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No change in Lawrence sentencing

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Gary Dobson and David NorrisGary Dobson and David Norris were convicted over the 1993 murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence

The sentences handed to Gary Dobson and David Norris for the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence will not be reviewed, it has emerged.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve said the sentences will not be referred to the Court of Appeal for a decision on whether they are "unduly lenient".

He said the minimum terms are "within the appropriate range of sentences".

Mr Grieve said the pair will not be released until, or unless, the Parole Board thinks they pose no further risk.

The pair were sentenced to life after being found guilty by an Old Bailey jury at the beginning of January.

Dobson was ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years and two months, and Norris 14 years and three months.

Explaining his decision not to refer the sentences to the Court of Appeal, Mr Grieve said: "This was a despicable and appalling crime.

"Justice was long delayed and I can fully understand why some people are unhappy that the minimum terms handed down were not longer.

"However, having considered the sentences carefully I have come to the conclusion that the minimum terms are within the appropriate range of sentences, bearing in mind the offenders' ages at the time of the crime, and therefore I have decided not to refer them to the Court of Appeal."

He stressed that the terms were the minimum periods that will actually be served.

"Dobson and Norris will not be released unless and until the Parole Board considers they do not pose a risk," he said.

Dobson, 36, and Norris, 35, were the first people convicted over the fatal attack on Mr Lawrence by a group of white youths near a bus stop in Eltham, in south-east London, on 22 April 1993.

Earlier this week it emerged that the men are to appeal against their convictions.

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Lawrence Freund begrüßt Urteile

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Duwayne BrooksMr Brooks leiden posttraumatische Belastungsstörung

Der beste Freund erstochen Teenagers Stephen Lawrence sagte der BBC "es lohnt sich alle nach der Überzeugung von zwei Männern wegen Mordes war".

Duwayne Brooks erlitt posttraumatischen Belastungsstörung und eine Aufschlüsselung nach die Tötung im April 1993.

Letzte Woche wurden Gary Dobson, 36, und David Norris, 35, für das Leben im Gefängnis.

Mr Brooks sah seinen 18 Jahre alten Freund von einer Gruppe von weißen Männern, die Rasse Missbrauch bei ihnen in Eltham, Süd-Ost-London schrie hatte angegriffen.

Er erzählte Radio 4 heute Programm: "Seit 18 Jahren haben ich ertragen Belästigung und Viktimisierung und Gefühl Schuld für die fehlgeschlagene Privatklage."

Er fügte hinzu: "Um zu sehen, zwei Mitglieder der Bande verurteilt, für mich es war es Wert."

Herr Brooks erklärte: Es war eine "partielle Sieg", aber er lobte die Polizei für die beiden Männer vor Gericht zu bringen.

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Neue Informationen bei Lawrence

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Neville Lawrence fordert Norris und Dobson alle Komplizen seines Sohnes Mord aufzugeben

Detektive bei Stephen Lawrence wurden neuen Informationen gegeben, da zwei Männer für seine Ermordung verurteilt wurden.

Det Ch Insp Clive Driscoll, die durch die Richter für seine Arbeit über den Fall gelobt wurde, sagte, dass BBC News Informationen ausgewertet wurde.

Gary Dobson, 36, und David Norris, 35, haben für das Leben für die Tötung in Südost-London 1993-rassistische inhaftiert wurde.

Großbritanniens besten Polizist hat gesagt, die verbleibenden Verdächtigen im Fall "nicht einfach in ihren Betten ruhen sollte".

Erfüllt Polizeichef Bernard Hogan-Howe seine Kommentare wie gemacht Dobson wurde auf ein Minimum von 15 Jahren und zwei Monaten verurteilt und Norris trägt, 14 Jahre und drei Monate zu dienen.

Herr Hogan-Howe, sagte die Kraft "aktiv Überprüfung wurde die Folgen davon, welche Möglichkeiten dargestellt werden könnte" durch die Überzeugungen.

In einem direkten Appell für weitere potentielle Zeugen, fügte er hinzu: "Alles, was Sie wissen, bitte sag uns... Wir können in diesem Fall immer noch einen Unterschied machen."

Herr Driscoll, der die Untersuchung seit 2006 geführt hat, sagte, dass Offiziere besuchen würde, Dobson und Norris im Gefängnis, um festzustellen, ob sie bereit wäre, die Untersuchung zu unterstützen.

Er sagte, dass das Standardverfahren in einem Fall war, wo andere Straftäter im großen blieb, selbst wenn eine oder beide der verurteilten Männern Polizei geholfen haben gab es jedoch keine rechtliche Avenue für sie durch einen reduzierten Satz profitieren.

'Rassenhass'

Herr Driscoll hinzugefügt, dass er noch "optimistisch" Fortschritte im Fall verweigert, dass alle Möglichkeiten zur forensischen Beweise zu sammeln erschöpft war.

Offiziere aus dem Lawrence Anfrage Team besprechen den Fall bei einem Treffen mit Offizieren Scotland Yard nächste Woche.

Der Richter, Herr Justiz Treacy, beschrieben die Kriminalität als ein "Mord, der das Gewissen der Nation gezeichnet".

Gary Dobson and David NorrisGary Dobson und David Norris wurden im Old Bailey verurteilt.

Dobson und Norris sind die ersten Menschen von einer Gruppe von weißen Jugendlichen in der Nähe einer Bushaltestelle in Eltham am 22. April 1993 über dem tödlichen Anschlag auf 18-Year-Old Mr Lawrence verurteilt.

Im Mai des gleichen Jahres wurden die Brüder Neil und Jamie Acourt und Luke Knight neben Dobson und Norris verhaftet.

Drei Jahre später Neil Acourt, Herr Ritter und Dobson Mordes angeklagt wurden aber wurden freigesprochen, nachdem das CPS beschlossen, dass Beweise unzuverlässig war.

Während der Verurteilung Dobson und Norris am Old Bailey, Herr Justiz Treacy sagte er hoffte die Überzeugung würde nicht "Schließen Sie die Datei", fügte hinzu, dass Beweise drei zeigten oder vier anderen Mörder noch auf freiem waren.

"Wie Fortschritte in der Wissenschaft zwei Personen vor Gericht gestellt haben, ich hoffe, dass die Polizei Warnung für zukünftige Linien der Anfrage, nicht nur auf der Grundlage von Entwicklungen in der Wissenschaft, sondern auch Informationen von denen, die so weit, geschwiegen haben", sagte er.

Das Paar wurden nach den Leitlinien im Ort zum Zeitpunkt des Angriffs und als Jugendliche verurteilt, weil beide unter 18 gewesen war.

In seinen Ausführungen von Verurteilung, Herr Justiz Treacy sagte: "das Verbrechen begangen wurde aus keinem anderen Grund als Rassenhass," fügte hinzu, dass die schwarze Jugendlichen "völlig unschuldig und hilflos" war.

Er sagte, dass der Angriff "eine kurze aber koordinierten Angriff, eine rassistische Spott, eine Gebühr und ein Verschlucken bis von Stephen Lawrence" war.

"Ich bin sicher, dass Sie wussten, dass Ihre Gruppe in dieser Nacht mit einem Messer bewaffnet war," sagte der Richter die beiden Männer.

"Der Beweis nicht beweisen Sie hatte das Messer, aber des Inhabers es mit Ihrer Zustimmung."

Herr Justiz Treacy fügte hinzu, dass keine Reue gezeigt worden war.

BBC Inneres Korrespondent Dominic Casciani, der vor Gericht war, sagte der Polizei waren deutlich erleichtert, hinzufügen: "In vielerlei Hinsicht ist dies eine Zeit der Buße für Offiziere."

Im Jahr 1999 wurde Scotland Yard als "institutionell rassistisch" bei den Macpherson Anfrage beschrieben, die der Polizei Umgang mit der Fall betrachtet.

Wenn diese Beschreibung gefragt, kurz bevor das Paar Verurteilung der, Herr Hogan-Howe sagte: "Ich hoffe, wir sind nicht, aber es ist ein bisschen wie jemand gefragt, ob sie ein netter Mensch sind. Sind wir die besten Leute zu Fragen?"

Er sagte, die Kraft sei "sehr unterschiedlich aus, wo wir waren" zum Zeitpunkt der Mr Lawrence Tod.

Brian Paddick, der Met ehemaliger stellvertretender Assistent Kommissar, sagte, dass die Kraft, die "Bedeutung" der Fall ist, hatte mehr Mittel in die Untersuchung als alle anderen wie sie versuchen wollten, einige Goodwill aus der schwarzen Gemeinschaft wiederherzustellen.

"sie konnte nicht Geschichte, umschreiben oder die Fehler in der Vergangenheit gemacht, aber sie haben am besten möglichen Anstrengungen unternommen, um sich selbst zu erlösen,", sagte er der BBC News Channel.

Herr Paddick sagte, dass, obwohl die Art und Weise die Force Mord untersucht seit Mr Lawrence Tod, mehr erforderlich sind, um über die Frage der Ausrichtung der Menschen mit schwarzer Hautfarbe in Stop-Suche Prüfungen erfolgen verändert hatte.

Dr. Richard Stone, Berater für die Untersuchung Macpherson vereinbart, sagen, dass die Chance, eine schwarze Person, die von der Polizei angehalten verdoppelt hatte, da die Anfrage Macpherson seine Ergebnisse veröffentlicht.

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Pair guilty of Lawrence murder

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Doreen Lawrence: "How can I celebrate when my son lies buried?"

Two men have been convicted of the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, 18 years after he was stabbed to death near a south London bus stop.

Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty by an Old Bailey jury after a trial based on forensic evidence.

Scientists found a tiny bloodstain on Dobson's jacket that could only have come from Mr Lawrence.

They also found a single hair belonging to the teenager on Norris's jeans. Sentencing will be on Wednesday.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Panorama, Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence said: "I don't forgive the boys who killed Stephen. They don't think they have done anything wrong.

"They took away Stephen's life and there is nothing in their behaviour or anything to show they regret what their actions have done and the pain it has caused us as a family."

Gary Dobson and David Norris: Denied murderGary Dobson and David Norris: Denied murder

In a statement read by his lawyer outside the Old Bailey, Stephen's father, Neville Lawrence, said the convictions were a moment of joy and relief - but he could not rest until all of those who killed his son were brought to justice. He described the investigation and preparation of the case as "faultless".

Duwayne Brooks, Stephen's best friend who had been with him on the night of the murder, tweeted: "Some justice at last".

'Prime suspects'

The original failed investigation into the murder led to the Metropolitan Police being branded as institutionally racist.

Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death near a bus stop in Eltham, south London, in April 1993.

Police identified five men who were later named in a damning public inquiry as the "prime suspects".

By that time, there had already been a catalogue of police errors and two failed prosecutions, one brought by Stephen's parents.

But in a four-year-long cold case review, a fresh team of forensic scientists uncovered microscopic evidence linking two of the five men to the murder - evidence that the police had held all along.

The material - bloodstains, clothing fibres and a single hair belonging to the teenager - were recovered from the clothes of the suspects which had been seized in 1993.

Scientists recovered the material using advanced techniques which were not available to the original case scientists.

Dobson, 36, and Norris, 35, denied the murder. They said their clothing had been contaminated as police mixed up evidence over the years. Detectives spent months establishing the movements and handling of the exhibits since 1993 - and the jury were told that contamination was implausible.

Dobson was jailed for five years in 2010 for drugs trafficking. He is among a small number of men to have been tried twice for the same crime after the Court of Appeal quashed his 1996 acquittal for the murder.

Norris was convicted in 2002 of a separate allegation of racially threatening behaviour.

In mitigation, ahead of sentencing on Wednesday, counsel for Dobson said there was no evidence he had been the leader or prime motivator of the group that attacked the teenager.

Panorama follows Stephen Lawrence's mother, Doreen, as she returns to her son's grave in Jamaica

Norris's counsel repeated his client's pleas of innocence - and revealed his client had been beaten up while on remand at Belmarsh prison, suffering a broken nose and four broken ribs.

Mr Justice Treacy discharged the jury and thanked them for their "dedicated service". He told them the public owed them a debt of gratitude.

As the defendants left the dock, Dobson told his family not to worry, and Norris waved to the gallery. Members of both men's families shouted back.

'Unique case'

Acting Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who ordered the 2006 cold case review that led to the convictions, said the case had been extremely important for the Lawrence family, the Metropolitan Police and society at large.

She said: "It's a matter of huge regret to the Met that it has taken 18 years to get to this point.

"It has been a unique case in policing. Firstly the horrible, horrible nature of the attack on the night, the time in which it has taken to bring anybody to justice, and the tireless campaigning of the Lawrences.

"There is no comparable case. All homicide cases are terrible, but for us it is a very important case.

"Most importantly, we wanted to be able to bring people to justice for the killing and try to give Doreen and Neville Lawrence and their family some sense of justice."

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Lawrence Jury Beratungen weiter

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Murder victim Stephen LawrenceA-Level Student Stephen Lawrence wurde tödlich im Südosten Londons im Jahr 1993 erstochen.

Die Jury in der Stephen Lawrence Mord Studie baut sein Urteil im Old Bailey betrachten.

Die Jury, die zunächst am Donnerstag verschickt wurde, wurde die Berechtigung zum Anzeigen von video-Beweise als Teil ihrer Beratungen gegeben.

Herr Lawrence, 18, wurde bei einem Angriff rassistisch Gang in Eltham, Süd-Ost-London 1993 erstochen.

Gary Dobson, 36, David Norris, 35, leugnen Sie, Mord und sagen Sie, dass forensische Beweise verseucht war.

Herr Justiz Treacy hat davor gewarnt, Mitglieder der Jury jede Emotion aufzuheben, wie sie auf ihr Urteil kommen.

Die Studie, die im Old Bailey am 14. November begann, ist in der siebten Woche.

Das Gericht wird normalerweise während der Woche nach Weihnachten geschlossen aber speziell in der Urlaubszeit für diesen Fall geöffnet wurde.

Während seiner Zusammenfassung am Donnerstag, dem Richter, Herr Justiz Treacy, sagte die Jury der vier Frauen und acht Männer, dass sie "" Urteile auf der Grundlage der kühlen, ruhigen Betrachtung erreichen müssen und betonten, dass sie so lange wie nötig werden könnten, um ein Urteil zu erreichen.

Er erzählte den Juroren, dass ein Urteil zu erreichen sie die Frage, ob sie sicher, dass neue forensische Beweise für Textilfasern sein können, Blut und Haar von Mr Lawrence kam beantworten müssen.

A prison vanGary Dobson und David Norris erreichten Old Bailey früher in einem Gefängnis van

Wenn so, sie, um sicher zu sein haben war es nicht kontaminiert und wenn, die nicht ausgeschlossen werden kann, müssen sie ein Urteil der nicht schuldig zurückgeben.

Der Richter sagte die Jury auch dann sicher sein, dass die Beklagten den Angriff auf Mr Lawrence teilgenommen hatte und, wenn also, sie wollten ihn töten oder schweren Schaden verursachen.

Unter gemischten Gesellschaft können sie des Mordes verurteilt werden, wenn sie nicht den Mörder Schlag anrichten, aber wenn sie wusste, dass jemand in der Gruppe soll Ernst verursachen Schaden.

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Lawrence judge continues summary

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Murder victim Stephen LawrenceStephen Lawrence was attacked by a group of white youths in south-east London

The judge at the Stephen Lawrence murder trial is continuing to sum up the case at the Old Bailey.

Mr Justice Treacy has warned jurors to set aside any emotion as they consider their verdicts. They are expected to start this process later on Thursday.

Mr Lawrence, 18, was stabbed in a racist gang attack in Eltham, south east London in 1993.

Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, deny murder. The defence says the forensic evidence was contaminated.

Mr Lawrence's parents Neville and Doreen are at the Old Bailey, which is normally closed throughout the week after Christmas but has been specially opened during the holiday period for this case.

Mr Justice Treacy has been setting out the key steps that jurors will need to follow in their route to reaching a verdict.

He has covered the attack, the question of contamination, forensics and the defence case in his summing-up.

'Big talk'

On Thursday he said the jury could only consider "bad character" evidence of a police video if jury ruled out the contamination defence first.

They have previously viewed surveillance footage which showed the defendants using violent racist language.

Mr Justice Treacy said: "Does it show violently racist characters not averse to using knives or was it just the big talk of teenage boys?"

The jury must also consider whether the defendents lied about where they were on the night of the murder. Mr Dobson said he was at home with his parents, while Mr Norris's mother told the court he would have been at home.

The judge said Mr Dobson's parents supported his alibi. But he said the jury must ask why Mr Norris' mother had not told the police of his alibi in 1993.

On Wednesday, the judge said the men could be found guilty if they were party to Mr Lawrence's killing - even if they did not strike the fatal blow. He said manslaughter should only be considered if jurors found the pair not guilty of murder.

Mr Justice Treacy said scientific evidence found in a 2007 review of the case was "of no value" if it was proved to have been contaminated.

He told jurors the case was "real life, not a detective novel" and it was unnecessary to tie up loose ends.

The trial has been adjourned until 14:00 GMT.

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Lawrence jury hear new forensics

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Stephen LawrenceA Level student Stephen Lawrence, 18, died in in Eltham in April 1993

A forensic scientist has told the Stephen Lawrence murder trial fibres were missed in 1995 because it was like "looking for a needle in a haystack".

Dr Angela Gallop, who supervised the original investigation and a new one in 2007, said the "dynamics" of the crime scene had been re-examined.

Prosecutors say evidence on the clothes of Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, links them to the 1993 killing.

Mr Dobson and Mr Norris deny murder and say police contaminated the evidence.

The BBC's home affairs correspondent Matt Prodger, tweeting from the Old Bailey, said cold case reviews such as that carried out in 2007 had become increasingly common since the 1990s.

Dr Gallop was in charge of the forensic tests, but by 2007 was working for a private firm, LGC, who were given the task of looking at the forensic evidence afresh.

She said the original forensic tests, in 1995, involved the examination of 1,071 fibres while LGC's trawl found 4,500.

She said of the 1995 tests: "It's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack and some needles are easier to find than others. We didn't find them and we didn't look at nearly as many fibres as LGC did."

"Perhaps if we'd gone on we might have found them; I don't know," she added.

Court artist's sketch of Gary Dobson and David Norris Gary Dobson (left) and David Norris both deny murdering Stephen Lawrence

Dr Gallop said they looked for "saliva from shouting and spitting, fibres, hairs" and they had looked for paint flakes from a scaffold pole found on the pavement near the murder scene.

She also said they searched for fibres from Mr Lawrence's red shirt and found them on tapings from Mr Dobson's jacket and Mr Norris's sweatshirt.

The LGC team found 16 fibres which could have come from Mr Lawrence's clothing on tapings from Mr Dobson's jacket or debris in the evidence bag.

Tiny bloodstain

Dr Gallop said that in 2007 two grey/blue fibres from the victim's jacket were also found on tapings from Mr Dobson's jacket.

They also found a tiny bloodstain on the underside of the collar of his jacket.

Two hairs were found in the evidence bag containing Mr Norris's jeans, one of which matched Mr Lawrence's DNA to a probability of one in 1,000, and six fibres on his sweatshirt could have come from the victim's trousers.

Defence lawyers claim these fibres are from contaminated evidence.

Tim Roberts QC, for Gary Dobson, cross examined her about a report she wrote in 1995 about her conclusions up to then about the forensic examination she had conducted.

In it she said the chances of finding any fibres that could have come from Mr Lawrence's clothes on the samples from the suspects clothes were "very much of a long shot."

Michael Mansfield QC, who led a private prosecution brought by Mr Lawrence's parents back in 1995, then gave evidence about his role in the case.

Michael Mansfield QCMichael Mansfield denied he had actually touched any of the items

He denied any clothing had been taken out of its packaging at any of the hearings but admitted he could not remember if the defence had asked to see the exhibits.

Mr Mansfield said: "I wouldn't touch an exhibit, even a container with an exhibit in. I would ask permission from those in control.

"If I wanted to take something out... I wouldn't do it myself because obviously there's a risk of contamination."

Under cross examination by Mr Dobson's lawyer, Timothy Roberts QC, Mr Mansfield was reminded of an excerpt from the inquest in 1997.

In the excerpt, when Mr Mansfield was questioning Mr Dobson, he said: "May I just hold it up and explain what it is? A grey jacket with a zip-up front with a couple of pockets in yellow and collar in yellow and markings on the back. I'd like to ask you about this garment."

Mr Mansfield pointed out he had been holding up the jacket in its evidence bag.

He said: "I wouldn't have bothered to give an explanation of the item if it was being held up out of a bag."

The trial continues

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Lawrence officer clothing denial

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Court artist's sketch of Gary Dobson and David Norris Gary Dobson (left) and David Norris both deny murdering Stephen Lawrence

A police officer who visited Stephen Lawrence's home has denied possibly tainting evidence by wearing the same clothes to search a suspect's house.

Det Con Linda Holden said she did not wear the same clothes during a search of Gary Dobson's house as those worn a week earlier at Stephen's family home.

Mr Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, both from south London, deny murder.

Prosecutors say DNA evidence links them to the black teenager, who was murdered in Eltham, south London, in 1993.

They say a group of white youths attacked the 18-year-old A-Level student, forced him to the ground at a bus stop and then stabbed him twice.

Prosecutors claim that microscopic fibres found on clothes belonging to the defendants prove that they took part in the gang attack.

But defence counsel for the pair say the fibres, blood and hair were transferred on to the clothes by contamination.

Ms Holden visited the Lawrence household on 23 April 1993, the day after Stephen died, and then again on 25, 27 and 28 April, with a final trip on 29 April.

Then, working as an exhibits officer, she searched Mr Dobson's bedroom on 7 May.

The court heard that police seized jackets and a cardigan during a search of the house, placing them in unsealed brown paper evidence bags before Mr Dobson, who was 17 at the time, was arrested.

It also learned that a team of police running into double figures and a dog section had arrived at the large Chislehurst house belonging to David Norris's family before leaving with several items of clothing in evidence bags.

And it emerged that the defendant's belongings were handled by people who had been handling the victim's possessions.

Ms Holden told the Old Bailey jury that she was certain she had not worn the same clothes to the Lawrence and Dobson homes.

Timothy Roberts QC, representing Mr Dobson, asked if she had been wearing the same clothes on both visits and could have contaminated the Dobson evidence with fibres from the Lawrence household.

'Basic' contamination training

She said: "It was well over a week later and I didn't think that I had any risk of contamination and certain senior officers knew that I had been to the Lawrence family home."

Later in cross examination, the defence barrister asked: "Are you absolutely sure and can you swear on oath that you didn't wear the same shirt?"

She replied that she was "positive", prompting Mr Justice Treacy to ask what made her certain she had not worn the same outfit.

"As I said earlier I knew that I was going into a search so I chose that morning to wear clothes that if they got soiled or whatever it didn't matter," she said.

Ms Holden went on: "I knew that what I wore on that morning was not the same outfit that I'd worn the week before."

Stephen LawrenceStephen Lawrence died in April 1993

Det Ch Insp Alison Funnell, who was then a police constable and used the surname Rickell, helped in the search of Dobson's home and told the court she had only received "basic training" in avoiding cross-contamination of fibres.

DS John Bevan also visited the bereaved family in Woolwich, south London, after Stephen's death and before the searches were carried out.

The court heard that he last visited the Lawrence family on 4 May before taking part in a search of Mr Norris's parents' house in Chislehurst, south London, three days later.

Mr Bevan admitted that he may have worn the same "outer garments" on those two days.

He insisted that he had never sat down in the Lawrence family home, a claim which Stephen Batten QC, representing Mr Norris, dismissed as "simply implausible".

Forensic evidence

Meanwhile, the jury was told that after Mr Dobson's clothes had been sealed into police bags at Bromley police station, they were taken back to Eltham and stored in the same disused cell where Stephen's clothes had previously been kept.

The court has already been told that cold case forensic teams found a speck of blood on the collar of Mr Dobson's jacket that was a billion-to-one match to Stephen's DNA.

And there were minute flecks of blood on the jacket itself that did not contain a full DNA profile.

There were, in total, 16 fibres which could have come from three separate items of clothing worn by the dead teenager, found either on the jacket or its evidence bag.

And two hairs were found in an evidence bag used to store a pair of jeans seized from Mr Norris's home, one of which was 2mm long and found to match Stephen's DNA to a certainty of one in 1,000.

Seven fibres were also found on a sweatshirt seized in the same search which potentially came from two items of clothing owned by Stephen.

The case continues.

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Lawrence forensic probe 'queried'

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A blue cardigan worn by Stephen LawrenceA cardigan worn by Stephen Lawrence was among items of his clothing held as evidence by police

The trial of two men accused of killing Stephen Lawrence has heard there was no written procedure to ensure forensic evidence avoided contamination.

In defence questions, a police exhibits officer said seized clothing was bagged but these were not always sealed.

Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, both from south London, deny murder.

Prosecutors at the Old Bailey say DNA evidence links them to a group of white youths that attacked the black teenager in Eltham, south London, in April 1993.

The 18-year-old A-Level student was forced to the ground at a bus stop and then stabbed twice, the prosecution says.

BBC home affairs correspondent Matt Prodger said the reliability of scientific evidence was at the heart of the trial.

The prosecution has said textile fibres, and blood and hair matching Mr Lawrence was on clothing seized from the defendants in 1993 and discovered as part of a cold case review in 2007.

But in opening statements, lawyers for Mr Dobson and Mr Norris contended that there had been contamination of evidence by the police.

Robert Crane, a detective constable who was an exhibits officer at Eltham police station in 1993, told the court that items of clothing were placed in brown paper bags, but not always sealed.

He told the court that at the time he "had a degree of forensic awareness" and understood the potential for cross-contamination.

But he said there was no written procedure for ensuring that evidence was not contaminated and those handling the clothes wore gloves, but not the white forensic suits used today.

The jury heard that exhibits were stored in a disused cell in the building, and there were no designated forensic retrieval or packaging areas.

In cross-examination by Timothy Roberts QC, who represents Mr Dobson, the court was told that exhibit bags could be left open while officers were waiting for a photographer.

Mr Crane said he was not aware of any special procedures to prevent fibres or fragments being passed on to an exhibit by a police officer when they opened and resealed packages.

Meanwhile, Det Con Steven Pye, who collected the teenager's personal belongings from the hospital after he died, told the court that the items were in plastic hospital sacks and he bagged them up in police paper sacks using rubber gloves.

The court heard that some of the paper bags were not sealed at the hospital because blood stains on the items were still wet.

Mr Pye said the bags of bloodstained clothes were not immediately sealed because if the paper sacks became wet they might collapse. He passed them on to a colleague to be dried.

Mr Roberts, in cross examination, asked: "Is the upshot of all of this, however it happened, that the clothing from Stephen Lawrence that was most heavily blood stained, and therefore might contaminate other things, remained in unsealed packages whilst you dealt with it?

In response, Mr Pye said: "The most heavily bloodstained would appear to have been placed in paper sacks and folded over, yes."

Court artist's sketch of Gary Dobson and David Norris Gary Dobson (left) and David Norris both deny murdering Stephen Lawrence

The court heard that Mr Pye had a stack of paper bags with him at the hospital that could have picked up fibres or blood flakes on the outside.

"By touching all of the packages with the same pair of gloves and folding over the tops of all the brown paper bags you could have distributed blood and fibres from each of these items on to the outside of the packages," said Mr Roberts.

"The items were placed in bags with the same pair of gloves. My recollection is that the bags were sealed at some point in the night but I can't remember when," replied Mr Pye.

The court was shown a graphic with the clothing worn by Stephen on the night he died to help them follow how the exhibits were stored and handled.

Jury members heard that Stephen's blue cardigan, black jacket, green body warmer, red t-shirt, white vest and green cords were taken to a drying room at Southwark police station.

A groundsheet was placed in the drying space to catch any debris, along with the paper bags used to store the clothes.

After three days in the drying room, the clothes were placed in new paper bags, the tops of which were folded over but not sealed because there was a need to photograph them at Eltham police station.

Mr Crane was questioned about the photographs.

'Nervous' when questioned

During cross examination Mr Roberts said: "At the time you weren't thinking about the risk of possibly picking up fibres or flakes by way of contamination."

"No that was the norm," replied Mr Crane.

Earlier, Graham Cooke an officer who questioned Mr Dobson while on house-to-house inquiries said the defendant had seemed nervous.

The retired police officer told the court that the defendant said he was at home all night studying on the night the teenager was killed, adding that he did not know the victim.

"In my opinion he was nervous at the time," said Mr Cooke.

The jury was also shown police surveillance photographs of the defendants outside a house in Bournbrook Road in Eltham.

The trial has been adjourned until Tuesday.

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