Stephen Lawrence killer David Norris denied release from prison

One of the killers of Stephen Lawrence has been refused parole after a public hearing earlier this year.

David Norris, now 49, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years and three months in January 2012, a term that expired in December 2024.

He spoke for the first time about his role in the murder at a public parole hearing earlier in October, having previously denied being at the scene of the killing.

In a decision published on Tuesday, the Parole Board panel found that he should not be released from jail, or moved to open conditions.

Members considered the seriousness of his crime, which “devastated the lives of the family and friends of Stephen Lawrence”, and a series of incidents where he is accused of breaking prison rules.

These included getting a tattoo, and being found with two secret phones and a screwdriver in 2016, as well as smoking “one puff” of a cannabis joint in 2023 that he said was laced with other drugs.

The panel also found that there was a “serious possibility” he had committed other knife attacks – the attempted murder of Stacey Benefield in 1993 of which he was acquitted, and another slashing attack for which he was never charged.

It said that while behind bars he had become involved in disputes with Muslim prisoners, throwing excrement and referring to them as “muzzies”, as well as in 2013 reportedly telling his daughter he did not want black grandchildren, and in 2022 using the N-word.

Norris, who said he converted to Buddhism in 2019, finally admitted his role in Stephen’s killing when he confessed to a Catholic priest after seeing Neville Lawrence on television saying that he would forgive his son’s murderers.

Stephen was killed during an assault by five or six men, but Norris refused to name the others responsible for the racist attack, saying that he feared for his family’s safety if he identified them.

He would not even confirm the involvement of his co-defendant Gary Dobson, who was also jailed for murder in 2012.

Norris was allowed to read a statement before being questioned, saying he wanted to “express my genuine remorse for the death of the victim in my case”.

He said: “I will go to my grave with that guilt in my heart,” adding that “the events of that night 32 years ago should never have happened”.

The hearing took place in a prison but was streamed to a room in the Royal Courts of Justice so that it could be publicly viewed, with only the back of Norris’ head visible on camera.

Asked who else was with him on the night of the murder, he said: “I am not here to discuss other people, I am here to take responsibility for my part in what happened, my actions.”

He later added: “In an ideal world, I could tell (Stephen’s family) the whole truth of my part and others.

“I can’t give them everything they wish as it would pose a risk to me and my family.”

After the hearing Stephen’s mother, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, branded Norris a coward and called on the Metropolitan Police to do everything in its power to get the names.

She said: “This man owes me the truth and the Met owe me justice.”

None of the prison workers who gave evidence to the parole board panel supported his release, instead saying he should be moved to a lower category jail.

Norris was moved back up to a category B prison after he was caught with two mobile phones and a screwdriver in his cell in 2022.

Only one witness found that he was ready for release, an independent psychologist instructed on behalf of Norris.

The hearing was told that while behind bars he had called a female nurse “a horrible c***” and become involved in clashes with Muslim prisoners.