A report by an official watchdog into claims that police spied on the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence is expected to be published in the near future.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission this month completed its investigation into allegations that five officers were involved in a secret plot to spy on the family and their supporters.
The investigation centred on allegations that Scotland Yard planted an undercover officer “in the Lawrence family camp”. (For background on the allegations, see this and this).
No date has been announced yet for the publication of the IPCC’s report, but it is expected in a matter of weeks.
The watchdog has named three of the officers who were investigated - Richard Walton, the head of Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command until he retired on Wednesday, Bob Lambert (see here and here for background on him), and Colin Black, a former Special Branch commander. The two other officers have not been identified by the IPCC (read more here).
Neither the IPCC nor the Metropolitan police has commented on the contents of the report.
Previously, we have asked how far up the Met’s chain of command knowledge of the espionage went (see here). The report may answer that question.
In recent days, Neville and Doreen Lawrence, Stephen’s parents, asked the Metropolitan police to stop Walton retiring so that he could face any disciplinary action resulting from the investigation.
As the BBC reported, lawyers for Neville Lawrence wrote to the Met saying : “There is a strong public interest in ensuring any disciplinary sanctions are followed through, in order that the police are seen to be held accountable for their actions.” He said he was “very disappointed” and it was “just heartbreaking”.
In a statement, Walton said:”I have been intending to retire from policing on this date for thirty years and I also told the IPCC many months ago that I was retiring this week so it is unfortunate that it has taken so long for them to complete their report.”
“It is disappointing that it has taken nearly two years for this matter to come to this conclusion, especially as I am strong supporter of police officers being publicly accountable.”
All five of the officers under investigation have retired from the police, which means that they will not face any disciplinary action that may have resulted.
