpherson and considered the actions of the police services at the time, and subsequently, and their failure to successfully prosecute the five white suspects. The report contained some 70 recommendations to address the failures identified, and in particular, the concerns that ‘institutional racism’ had played a role in the many missed opportunities, examples of incompetence, poor leadership, and errors of judgement in responding to the fatal stabbing in Eltham, south London in April 1993.

Please join us for a free one day event to mark 20 years since the publication of the report, which seeks to reflect, with the BAME communities, and all our other diverse communities in London, on how much progress has been achieved, and on how much more needs to be done. Participants at this event are asked to come with a laptop, and download some software we will supply to you at the start of this event, so that we can capture your own thoughts (anonymously) on these issues. If you do not have a working laptop, please let the organizers know and we will help. We are not charging for the conference, nor refreshments, as we need your help for the full day, to reflect with us both on progress made (or the lack of it) and the way forward.

Dr Neville Lawrence, Stephen’s father, will set the scene and express his own thoughts on the progress made, and whether he feels that young black men feel safer on the streets, or have more trust in the police compared to 20 years ago. Our speakers include those involved in the Inquiry, representatives of the police, and those working in the community to counter hate crime.

FAQs

What can I do if I have special dietary requirements?

If you have any special dietary requirements, then please email Costel at rusuc@staff.londonmet.ac.uk, and let us know. We will make sure to provide alternative food choices, provided that you will email us with a least a week prior to the event.

Speakers and panel members include:

• Dr Neville Lawrence, OBE, with John Azah, OBE
• Paul Giannasi OBE – Police Hate Crime Policy Lead, National Police Chiefs'​ Council
• Cressida Dick CBE QPM Commissioner, Metropolitan Police Service
• Fiyaz Mughal OBE FCMI, Founder and Director of Faith Matters, Founder of TellMAMA
• Yvonne MacNamara, CEO of The Traveller Movement, with Jim Davies, founder of the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Police Association.
• Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor Social Integration, Social Mobility, Community Engagement
• Victor Olisa, Director of Strategic Inclusion and Diversity, Met Police (retired)
• Jonny Newton, Head of Government Affairs and External Relations at CST (protecting the Jewish community)
• Brianna Cyrus, Programme Manager - Routes2Succes, Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG)
• Neena Samota, member of StopWatch, Chair of Voice4Change, and programme lead, St Mary’s University
• Professor John Grieve, CBE, QPM, former Director of the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force, Metropolitan Police (MPS), (now retired)

Timetable: 9.15 coffee, registration, networking;

9.45 conference welcome;

4.45 event ends.