Headmaster's killer arrested after robbery

Learco Chindamo, left, was freed in July, 15 years after the killing, and allowed to remain in the UK.

A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that a 30-year-old man was arrested early yesterday in south east London and was currently in custody at a central London police station.

The spokesman added that the alleged robbery took place on Saturday November 13 not far from Chalk Farm Underground station in north London. The victim was a man in his 20s. Mr Lawrence's widow, Frances, told one newspaper that the revelation was "very, very distressing on many levels".

Chindamo was jailed indefinitely for the murder of Mr Lawrence outside St George's Roman Catholic School in Maida Vale, west London, in 1995.

Father-of-four Mr Lawrence, 48, was fatally wounded after going to help a pupil who was being attacked by a gang.

Chindamo, then 15 years old, was among the attackers who went on to brag about the killing hours later.

He was convicted of murder in October 1996, jailed indefinitely and ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years.