Allegations the police sought to discredit the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence will be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Scotland Yard has asked the IPCC to supervise its handling of the claims made by undercover officer Peter Francis who said he was told to find "dirt" that could be used against the family, shortly after Stephen was killed in a racist attack in 1993. Mr Francis told the Guardian and Channel 4's Dispatches programme that he came under pressure to find "any intelligence that could have smeared the Stephen Lawrence campaign". Mr Lawrence's mother Doreen Lawrence said she was shocked and angry at the disclosure. The Prime Minister said he wants to "get the full truth out" about the allegations.
He said:
"These are absolutely dreadful allegations, and one can only think of the Lawrence family who suffered so much from the loss of their son and now suffer again hearing that potentially the police that were meant to be helping them were actually undermining them."
However, the Metropolitan Black Police Association doesn't think the IPCC is the right body to deal with it and is calling for a judge-led public inquiry.
Its Chair Janet Hill told Premier's Victoria Laurence during the News Hour this latest revelation could undo years of attempts to rebuild trust after the initial mishandled investigation into the murder:
London Mayor Boris Johnson has backed the Prime Minister's calls for an investigation:
"We owe it to Neville, to Doreen, to the entire campaign, everybody who has been fighting for many many years for justice over that matter to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.
"We will want answers very, very fast indeed. We want every big flat rock to be flipped up as fast as possible."
Ex-Scotland Yard chief Lord Condon says he never "authorised or condoned" any smear operation against the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence. Lord Condon was Metropolitan Police Commissioner at the time of the teenager's death.
He said he's shocked and dismayed by the allegations:
"I can tell you what I know and at no time during my time as commissioner did I authorise or condone or was aware of any smear campaign of the nature that has been described."
Scotland Yard has refused to confirm or deny the claims.
A Metropolitan Police statement said:
"The MPS recognises the seriousness of the allegations of inappropriate behaviour and practices involving past undercover deployments.
"The claims in relation to Stephen Lawrence's family will bring particular upset to them and we share their concerns.
"A thorough review and investigation into these matters - Operation Herne - is being overseen by Derbyshire Chief Constable Mick Creedon.
"Operation Herne is a live investigation, four strands of which are being supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and it would be inappropriate to pre-judge its findings.
"The MPS must balance the genuine public interest in these matters with its duty to protect officers and former officers who have been deployed undercover, often in difficult and dangerous circumstances.
"We are therefore not prepared to confirm nor deny the identity of individuals alleged in the media to have been working undercover, nor confirm nor deny the deployment of individuals on specific operations.
"It is also important to recognise that any actions by officers working on or with the Special Demonstration Squad need to be understood by Operation Herne in terms of the leadership, supervision, support, training, legal framework, tasking and reporting mechanisms that were in place at the time.
"At some point it will fall upon this generation of police leaders to account for the activities of our predecessors, but for the moment we must focus on getting to the truth."
Gary Dobson and David Norris were convicted of Mr Lawrence's murder in January 2012, 18 years after the teenager was killed at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths.