Murder of Stephen Lawrence

Sir William Macpherson's Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, reported 1999 The 350-page report found the police investigation into the teenager's murder marred by professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership. That phrase, which Scarman had refused to accept, entered the vocabulary of British public life. Its 70 recommendations went well beyond one force. Macpherson wanted the full force of race relations law to apply to police officers, and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 followed. The ending of the double jeopardy rule, which had barred anyone from being tried twice for the same crime, is often counted among its biggest consequences. Start here to understand how Britain now talks about institutional failure.