Wednesday 4th January 2012 | 07:00

Sadiq Khan: Some justice at last

Writing for PoliticsHome, Sadiq Khan says the conviction of two men for the murder of Stephen Lawrence represents 'some sort of justice'.

Never before has the saying ‘success has many fathers but failure is an orphan’ seemed more pertinent than the day after an Old Bailey jury found Gary Dobson and David Norris guilty of murdering of Stephen Lawrence on that April day back in 1993. Reaching this verdict after almost 19 years is a huge tribute to both of Stephen’s parents – their resolution and determination never faded or wavered, and they exhibited a strength and patience without which justice may never have been served.

It is important that, in the light of yesterday’s verdict, we do not forget how the ramifications of Stephen’s murder shaped our society and our public institutions for the better over the intervening period. As a result, we learned real lessons about ourselves as a nation. Every part of our society had to face up to the full consequences of what racism can do – from taking young lives, to polluting and corrupting the functioning of our public bodies.

My first real contact with the case began, as a 22 year old South Londoner, when I heard about the increase in racial attacks that coincided with the opening of a BNP bookshop in South East London. Over the years I have, like many others, attended many demonstrations and meetings, lobbied and done what I can do to help the Lawrence family receive some sort of justice and for this justice to be seen to be done. I am very proud to have become a friend of Doreen – Stephen's mother – over this period.

The family, their friends, their lawyers – Imran Khan, Michael Mansfield, Matthew Ryder – and many others were lone figures in the days, months and even years after Stephen was murdered. And there were others worthy of specific mention – in this particular case, the Daily Mail in my view deserve name-checking for being at the vanguard of the campaign for justice for Stephen’s killers.

Some time after the collapse of the initial case, it was a Labour Home Secretary – Jack Straw – that instigated a Public Inquiry led by Sir William McPherson into the failings that led to a lack of a prosecution. The subsequent report of the inquiry highlighted the failures that let down the Lawrence family – and included some 70 recommendations to prevent a repeat occurrence.

And, to the Labour Government’s credit, we acted on the findings. We sought to reassure the public that the lessons of Stephen’s murder must be learned, and that the institutional racism in public bodies such as the Metropolitan Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the former Police Complaints Authority identified by the McPherson report would be rooted out. Yesterday’s guilty verdict plus some of the changes made since the Public Inquiry will go some way to help restore trust between the police and all citizens. The levels of mistrust between black and Asian minority ethnic communities and the police was a major problem in the early 1990s and the way the police dealt with Stephen Lawrence’s murder as well as other less high profile deaths compounded this mistrust.

Sir William also recommended abolishing the double-jeopardy law in exceptional cases, which Labour implemented, opening the way to yesterday’s guilty verdicts. After all, we mustn’t forget that the reason the family had to bring a private prosecution was due to the flawed police actions and the lack of interest in bringing a criminal prosecution.

And Stephen’s name lives on, leaving a positive legacy for many young people across the country. The Stephen Lawrence Trust now helps young people like Stephen from all walks of life fulfill their potential. It continues to stand alongside Stephen's memory as a remarkable tribute to an exceptional young man from a family that continues to be an inspiration to us all.

While we may have seen a recent backlash against some of the recommendations of the McPherson Inquiry, huge good has been done in Stephen’s name to ensure our public bodies are more representative of the public at large. Our justice system has improved markedly in the proceeding 18 years but it was this that led to many of the recommendations that have led this successful prosecution and an improvement in the justice system over the intervening period

No one is claiming, least of all me, that we have reached a state of utopia in the context of race relations or justice as we start 2012 but, the verdict yesterday is some sort of justice, not just for the Lawrence family but also for all of us who believe that this will lead to communities who in the past have had serious concerns about it to have more confidence in the justice system. This ought to stand as a lasting legacy for the whole of our country.

For more information, please visit the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust website at www.stephenlawrence.org.uk

Rt. Hon Sadiq Khan MP

Sadiq is Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and the Member of Parliament for Tooting