Stephen Lawrence: Police officer who allegedly spied on family named

Officer passed on information to acting detective inspector during public inquiry into murder

The 18-year-old was stabbed to death in a racially motivated attack (PA)

The identity used by a police mole who infiltrated a campaign group which backed the fight for justice for Stephen Lawrence has been revealed.

David Hagan, referred to as HN81, was named on the Undercover Policing Inquiry website as having joined groups including Movement for Justice.

It is understood that this is the first time Lawrence’s father, Neville, has been told of the name.

Neither he nor Lawrence’s mother, Doreen, commented on the publication.

The officer infiltrated the group in the late 1990s, at around the time the public inquiry began into the events surrounding Lawrence’s death in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993, staying as a member for two or three years.

During the inquiry, he met with the then acting detective inspector Richard Walton, who was working on Scotland Yard’s final submissions to the probe. Mr Hagan is said to have passed on information to DI Walton, including the separation of Lawrence’s parents.

In 2014, a damning report on undercover policing by barrister Mark Ellison QC alleged that DI Walton “obtained information pertaining to the Lawrence family and their supporters, potentially undermining the inquiry and public confidence”.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct found that DI Walton would have faced disciplinary proceedings over the meeting had he not been allowed to retire in 2016.

Neville Lawrence launched a legal battle to stop him leaving the force, but this was unsuccessful.