03/01/2012 BBC News at Ten

Justice at last for Stephen Lawrence. Two men are found guilty

of his murder. It has taken 18 years. The teenager was killed by

racist youths as he waited at a bus stop in 1993. As Gary Dobson and

David Norris are finally convicted, their victim's mother has harsh

words for the police. Had the police done their job properly, I

would have spent the last 18 years grieving for my son, rather than

fighting to get his killers to court. The case hinged on new

forensic evidence. A spot of Stephen Lawrence's blood found on

Gary Dobson's jacket. I am asking you to account for the presence of

the blood of Stephen Lawrence. Tonight, new pictures of the moment

police confronted Dobson with the crucial evidence they had found.

And the case is not closed. The police say they are still looking

for ways to bring the remaining killers to justice. Also tonight:

Battling the storms across the UK. Scotland comes off worst as the

bridges visibly sway with the force of the gales. A man, who shot dead

three people and himself, had had his guns taken away by the police

but then returned to him. And Ronald Searle, the artist who

created the anarchic world of St Trinians, has died. In sport:

Louise swearers were not appeal his Good evening. It has taken 18 years

but today two men have been found guilty of the murder of the black

teenager Stephen Lawrence, stabbed to death in South East London in

1993. Gary Dobson and David Norris, who are both now in their 30s, were

convicted after microscopic amounts of DNA were discovered linking them

to the killing. It is a case which has had a profound impact on

British policing and society. Stephen's mother Doreen criticised

the police who, she said, failed miserably in their original

investigation. Tom Symonds has our first report tonight on today's

verdicts. It contains some flash photography. An unprovoked racist

attack near her London bus stop. A young black man fatally stabbed.

The notorious unsolved murder, as the police watched their suspects

and public anger boiled over. A bereaved family fought for justice.

Today, after 18 years, they got it. Deven Lawrence's mother wept as she

heard the verdicts redoubt. -- Stephen Lawrence's mother. How can

I celebrate when I know this day could have camp 18 years ago, it

the police, who were meant to have found the killers of my son, failed

so miserably to do so? This is not a reason to celebrate. We paid

tribute to the courage of Mr and Mrs Lawrence, and their dignity.

They have contributed to major changes were then policing, the law

and within society as a whole. -- within. Gary Dobson left court with

the words, you have convicted an innocent man. David Norris waved as

he left the dock. Stephen Lawrence was left with two deep stab wounds.

The police failings that followed went on and on, and his killers to

escape justice. Within days the police began receiving notes from

people in the area, suggesting the names of those who might have been

involved. David Norris, Gary Dobson, the Acourts and Luke Knight, among

others. If they had moved quickly, fresh forensic evidence could have

been seized. The investigation got after a disastrous start. It took

two weeks to make arrests. There had been an attempt to put the pair

under surveillance for a short time. It proved nothing. They tried

fitting a covert camera into the flat of Dobson. The gang discussed

racial violence and played with In 1995, the parents of Stephen

Lawrence tried to prosecute three other suspects themselves,

including Dobson. The case collapsed. The Macpherson Inquiry

recommended scrapping the double jeopardy law which prevented

someone facing charges for murder twice. That allowed the re-arrest

of Dobson. In 2007, a forensic breakthrough. Fragments of evidence

were found on close belonging to Stephen Lawrence and the suspects.

It used the taping technique. On this jacket, taken from the House

of Dobson, and his cardigan, fibres that matched the clothes of Stephen

Lawrence. On these genes, a single hair matching the DNA of Stephen

Lawrence. The most significant finding was a very small stain on

the back of the collar - a microscopic blood stain. That is on

the jacket collar of Gary Dobson. Whose blood is it? The DNA

profiling indicated it came from Stephen Lawrence. I am asking you

to account for the presence of the blood of Stephen Lawrence on an

item, a grey yellow jacket. Both Dobson and Norris refused to answer

police questions about the evidence that has now led to their

conviction. OK. The case remains open. Nine people are still of

interest to the police. Of the original five, two are now guilty.

What of those that remain? Luke Knight, Neil Acourt and his brother,

Jamie. We track down each of them and asked to talk to them. Luke

Knight wrote back and insisted he was not involved in the murder.

Neil and Jamie Acourt did not responsibly tried to speak to them

directly. Mr Acourts, BBC News, can we talk to you about the Stephen

Lawrence case? Can we ask you why you are still regarded as a suspect

after all these years? Where were you that night? No response. Jamie

Acourt has always denied being involved in the killing. His

brother also denies murder. Stephen Lawrence is buried in Jamaica. His

mother still tents his grave. always a very sad time. This

picture is beginning to wear out. I will have to get another one done,

for him. It has been 18 years. For him, the British justice system has

now finally delivered. The Stephen Lawrence case marked a defining

moment in race relations in Britain. The failure of the original

investigation led to a public inquiry which labelled the police

institutionally racist. The Lawrence family's long campaign for

justice had a profound impact on policing, the law and the debate

about racism in the UK. Mark Easton looks now at Stephen Lawrence's

legacy. The name Stephen Lawrence has come to define a watershed in

British cultural life. What do we want, justice. His death was not

the first, nor the last murder of a young black man blamed on racist

killers in South London. It entered the wider public consciousness

because of two people - his parents, Neville and Doreen. I have one more

sun, how safe will he be until these killers have been caught.

the first time, the British public saw parents - the family - his

brief was so patent, and his dignity was so clear, that everyone

could identify with them. White Britain realised that actually

black Britain and black Britons are not really that different. Two

weeks after the death of Stephen Lawrence, I went to South London,

talk to young black men about their fears of racist attack and to

detect is already being accused of not taking the murder seriously

enough. There was tension between the police and the local black

community. The senior policeman told me the advice he would give

you lot is to think seriously about joining the police force. The

murder became what they called the signal crime - an event which took

on a political and social dimension. The Daily Mail took up the cause

with the front page accusing five men, including Dobson and Norris,

of murder. After the election of Labour in 1997, the public inquiry

was set up by the Government. Police had to protect the witnesses

accused of involvement in the murder. The report pointed the

finger, not at the suspects, but at the police. I want this report to

serve as a watershed in our attitudes towards racism. I am

proud of the fact I could drive through the changes that Macpherson

recommended. It has had the most significant effect on the British

landscape. The report accused the Metropolitan Police of

institutional racism. Its structures and processes resulted

in racist outcomes - stop-and- search, recruitment, training and

accountability were reformed. You require public bodies to eliminate

discrimination and promote racial equality. Some argued the creation

of a race relations industry was counter-productive. Constant focus

upon possible racism undermined trust in public bodies. The English

riots last August, were seen by others but evidence of

institutional transformation has not gone far enough. Among the

critics, Richard Stone, who sat on the original Lawrence inquiry panel.

The disparities in stop and search, which have doubled now, is very

disappointing indeed. It creates a huge amount of anger in black

communities. Also disparities in employment with black and Asian

officers. Compared with two decades ago, Britain is much more at ease

with its racial diversity. In no small part, it is the legacy of the

teenage boy - Steven Norris. -- Stephen Lawrence. And Mark is in

Eltham in South East London tonight, where Stephen Lawrence was murdered.

Mark, how far does today's verdict draw a line under the case? Stephen

Lawrence was not killed by two people. Close to the spot

grandstanding now, he was murdered by five or six white youths in a

frenzied racist attack. No murder inquiry is ever closed. If new

forensic evidence were to come up, were there to be a new statement,

they would look AGAIN. It is not the end of the road. There are no

life leaves. There are no lines of inquiry. I think it is a situation

where detectives believe it is better never to say never. Let's

speak about the sentencing tomorrow. Dobson and Norris will be sentenced

He has to treat them the way they would have been treated by the

courts at the time, and they were juveniles. He will be saying these

were two gene -- juveniles and if they were convicted then, what

would have happened? Home Secretary at the time would have decided the

minimum term so the judge will effectively have to imagine himself

being Ken Clarke and Michael Howard. What would they have done? As

adults, if they committed a racially aggravated murder today,

the minimum tariff would have started at 30 years. I think the

expectation is denied that tomorrow we will see something much closer

to half of that -- the expectation tonight.

Gales and storms across the UK have claimed at least two lives and

caused power cuts for tens of thousands of people in Scotland.

Ports had to be closed and more than 200 flights cancelled as wind

speeds topped 100 miles an hour in parts of England and Scotland. This

report from Glasgow. The first big storm of the new year

and in parts of Scotland, the winds made it almost impossible to get

about. The bad weather hit suddenly and pack to damaging punch. Falling

masonry shutting streets. policeman came and said we had to

get out now because the masonry could come down through the roof so

we had to get out fast. The winds swept across the UK. In Kent, a

driver died after his white van was crushed by a falling tree.

Emergency services closed the road amid fears that others might topple.

Trees also led to blocked routes in Northern Ireland. And in Epsom,

part of the roof of the racecourse grandstand was blown off. The

difficult conditions out at sea meant that the port of Dover was

closed and a crewman was killed after his vessel in the English

Channel was hit by a large wave. But Scotland bore the brunt of the

bad weather. The Forth Bridge, visibly flexing in the gales.

Overturned lorries added to the disruption on the roads and for a

time, train services through much of Scotland were suspended.

Desperate to get to London. My husband is desperately ill and I

have got to see my children and this is awful. We got to Motherwell,

we sat for half-an-hour, then the train turned around back to Glasgow.

But many people chose to remain inside. The full force of the winds

showing an industrial been blowing up a street like a piece of litter.

This is the worst storm of the winter so far and possibly for many

years. This wintry weather has caused significant damage to some

homes and businesses and insurers will now be bracing themselves for

a flood of claims. Although the winds have now eased in many areas,

tens of thousands of households remain without power but for those

whose homes now need repairing, big clean-up is yet to begin.

It has emerged that the man who shot dead three women and then

killed himself on New Year's Day had his guns taken away by Durham

police three years ago after his family said he had threatened to

shoot himself. But the weapons were later returned to Michael Atherton

by the police. The case has now been referred to the Independent

Police Complaints Commission. Mrs Michael Atherton, the 42-year-

old taxi-driver who killed himself and three others on New Year's Day.

He had been out separately to his partner, Susan McGoldrick, but when

they returned home, he shot her dead. He then killed her sister,

Alison Turnbull, who was visiting after New Year celebrations, along

with her daughter, Tanya Turnbull, who was 24. It is understood that

Michael Atherton was a regular at this working men's club in Horden

and before the shooting, he was seen drinking locally and said to

be in good spirits. People we have spoken to describe him as a quiet

and well mannered man. Michael Atherton's colleagues say customers

asked for him because he was so polite. He was faultless. He turned

up for work, did his job, never complained, never caused a problem,

never argued. Talk of him been depressed recently? That was in his

personal life but no, not at work. Police confirmed today that they

did take his guns away from his home in 2008, after claims that he

had threatened to shoot himself during a domestic argument, but

Michael Atherton insisted that was not true and after a police

assessment, they were turned his guns. The incident has raised, once

again, the issue of Britain's gun laws. Tens of thousands of people

have a firearms licence legitimate reasons and shooting organisations

say there must not now be a knee- jerk reaction. You can't legislate

for a switch flicking in somebody's head. Although this person had

access to firearms, there is no saying this would not have happened

with a knife and another weapon had he not had access to the firearms.

Other shootings, like the Dunblane massacre, have led to changes in

the law, but the government has indicated there will be no review

after the shootings here. Coming up on tonight's programme:

The Republican race starts for the White House on the road, with the

candidates vying to challenge Barack Obama.

Police in Norfolk say the body of a young woman discovered on the

Queen's Sandringham estate could have been there for as long as four

months. The death is being treated as murder, and DNA tests are being

carried out to try to discover the victim's identity. Our

correspondent sent this report. This afternoon on the Queen's

estate, the body of a young woman being taken away for a post-mortem

examination. She was found on New Year's Day hidden in a copse.

Police say she hadn't been buried. They believe she had been there for

at least a month, possibly as long as four. She was found just west of

the village of Anmer, a mile from the main gate to Sandringham House.

This was the Royal Family attending a service on Sunday. It was just a

few hours later that a man walking his dog called the police with news

of his discovery. We will be continuing our inquiries over the

next days and weeks to establish who she is and how she came to be

here and he was responsible for that. As much evidence as possible

is being gathered. The post-mortem found it was highly unlikely she

died through natural causes. Walkers out and about today were

alarmed. I am a bit shocked. I would not walk around here at dusk

or when it is dark. It is something you associate with the cities, not

around here. So tonight, part of the royal estate remains a crime

scene. Police are not sure yet whether the woman was killed here

or whether her body was brought from somewhere else. They are now

looking at cold cases across the country. More should soon be

learned about her. DNA tests will provide a profile within the next

24 hours. A British soldier has died in

hospital 18 months after being injured in an explosion in

Afghanistan. The soldier, from the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha

Rifles, was being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in

Birmingham. Next of kin have been informed.

The Department of Health has ordered private medical clinics who

fitted faulty breast implants to provide more data by the end of the

week or face being named and shamed publicly. The Government has again

insisted that there is no need for thousands of women with sub-

standard breast implants made by the French company PIP to have them

removed. In just over two hours' time,

Republicans in the American state of Iowa will cast the first votes

in this year's presidential contest. They will be making their choice

for a candidate to challenge Barack Obama. The Iowa vote kick-starts a

nomination campaign that will last until June and cover all 50 states.

It is the first real test of the candidates' popularity, as Mark

Mardell found out when he joined one of the frontrunners, Mitt

There are hundreds more has to be shaken, children to be courted,

before this is over, but Mitt Romney is already behaving like a

victor, attacking not his rivals but the President, and sounding

positive. I believe in America, I believe in our future and together

we will achieve great things! have been nearly 1,000 events like

this up and down Iowa, allowing republicans to get to know their

candidates, and they do matter. President Obama said in November he

should not be judged against the Almighty but against the

alternative, so that is important for America. Mitch Romley may have

the best chance of wooing Americans in the general election but he has

to convince his own side first. Conservative distrusted them have

grown and they want somebody more consistently right wing --

Conservative distrust of him. How important is November? It sets a

course for the country. And Iowa sets a course for the country.

Don't be fooled by the sunshine. Doing badly he can freeze

candidates from the rest of the race. So they have travelled 23,000

miles, harvesting votes that could put them in the vital top three

places. The libertarian Ron Paul could win, so much Christian

Conservative Rick Santorum, but new Gingrich's star has faded and

Michele Bachmann's appeal has waned -- Newt Gingrich. At this high-

school basketball game in Iowa, be cheerleading is' excitement is

genuine, if a little gauche, but the Republicans seem hesitant,

unenthusiastic about the field. What about Mitt Romney? I don't

care for him. What do you think of the field? I am not terribly

impressed, I am looking for somebody else. Everybody I spoke to

mention the charge that Mitt Romney is a flip-flopper, not consistently

Conservative. Stylistically his opponents and some of his own

presentation has made it appear that Mitt Romney is eager to please,

that he will say what the audience in front of him wants to hear

rather than authentically believing it. It is probably unfair. It is

what it is. It will be a hard choice. Nearly half of the voters

are undecided. Many Americans are uninspired by the alternatives,

unimpressed by the President. In election year, there is a lack of

enthusiasm by the politicians on offer.

Liverpool has said they will not appeal against Luis Suarez's eight-

match ban for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

Liverpool were beaten 3-0 at Manchester City this evening.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Tottenham beat West Brom and

Sunderland 14-1 at Wigan. He created the classic images of St

Trinian's, a fictional girls' school where anarchy ruled. And he

drew cartoons for a string of publications including Punch and

the New Yorker. Ronald Searle has died at the age of 91, and has been

hailed as one of Britain's most influential cartoonists. Our arts

correspondent looks back at his These drawings of pigtailed and a

key, the malevolent hockey stick wielding goals at St Trinian's made

Ronald Searle famous. But it was fame that he gritted his end. --

crew to resent. People don't remember that that was only a small

part of my work. There were no more than about 60 drawings probably an

to me it was a series of drawings but have no particular consequence

of stock born in Cambridge, he sold his first cartoon as a teenager but

the war intervened. His grim experiences as the prisoner of the

Japanese led to drawings of a very different sort. In the 1950s, his

images were everywhere. When St Trinian's was turned into a film,

the characters took on a new life. This very British mix of slightly

saucy mayhem and a shabby 1950s private school was laughed, even

when he tried to blow St Trinian's He created St Trinian's, which we

loved, and he despised it because he could not get away from it. Of

course, he did many other things. He worked in France, America and

Germany. He is known in all these countries and yet we know him

mainly for St Trinian's. produced books, graphic art, his

dog wit and intelligence appeared in Le Monde, the New Yorker. France

made him a Knight of the Legion of Honour. In the world of his anti-