London - A disciplinary hearing into the conduct of one of the police officers who investigated the murder of Stephen Lawrence began yesterday. In an unusual move, Stephen's parents Neville and Doreen Lawrence were allowed to attend the hearing into the role of Det Insp Benjamin Bullock in the investigation. Mr Bullock, who delayed his retirement to face the disciplinary proceedings, is accused of seven counts of neglect of duty.
In Sir William Macpherson's report published two weeks ago into the police failure to catch Stephen's racist killers, Mr Bullock is accused of failing to process vital information and being "often passive and not up to his job".
An overwhelmingly majority of Britons believe ethnic minority groups are subjected to racial prejudice, according to a Gallup poll published in today's Daily Telegraph.