ABSTRACT
The public inquiry into the circumstances leading to the murder of Stephen Lawrence was announced on 31 July 1997 and formally began in March 1998. The Inquiry panel, led by Sir William Macpherson with Tom Cook, the Reverend John Sentamu and Dr Richard Stone, held a series of public hearings, collected evidence and received countless submissions from a number of individuals and organisations. This information supported the direction and content of the final report The Inquiry into matters arising from the death of Stephen Lawrence which was presented to Parliament and published on 24 February 1999. In his summation of the Inquiry, Macpherson (1999: 46.1) stated:
The conclusions to be drawn from all the evidence in connection with the investigation of Stephen Lawrence’s racist murder are clear. There is no doubt but that there were fundamental errors. The investigation was marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership by senior officers.
