Four senior ex-Scotland Yard officers involved in the original Stephen Lawrence murder investigation may face criminal charges, a watchdog has said.
The officers worked on the case in the weeks after the 18-year-old’s death in Eltham in 1993.
A six-year probe by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found the men may have committed the offence of misconduct in public office.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will consider whether to bring charges.
A racist gang murdered Mr Lawrence as he ran to catch a bus with his friend Duwayne Brooks on 22 April 1993.
No arrests were made for two weeks after his death, despite five suspects being named by anonymous informants.
It was not until 2012 that two men – Gary Dobson and David Norris, who were among the group accused of attacking Mr Lawrence and Mr Brooks – were convicted of murder.
The Macpherson Report – published in 1999 – found initial attempts to catch Mr Lawrence’s killers were hampered by incompetence and “institutional racism” in the Metropolitan Police.
