Police conducted a smear campaign against Stephen Lawrence's mum and dad

 38Degrees have only 48 hours  to gather signatures for a petition to uncover the

 truth about an operation by undercover police officers to  smear the parents of 

murdered Stephen Lawrence.

 It’s now 20 years since Doreen and Neville Lawrence’s son Stephen was killed in a racist attack. They campaigned for 18 years before they saw their son’s killers brought to justice. Now they face new allegations that undercover police tried to smear them - in yet another attempt to derail their struggle for justice.

We’ve got a chance to help uncover the truth and give the Lawrences the answers 

they deserve. But we need to hurry - it’s just 48 hours until I deliver our petition to help secure a proper, independent inquiry.

Please can you sign it now?
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/stephen-lawrence


 There are clear signs that the authorities are already feeling pressure to act.
 On Friday, Doreen Lawrence was invited to meet with the head of the 
Metropolitan Police. [1] David Cameron won’t rule out a full inquiry. 
[2] But it would be all too easy for things to go quiet after the media 
storm dies down. We need to work together to make sure that doesn’t 
happen.


 On Wednesday, I’m taking our petition to the Home Office to ask Theresa May to hold a proper inquiry into these allegations. If enough of us sign the petition in the next 48 hours, we can tip the balance of her decision - and help get the Lawrences the answers they deserve.

Click here to sign the petition:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/stephen-lawrence


 As someone who has campaigned alongside the Lawrences for many years, I
 have seen firsthand their bravery and dignity in the face of 
unimaginable loss. In the end, their courage not only led to justice for
 their son, but also to widespread recognition that we could no longer 
ignore the disastrous consequences of racism in the police.


 When we can’t trust the police to let people strive for truth and 
justice, our whole democracy is in danger. The Lawrences’ case isn’t the
 only example of the police treating people with contempt. We need to make sure this case is the beginning of the end of undercover police abusing their powers - and to do that, we need a proper inquiry.

Click here to sign the petition now:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/stephen-lawrence

Dear Home Secretary 

I believe that a huge number of people would support the call by Neville Lawrence

For an independent, judge-led inquiry into the allegations of Peter Francis

 that the Met SDS was tasked with finding ways to smear the reputation of the 

Lawrence family, rather than carry out a thorough investigation into the brutal,

 racist murder of their son Stephen. I believe that tagging an investigation onto

 two pre-existing inquiries is an inadequate response, as this is yet another 

example of the serially corrupt conduct of the Met, and in order to restore 

confidence in the force amongst both the minority and the majority ethnic 

communities of the country we need a root and branch investigation of the Met's

 culture then, and the extent to which it informs current policy and practice.

 Robin Landman OBE

Why is this important?

Many of us would have been appalled but unsurprised at the revelations in 

The Guardian on Monday 24th June that allegations from former undercover police 

officer Peter Francis indicate the Lawrence family were targeted by the Met in 

order to smear their reputation, rather than concentrating their efforts and 

resources on investigating the brutal racist murder of their son Stephen.

 This is yet another revelation that further damages the reputation of the Met,

 following a series of stories that indicate that it has lost its moral compass.

We in the Network for Black Professionals believe that large numbers of the 

British public - both from the majority and minority ethnic communities - would 

support Neville Lawrence's call for an independent, judge-led inquiry into these 

allegations. We further believe that the Home Secretary's response of tagging

 these fresh allegations onto two pre-existing inquiries is inadequate, and that

 only a clearly focused and truly independent inquiry would give the  reassurance

 that the public needs, and provide some closure for Doreen and Neville Lawrence 

and their children.

How it will be delivered

I'll be delivering the petition to the Home Office this Wednesday.