New spying fear over Lawrence meeting

The force’s officials made the discovery while going through its records at the request of the Home Office in the light of allegations that police in London tried to smear the family of the murdered teenager.

In a statement, the force said it had never carried out intelligence or surveillance activity “in respect of the Macpherson Inquiry, Stephen Lawrence’s family or any others connected to the inquiry or the family”.

But it said it may have gathered intelligence on people who attended a public meeting in Sheffield in the 1990s where a member of the Lawrence family was due to speak.

“In line with a National Policing Intelligence requirement at the time, officers routinely gathered intelligence on groups and individuals in South Yorkshire who were suspected of being involved in extreme activity or holding extreme views that may have caused a risk to communities,” the force said.

The statement said it was not known whether the family member expected to speak at the meeting actually attended.

The Home Office asked forces to check records related to the Macpherson Inquiry, which examined failings in the murder investigation.

Stephen Lawrence was murdered aged 18 in a racist attack in south London in 1993. Former undercover police officer Peter Francis claimed officers were later tasked to try to find information to use against the family.