Stephen Lawrence murder suspect 'admits being there on night black teenager died'

Scotland Yard detectives have interviewed an ex-prisoner who served time with David Norris in Elmley Prison in Kent in 2003 and are trying to convince the man to make a formal statement.

The witness, who is scared that if his identity is made public he will suffer reprisals, has claimed that 31-year-old Norris admitted he knew where to find the murder weapon and that he had been present when Stephen was stabbed.

Victim and suspect: Stephen Lawrence and David Norris, who never stood trial

He said Norris told him: "'We were there at the time and we know what happened to the weapon. But it doesn't matter  -  nobody can do anything about it now.'

Stephen, 18, was stabbed to death when he was attacked by a gang of white youths while he waited for a bus.

Inquiry: Suspects (from left) David Norris, Neil Acourt and Gary Dobson arrive to give evidence at the public inquiry into the racist murder

The five suspects  -  Norris, Neil Acourt, Jamie Acourt, Gary Dobson and Luke Knight  -  have always insisted they were nowhere near the bus stop in Eltham at the time of the murder in 1993.

Norris and Neil Acourt were in Elmley serving 18 months for attacking a black policeman half a mile from where Stephen died.

The witness said: 'When Norris said 'we' I assumed he meant him and Acourt.'

Thug: Jamie Acourt spits at a protester

He added: 'There's no doubt in my mind Norris meant what he said.

Acquitted: Luke Knight

'As he said it he stared straight at the floor. But there wasn't any trace of regret or shame in his voice. It was all very matter-of-fact.'

The witness, who was serving a short sentence for fraud, said: 'Stephen's poor family deserve justice and I realise this information could help get it.'

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said it was investigating the claims. A police source said: 'We have spoken to him about the importance of what he has told us but at the moment he feels unable to make a formal statement and testify in court.'

Dobson, 32, Knight, 31, and Neil Acourt, 32, were cleared of murder after a private prosecution collapsed in 1996. Norris and Jamie Acourt, 31, never stood trial because their case was abandoned for lack of evidence.

Stephen's mother Doreen said of the new witness: 'This man may well be feeling very frightened.

'But I would encourage him to listen to his conscience and help us get justice for Stephen.'

Provocative: Neil Acourt beckons protesters to take him on