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.
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.
