Contamination of evidence 'rife at the time of Lawrence murder'

Police officers working on the original Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry had no formal training on the dangers of cross contamination of forensic evidence, the Old Bailey heard today.

Defence counsel Tim Roberts QC told the jury that contamination was "rife". He has said seals burst and exhibit bags were left open.

The 1993 investigation took place in the earliest days of DNA analysis and microscopic forensic examinations. At the time there was no manual, specific instructions or training courses, the jury was told.

Officers were aware of the importance of keeping exhibits sealed before forensic examination but merely relied on their experience. They used gloves but white suits were not introduced until years later.

Dc Robert Crane, the exhibits officer on the inquiry, said: "I don't think the relevance of it at that time was that significant. Science has moved on a lot." Stephen's blood-stained clothes were stored in exhibit bags kept in a disused cell at Eltham police station.

The prosecution claims that new evidence discovered in a cold case review in 2007 of fibres, blood and hair linked to Stephen was discovered on the defendants' clothing.

Earlier, the court heard murder suspect Gary Dobson had appeared nervous when he was first questioned about the killing. He was asked routine questions in house-to-house inquiries three days after the murder.

Dobson claimed he had been at home in Eltham with his parents when 18-year-old Stephen was stabbed to death, although he had been at the murder scene at 5.30pm - five hours before the attack.

Dobson told the detective that he had only heard about the murder when reading the newspapers. Graham Cooke, a detective constable at the time but who has since retired, told the court that Dobson, then 17, had answered the questions in the doorway of his house.

"In my opinion he was nervous at the time," he told the jury. Jurors have also been told that after his arrest, Dobson changed his story and admitted he had gone out on the night of Stephen's murder when he had collected a Bob Marley CD.

Dobson, now 36, and David Norris, 35, both of south London, have pleaded not guilty to murdering Stephen in April 1993.
The case continues.