THREE men accused of murdering a black teenager "simply because of his colour," walked free from the Old Bailey yesterday after the victim's parents decided to drop their private prosecution.
Mr Michael Mansfield QC, for the prosecution, told the court that Stephen Lawrence's parents felt their case would fail after the judge ruled that vital eyewitness evidence was inadmissible.
After ordering the jury to acquit the three men, Mr Justice Curtis paid tribute to Mr and Mrs Lawrence for their three-year campaign to seek justice for the murder of their 18-year-old son, Stephen.
"They have behaved in a statesmanlike way. Being a private prosecution, Mr and Mrs Lawrence, who have suffered a cruel blow and an unjust one, have behaved quite properly to say that the rest of the evidence is not sufficient on which they can seek to ask for a guilty verdict in these three cases," he said.
Stephen Lawrence, who hoped to become an architect, was murdered by a gang of six white youths as he waited at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, in April 1993. His parents were forced to bring a private prosecution, for only the fourth time in 130 years of British legal history, after the Crown Prosecution Service ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge two of the gang.
Mr Neville Lawrence, Stephen's father, said: "I believe in fairness. I don't think what happened today is fair at all. My wife is not here today. You can just judge how she feels."
After their acquittal the three defendants, Mr Neil Acourt (20), Mr Luke Knight (19) and Mr Gary Dobson (20), all from Eltham, south-east London, left court smiling. They had all denied the murder.
Stephen's best friend, Mr Dwayne Brooks, had been with him at the bus stop and had identified Mr Acourt and Mr Knight as members of the gang. However, Mr Justice Curtis ruled that his evidence was "contaminated".
An undercover police video revealed that the three men were "hardened racists" who owned a variety of knives and were filmed demonstrating and practising the "best way to stab" people.
PA adds: Scotland Yard last night defended its record in the Lawrence case and vowed to continue the search for Stephen's killers.
The Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner, Mr Ian Johnston, said: "We will never close this case and we will go on looking forever. We will meet with the family in a few weeks when the dust has settled."