The Lawrence Report: `We feel shame at having let down Stephen's parents'

IT WAS, said Sir Paul Condon, a fair question. Which is presumably why he did not attempt to answer it. The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police yesterday emerged briefly - very briefly - from the inner fastness of New Scotland Yard to respond to the devastating criticism of his force by the Macpherson report into the death of Stephen Lawrence.

Stony-faced and unblinking he faced the glare of the television lights and repeated that he had no intention of resigning.

He read a prepared statement and answered just three questions before gathering up his papers and bustling away as though he had something more important to do.

He had been ready for the first question. Wouldn't resignation have been the honourable thing ? No, he said, he had thought "long and hard" about the issue. Had he personally been found guilty in the report of dishonesty or malpractice he would have gone. But that was not the case. He had a duty to the people of London - and officers of the Met - to stay and carry on the fight.

On the second question he was more taciturn. He had said in his statement he hoped "that our renewed efforts to bring those racists responsible for the murder of Stephen Lawrence to justice" would bear fruit. How would he do this?

"I don't want to give notice of our future action," he said. But he hoped "some or all" of the racist thugs responsible would yet be brought to book. "The people who killed Stephen should feel uncomfortable ... The Met has not given up." But it was the third question that sent him scurrying. Since Sir Paul - who made a crusade out of racism right back into the 1980s - had arrived at the Met with the avowed intention of stamping out racism, wasn't the failure of his force on this very issue the most serious indictment of his term of office?

"That's a very fair question," he began, and proceeded to talk about general crime statistics, the fight against terrorism and the policing of major events such as the Kurdish occupation of the Greek embassy. Then he changed tack.

He felt "an enormous sense of shame at having let down Stephen's parents", he said. Then his answer went to pieces. This was not about competing tragedies ... Day in and day out good men and women in the force patrolled the streets of London ... There was great complexity in this wonderfully diverse city, he said, scrabbled his papers together and rose.

"You haven't answered the question, Sir Paul," came a cry from the ranks.But the Commissioner looked down as if he had spotted something unacceptable about the carpet and, his visage unchanging, moved rapidly from the room. It was one of the shortest press conferences crime reporters could remember him giving.

Considering the gravity of the occasion the brevity was damning. True, his statement had accepted what he had once denied - that the Met was tainted by a racism that ran through its very structure.

And he was prepared to accept the charge of "institutional racism" now that the definition had been widened to include "unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping".

It was true that since last autumn he had instituted changes which meant the reporting of racially motivated crime has risen by 68 per cent, crimes solved by 70 per cent and arrests up by 100 per cent.

He announced more changes to come: random "racism" checks on policemen; creation of a rapid reaction murder squad; and an extensive research project to find what different communities wanted from their police.

But he did not stay to hear a question from any of the black journalists present, leaving it to John Newing, the Chief Constable of Derbyshire who is president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), to handle a query about allegations from a senior black policeman who claimed the Met had learnt nothing from the Lawrence case.

"The report is pretty damning of the Met," said Mr Newing, "and the Commissioner has accepted the criticism." But detailed questions might better be addressed to Paul Wilson, chair of the Black Police Association. Inspector Wilson was diplomatic. "Let's not bog ourselves down in apportioning blame," he said. "Far better that we look for the answers."

A few minutes earlier, the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, told the Commons there should be no scapegoats or witch-hunts.

For all the fierce criticism and the reiterated tributes to Stephen's parents, no oneseemed to take responsibility for the denial of justice to them.

In the end, the only person in the whole sorry saga who has had to pay was Stephen Lawrence - with his life.

Commissioner Condon, it seemed, was in no mood to discuss such matters.