A TOP officer involved in the racist murder case of Stephen Lawerence was “corrupt,” according to documents revealed by the Metropolitan Police.

The Black teenager’s tragic death after being chased by a white mob and brutally stabbed in south-east London in 1993 sparked one of the most prolific cases of police corruption claims and institutionalised racism. 

Ray Adams, an ex-Scotland Yard commander in the area of Stephen’s murder, was determined to have been corrupt in documents dating back to 2000.

It claims a police corruption inquiry cleared Adams after false evidence was given by a man linked to the family of one of Lawrence’s killers, the BBC has reported. 

During the 1998 Macpherson inquiry, he was quizzed about corruption but the findings of the report were not published. It was also concluded that he was not attempting to prevent the case from progressing. 

The revelations come after years of denial by the Met that corrupt officers were ever involved in the case.

Imran Khan, lawyer for Stephen’s mother Baroness Lawrence, has written to the Met calling for an investigation. 

“We believe there may be grounds for two criminal investigations for perjury or perverting the course of justice as result of this document.

“The first is about the witness allegedly providing false testimony. The second is whether Adams told the truth at the Macpherson inquiry, about who he knew, and about corruption,” he said.

“Baroness Lawrence has said that no officer has ever been held to account for their failures. This is an opportunity for a former officer to be held accountable.

“If the Met want to recover trust and confidence, this is the opportunity for commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to take action, where there appear to be reasonable lines of inquiry.”

Following the Macpherson report in 1997, the Met was branded as institutionally racist for their handling of the case.

 The force suffered the same criticism earlier this year following the Casey Review. 

Out of the five suspects involved in the case, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were finally sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty in 2012. 

The Lawrence family were dealt another blow after David White, who died aged 50 in 2021, was revealed as being another suspect in the case this year.

However, he was only named as a witness during the trial. 

A statement from the Met said: “In 2021, the IOPC referred a file to the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service), who considered criminal charges against four officers involved in the early stages of the investigation of Stephen’s murder. Former Commander Ray Adams was not one of these officers.

“Earlier this year the CPS announced their decision that none of the officers should face further action. This is now subject to a victim’s right to review and, as such, the full Operation Probitas report has not been published by the IOPC. It would therefore be inappropriate for us to discuss the content of that report at this time.

“The IOPC has also carried out a separate inquiry into whether in 1998, senior officers in the MPS did not disclose all relevant information about allegations of corruption to the Macpherson Inquiry. This inquiry may also have relevance to the allegations referenced in the BBC’s report.

“The IOPC found no indication that any officer may have committed a criminal offence.

“The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards will be writing to the BBC to request access to any material in their possession that supports allegations of police corruption. We will review such material, alongside the outcomes of the above IOPC investigations and any previous relevant anti-corruption investigations conducted by the Met, to determine whether any further action is required.”