Stephen Lawrence verdicts 'not end of road'

Top ranking officers at Scotland Yard said the force would continue working to bring the rest of Stephen Lawrence's killers to justice.

Eyewitnesses to the fatal attack in 1993 said there were more than two assailants - five or six people engulfed the 18-year-old in a flurry of racist violence.

Today, Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey, nearly 19 years after Mr Lawrence's death.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Cressida Dick said that it was still not "the end of the road" in the search for the remaining killers.

"We do, of course, acknowledge that there were five people involved on the night that Stephen was murdered," she said.

"We have not brought all those people to justice. So if we get new evidence, if we have further opportunities, we will respond to that.

"And no doubt in the future the case will be reviewed, as other murders are if they are unresolved, to some extent.

"We don't see this as the end of the road."

Eyewitnesses Royston Westbrook and Joseph Shepherd identified an attacker with fair hair, however no-one fitting that description has ever been charged.

In the latest stage of the probe into Mr Lawrence's death, officers were left with a list of 11 potential suspects.

Former Detective Superintendent Jill Bailey, who recently retired, said she was "hopeful" that the remaining killers could be brought to justice.

"I'm always hopeful because there have been quite a number of cases over the years from forensic advancements, the changing allegiance of people who are related to a number of cases, and new information that is reported to us.

"So as a detective officer involved in a number of cases that are solved many, many years after they first occur, of course I'm hopeful."

Edward Jarman, from private company LGC that uncovered key forensic evidence in the trial, said the firm was no longer examining items related to the case. The Met has no live lines of inquiry.

But Ms Bailey said she would not want to jeopardise the chances of future prosecutions.

Urging restraint by the media, Ms Bailey said: "We all know from the evidence that was given in court that there were more than two attackers involved in this attack.

"From my point of view, I would want to keep the integrity of any chance that we have of finding out who the other attackers were."

PA