Stephen Lawrence's body to be returned to UK after being exhumed in Jamaica

The body of Stephen Lawrence will be returned to the UK from Jamaica 31 years after he was murdered in a racially motivated attack in 1993.

His mother, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, said images of her son’s grave had appeared on social media after his body had been exhumed, which had caused the family “distress”.

The statement said: “My family and I have been made aware of the recent images of my son’s grave that have been circulated on social media.

“Following Stephen’s passing, we made the decision to have him laid to rest in Jamaica, as we felt he would not be at peace in this country.

“After 31 years, we have decided as a family that we would like to bring Stephen home to be closer to us.”

She confirmed the images circulating on social media were taken after the funeral home in Jamaica exhumed his body, and condemned those who shared the pictures online.

“We had hoped to have carried out this sensitive task privately, but due to unforeseen circumstances, this was not possible,” the statement continued.

“We apologise for any distress caused by those who saw the images and kindly request that, out of respect for us and our privacy, these are removed from all media platforms.”

This comes after Baroness Lawrence said she was “bewildered, disappointed and angry” at a decision not to charge four officers involved in the original bungled investigation into her son’s murder.

Stephen was killed by a gang of men in Eltham, south east London in 1993 as he was on his way to catch a bus.

Only two of his five or six killers have faced justice, and the original police investigation was found to have been marred by institutional racism.

The family faced further distress as it later emerged that undercover police officers had spied on campaigners supporting the Lawrence family in their fight for justice.

Last year, the BBC revealed further failures by the Metropolitan Police linked to a sixth suspect in the case, Matthew White.

He died, aged 50, in 2021 and never faced justice, despite his stepfather, Jack Severs, telling a police officer White had admitted being present that night.

But Mr Severs was misidentified by the murder investigation team because White had two different stepfathers – a failure the Met called a “significant and regrettable error”.