David Norris, one of Stephen Lawrence's killers, begs for family's forgiveness as he tells of role in murder

One of Stephen Lawrence's killers has begged the victim's family for forgiveness in a bid to be freed from prison - but he refused to reveal who stabbed the teenager to death.

David Norris, 49, admitted he punched Stephen as he spoke publicly for the first time about his involvement in the 18-year-old's racist murder at a parole board hearing.

Norris, who was 16 at the time, said he "didn't have violence at the forefront of my mind" but was "ready for violence at the drop of a hat" when the gang of up to six youths targeted Stephen and his friend Duwayne Brooks.

He said Stephen was a completely innocent victim in the "unprovoked" attack but "something must've happened" before he was stabbed to death as he ran for a bus home in Eltham, southeast London, on 22 April 1993.

Norris claimed he was on his way home from a date and was the last to join in because of a "gang mentality", telling the panel he struck the last blow to the back of his head while Stephen was crouched on the ground.

"I punched him, I tried to punch him twice, but I didn't stab him," he said, claiming he acted out of "loyalty" and "group friendship".

"It was 10 seconds or less, I didn't have time to think. It was an impulse reaction."

Norris was jailed for life with a minimum term of 14 years and three months in January 2012 after he was found guilty of murder alongside Gary Dobson at the Old Bailey.

The other suspects in the case - brothers Jamie and Neil Acourt, who were later jailed for unrelated drug offences, Luke Knight, and Matthew White, who died in 2021, have never been convicted.

Stephen's family have said Norris should be kept in prison if he refuses to reveal the full details of who was involved in the murder.

But Norris said: "I would like to be able to tell the whole truth of exactly my part and others but I can't... because it would put me and my family at risk."

Norris admitted he knew who was there on the night and could give their names, and that he saw one of the group holding a 22cm-long knife after the murder.

But asked if he was with the Acourt brothers, he said: "I'm not going to be sitting here talking about other people. I'm here to take responsibility for me."

The Acourt brothers and Luke Knight have denied being involved in the attack on Stephen Lawrence, while Matthew White was named as a suspect after his death.

Norris is making his first bid for freedom after his minimum term expired in December last year at a parole board hearing held in public after an application by the media was backed by Stephen's parents. The government opposes his bid for release.

Norris, with greying hair and wearing a dark t-shirt and glasses, could only be seen from behind at the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, which is being live streamed from the prison where he is being held.

At the start of his evidence, the Category B prisoner read a letter he had written "out of genuine remorse for the death of the victim in this case and all the pain and all the grief it has and continues to cause to his family".

He said he was "deeply sorry", adding: "Nothing I can say or do will change that and I will go to the grave with that guilt in my heart for eternity, and rightly so".

Norris said he was "utterly disgusted and ashamed with myself" for what he did as a "16-year-old horrible violent racist" who was "fixated on becoming a gangster" like his father.

He said he was "not an evil monster" and the change in him was "like night and day" as he told Stephen's family "I'm so sorry and please forgive me". He also apologised to the black and minority ethnic communities for the "fear" he has caused.

"I am by no means perfect. I'm certainly no longer the violent racist criminal 16-year-old boy I once was," he added.

'Racist language and EDL grooming' in prison

But the hearing was told Norris has used racist language, including calling a female prison officer the N-word in October 2022, and referred to a prison nurse as a "horrible c***" the same year.

There was also evidence about his use of illicit drugs and reference to an intelligence report about him "radicalising" a vulnerable young prisoner in the summer of 2023.

He was described as a "fully-fledged member of the English Defence League" who was involved with other members in "grooming a young person" into the group. He denied the claims and said he has no association with the far right.

Norris was also questioned about being caught with a sharpened screwdriver in his cell in 2022, which he claimed he used to hide an illicit mobile phone, and racial issue in 2017, when he said he threatened a prisoner connected to the Manchester terrorist attack.

He denied any involvement in an attempted murder a month before Stephen was killed, for which he was acquitted, claiming "my reputation was that bad I was getting accused of all sorts".

Norris was also linked to another stabbing at a Wimpy restaurant in Eltham, which he denied admitting to a prison officer, and has convictions for commercial burglary, handling stolen goods and racially abusing a police officer, with Neil Acourt, in 2002.

He admitted previously carrying weapons such as baseball bats, lumps of iron, and coshes, but insisted he was not armed on the night that Stephen was killed.

The father-of-five said he first confessed to his role in the murder to a Catholic priest in 2018 after seeing an advert for a documentary in which Stephen's father, Neville Lawrence, 83, spoke of "forgiveness", while watching the World Cup.

'Danger to society'

But in a statement, Mr Lawrence criticised the "cynicism of the admission", which he said "didn't come from genuine remorse".

"I understand David has admitted to attacking Stephen, although he does not admit the racist motive and says he didn't wield the knife," he said.

"He only made these admissions in advance of the hearing and he has not agreed to support the police."

Mr Lawrence said that if Norris was to be freed "I would find that justice hasn't been done".

Stephen's mother, Baroness Lawrence, who is attending the hearing, branded him a "danger to society" who should remain in prison.

She said she is a "committed Christian" who would be "willing to forgive" her son's killers, but in order to forgive, there must be "acceptance, contrition and some humanity".

"This person has not shown nor expressed any acceptance, any contrition and certainly has no humanity. If he did, he would have told us what he did, why he did it, and taken responsibility for his murderous actions," she said in a statement.

"He has not and so I cannot forgive him. Anyone who does not accept what they have done and shown remorse for it remains in my view a danger to the public."

A decision on whether he should be kept in prison, released, or moved to an open prison is expected to be made later this month.

Norris said he has been the victim of several violent attacks, including twice being "nearly killed" in his cell, while another inmate spat in his face last week.

He said he would like to get married and settle down as a taxpaying "law-abiding citizen" if he is released, claiming he has been offered jobs as a project manager and a delivery driver.

The hearing continues on Wednesday.

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