Beyond Reasonable Doubt

Nearly 19 years after Stephen Lawrence was 'swallowed up' by a gang of white youths who shouted racist abuse at him before stabbing him to death, two of the original prime suspects stood in the dock at the Old Bailey. But would the new DNA evidence hold up almost two decades on - and would guilty verdicts really deliver justice for the Stephen's long-suffering family? Acclaimed crime writer Stephen Wright talks to police, forensic scientists and the French eyewitness who gave evidence at the landmark trial.  

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Producer: Rosie Gillott 

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After a top-secret investigation into Stephen Lawrence's murder (using 'James Bond' tactics including ‘bugged’ golf buggies, a spy helicopter and a daring undercover operation) failed to bring justice for the teenager, police reassessed the forensic evidence from the first weeks after Stephen was murdered, and found a crucial clue: a tiny flake of dried blood. Acclaimed crime writer Stephen Wright talks to police, politicians, and the forensic scientist whose team also found a breakthrough blood trace on a jacket. 

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Producer: Rosie Gillott

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In February 1997, the Daily Mail's front page accused five men of the murder of Stephen Lawrence. It piled more pressure on Metropolitan Police for its failure to convict anyone over the teenager's senseless death. An official report into the case was about to expose the full extent of Scotland Yard's failings - and conclude the force was 'institutionally racist'. Acclaimed crime writer Stephen Wright talks to politicians, lawyers, and police who were working in the Met as the bombshell report hit home.  

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Producer: Rosie Gillott

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The collapse of a private prosecution over the senseless racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, and the swaggering behaviour of the five prime suspects at an inquest felt like 'two fingers up at justice', says ex top prosecution lawyer Nazir Afzal. Widespread anger in Britain, and a sense of justice failing to be done, paved the way for a very tense night in the Daily Mail newsroom. Acclaimed crime writer Stephen Wright was there as the paper prepared its famous 'Murderers' front page.

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Producer: Rosie Gillott

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Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death in cold blood by a gang of white, racist thugs, just because of the colour of his skin. In August, the Met Police closed its investigation into his murder after 27 years. In this six-part podcast, acclaimed Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright revisits a case he has covered for almost three decades, speaking to eyewitnesses, politicians and the police who investigated the case. Could there be more convictions? And in a year of Black Lives Matter protests, have we learned the lessons of Stephen's murder?

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Producer: Rosie Gillott

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In the last of three interviews about his new book, ex-High Court Judge Sir Richard Henriques QC speaks to award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright about the Met’s bungled Operation Midland inquiry into 'Nick', real name Carl Beech, whose claims of a sinister VIP child sex ring led to raids on the homes of former Home Secretary Lord Brittan and ex Armed Forces chief Lord Bramall. Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, also falsely accused, reveals his anger at the police raid on his home and the role of ex Labour deputy leader Tom Watson in the scandal. So how DID detectives fall for the implausible stories of vicar’s son ‘Nick’, a conman and paedophile?

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In the second of a series of interviews based on his new book, From Crime to Crime, ex-High Court Judge Sir Richard Henriques QC tells award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright about prosecuting a case that shook Britain, the brutal and senseless murder of two-year-old James Bulger by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thomson and Jon Venables. It was a case so horrific that jurors were left in tears, and still poses important questions. How could children so young commit such a crime? And most importantly, how should the law treat children who kill?

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In the first of a series of interviews based on his forthcoming book, From Crime to Crime, ex-High Court Judge Sir Richard Henriques QC tells award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright about coming face to face with unassuming GP Harold Shipman in the court, and how he was unmasked as a remorseless serial killer who had slaughtered 250 of his own patients in a 20-year killing spree.

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In the second of a two-part True Crime story exclusive to Mail+, award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright asks a disturbing question about the case of Levi Bellfield, a London wheel clamper and nightclub bouncer in his 30s who was unmasked as a misogynistic serial killer behind a series of brutal hammer attacks on young, blonde women. Did police miss opportunities to stop Bellfield - and save the lives of his innocent young victims?

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In the first of a two-part True Crime story exclusive to Mail+, award-winning Daily Mail crime writer Stephen Wright revisits the case of Levi Bellfield, a London wheel clamper and nightclub bouncer in his 30s who was unmasked as a misogynistic serial killer behind a series of brutal hammer attacks on young, blonde women. Mail+ talks to Bellfield's biographer and the police who investigated the case to ask, could the killer have been stopped earlier... and did he escape justice over other murders?

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