The mother of Stephen Lawrence has called one of her son’s killers a coward after he refused to show his face at a parole hearing or name his accomplices to the murder.
David Norris, 49, who was convicted in 2011, was speaking publicly for the first time at the hearing. He said he was deeply sorry for the attack in which he punched Lawrence on the back of his head while he was crouched on the ground.
He refused, however, to name the four or five attackers who were with him on the night of 22 April 1993. He is making his first appearance at a parole board hearing that was video-streamed to a room at the royal courts of justice.
At the public hearing on Wednesday, Doreen Lawrence, 72, said: “The only person he feels sorry for is himself. As far as I am concerned he is a coward. He refused to show his face. He needs to look me in the eye and tell me exactly what he did and why he did it.”
Two days of proceedings have been held in public, but the final day will take place in private on Friday. Lawrence also spoke outside the court, saying it had been “incredibly painful” to listen to the proceedings but that it was vital the hearing was held in public.
“He says he’s sorry for the pain he caused me and my family, I don’t believe him,” she said.
All of the witnesses to the hearing except one said they did not believe Norris was ready to be freed. Lawrence said: “The evidence to me is crystal clear. He is not safe to be released. He is a danger to the public and a danger to people like me. He was a violent racist and is still a violent racist. He has not changed.”
Norris admitted his involvement in Lawrence’s murder in 2018 when he confessed to a Catholic priest. Doreen Lawrence called on the Metropolitan police to urgently investigate after he said he would not name the others involved in the killing because of fears for his family’s safety.
“This person can name the other killers and says he would love to do so,” she said. “The police must do everything in their power to obtain that evidence and bring all of Stephen’s murderers to justice. This man owes me the truth and the Met owe me justice.”
Before Norris was questioned on Tuesday, he read a statement in which he said he wanted to “express my genuine remorse for the death of the victim in my case”.
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“I will go to my grave with that guilt in my heart,” he said, adding that the “events of that night 32 years ago should never have happened”.
The Met’s deputy assistant commissioner, Matt Ward, said: “Officers have been closely monitoring David Norris’ parole hearing and we remain committed to achieving the arrest, prosecution and conviction of all of those responsible for Stephen’s murder.
“We have commissioned the College of Policing to conduct a review of the investigations since October 2013 into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The review is being conducted independently of the Metropolitan police and we give it our full backing and support.
