Lawrence jury told to start with 'clean slate'

Stephen Lawrence, the 18-year-old was stabbed to death in 1993 as he waited at a bus stop in Eltham (PA)

Eighteen years after the killing of Stephen Lawrence, potential jurors in the trial of two men accused of murdering the black teenager were warned that they must "start with a clean slate".

Mr Justice Treacy ordered the 24 men and women, who will try one of the most notorious cases in recent legal history, to ignore everything but the evidence that they will hear in court.

Mr Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed in April 1993 as he waited for a bus in Eltham, south London. His death led to accusations of police incompetence, a lengthy public inquiry and major ramifications for the criminal justice systems.

Yesterday his parents Neville and Doreen Lawrence, who have fought for almost two decades for justice for their son, appeared in the back of a packed Old Bailey court at the start of the trial.

Just feet away Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, sat in the dock, both clad in suit and tie and flanked by security guards. Both deny murdering the A-level student.

Mr Justice Treacy warned the potential jurors that they would be dealing with a case that had generated a great deal of debate over the years: "There have been a series of police investigations and there have been criticisms of the way the police went about their task, particularly in the early years. There was a court hearing to do with the case in 1996. There was a public inquest in 1997 and there was a public inquiry conducted by a judge into the way the case had been investigated in 1998," he said. "All of these attracted a great deal of publicity and a great deal of public comment because it has aroused strong feelings."

General knowledge of such a well-known killing was to be expected, the judge added, but it was essential that those selected to try Mr Dobson and Mr Norris remember that they had taken a solemn oath to deliver a true verdict according to the evidence alone.

The judge explained that the prosecution case would largely be based on scientific evidence which had emerged in a recent re-investigation, with the defence planning to challenge this new evidence and the way such exhibits had been handled since 1993.

The pool of 24 potential jurors was chosen after questions that removed any who lived near the killing or had any connection to the case.