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London cops face bribe inquiry
27/07/2006 12:42 - (SA)
London - The commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police will face a scrutiny committee on Thursday to answer allegations that the investigation into a racist murder was stymied by corruption.
Sir Ian Blair and assistant commissioner Alan Brown have been summoned by the Metropolitan Police Authority to respond to allegations made in a British Broadcasting Corporation report that a senior detective in the 1993 murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence was paid by a prime suspect's father to block the investigation.
"The MPA has serious concerns about the allegations of corruption made in the BBC documentary," said Metropolitan Police Authority chairperson Len Duvall.
"This case is not closed and if new information comes to light the MPA's expectation is that the (Metropolitan Police) will carry out a full investigation."
An investigation into the allegations was launched on Wednesday by police watchdog The Independent Police Complaints Commission, after complaints by the victim's mother, Doreen Lawrence.
Stephen Lawrence, 18, was killed in an unprovoked street attack by a gang of white youths who hurled racist insults before stabbing him.
Five men were arrested and three were tried in a private prosecution, but no one was convicted. The Lawrence family blamed bungled policing, and the media have long suggested police errors let guilty men go free.
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