Philip Ambrose Lawrence,QGM (21 August 1947 – 8 December 1995) was an Irish school headmaster who was stabbed to death outside the gates of his school,St George's Catholic School,Maida Vale, in London, when he went to the aid of a pupil who was being attacked by a gang.
Lawrence was born the son of a retiredIndian Army officer,[1] and grew up inCounty Wicklow, Ireland.[2] He attendedAmpleforth College in Yorkshire,[1] and won anexhibition to read English atQueens' College, Cambridge,[3] graduating BA in 1969 and MA in 1970.
Lawrence began teaching as an English Master atSt. Benedict's School, a Roman Catholicindependent school in West London.[1] On 10 February 1973, he married Frances Huntley, a fellow teacher at the school,[citation needed] and they had three daughters and a son.[4]
After his time at St. Benedict's, Lawrence moved into the state sector, teaching atGunnersbury Boys' School inBrentford,St. Mark's School inHounslow, andDick Sheppard School inBrixton.[5] In 1993, he became headmaster atSt George's Catholic School,Maida Vale, which had been plagued by behavioural issues and academic underperformance.[5] During the two-year period of his headship, the school's exam results and reputation greatly improved.[5]
TheWo Shing Wo gang, which was mainlyFilipino, aspired to be a junior version of theTriads. On 8 December 1995, twelve of the gang's members, led by 15 year-old Learco Chindamo, went to St. George's school intending to "punish" 13 year-old black pupil, William Njoh, who had earlier quarrelled with a Filipino pupil. Chindamo was a pupil atQuintin Kynaston Community Academy who claimed to be aTriad member. Philip Lawrence saw them attack the boy with an iron bar and went outside to remonstrate with the gang. Chindamo punched Lawrence and then stabbed him in the chest. Lawrence, aged 48, died in hospital that evening from his injuries.
Musician and record producerTokio Myers, who was then an 11 year-old student at Lawrence's school, witnessed the murder.[6]
Chindamo was arrested and charged shortly afterwards. He was convicted of murder at theOld Bailey in October 1996, after a unanimous decision by the jury, and jailed indefinitely (as he was a juvenile at the time). The trial judge recommended that a minimum of 12 years should be served.[7] Although he did not deny that he was present, Chindamo claimed that he was the victim of mistaken identity and that the real killer was another boy who had borrowed his jacket.
During the trial it was shown that Chindamo's claim of links to Chinese Triad society were false. On 10 October 1997, he lost his appeal against the murder conviction. He was also a suspect in the non-fatal stabbing of businessmanJohn Mills during amugging inCamden several months before Lawrence's murder, but was acquitted. Chindamo was born in Italy to a father from Italy and a mother from thePhilippines. He and his mother moved to the UK when he was six.[8]
The case increased the level of concern expressed about levels of violence involving school-age youths, and the safety of pupils and staff while in school, which were beginning to become public issues in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s. This followed the fatal stabbing of 12 year-old Nikki Conroy by a mentally ill intruder at herMiddlesbrough school in March 1994.[citation needed] In March 1996, 16 young children and their teacher were shot dead by Thomas Hamilton, anintruder at their school inDunblane, Scotland. In July 1996, nursery nurseLisa Potts and several toddlers were wounded bymachete-wielding Horrett Campbell, anintruder at their nursery school inWolverhampton. These incidents all contributed to major strengthening of security measures at schools across Britain, particularly in areas with high crime rates.
Philip Lawrence was posthumously awarded theQueen's Gallantry Medal (QGM) on 14 June 1997.[9]
ThePhilip Lawrence Awards were instituted by the thenHome SecretaryMichael Howard in Lawrence's honour, and were first presented on 15 March 1997. They honour outstanding achievement by young people aged 11–20. Lawrence's widow Frances was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009Birthday Honours for services to charity, for her role in setting up the award.[10]
In August 2007, anAsylum and Immigration Tribunal ruled that Chindamo could not bedeported to his home country of Italy on completion of his prison sentence.[11] He had resided in the UK for 19 years, long enough to make him a permanent resident under EU law after discounting 10 years spent in jail. As such, only 'serious grounds of...public security' could justify his expulsion.[12] The tribunal disagreed with the Home Office's argument that this threshold was reached in Chindamo's case. The tribunal found that even if the EU law argument had failed, he would have a right to stay under human rights law. In the exceptional circumstances of his having lived in England since age 6, an Article 8 right to "family life" was found in relation to his mother and siblings.[13]
The decision was severely criticised by Frances Lawrence, Philip Lawrence's widow.[7]David Cameron, then leader of the opposition, argued that the case showed theHuman Rights Act 1998 'has to go' and be replaced.[14]
In July 2010, after a parole board recommended his release, Chindamo made a statement saying "I did a terrible thing when I killed Mr. Lawrence... I have been rightly punished and I have always understood that I should not be released until I had changed and was no longer dangerous... I know that some people will not be able to accept that I have changed or that I should be allowed my freedom. I also know that I will spend the rest of my life atoning for my crime, and mean to do so by living quietly and decently."[15] He was freed shortly afterwards, after serving 14 years of his life sentence.
On 24 November 2010, four months after being paroled, Chindamo was arrested inCatford and detained by police for questioning in connection with a mugging. He is alleged to have threatened to kill a man before robbing him of a wallet and mobile phone in Camden.[16] As a result of his arrest and remand in custody Chindamo was recalled to custody under the terms of thelife licence which comes with his original life sentence. On 24 August 2011, Chindamo and his two co-defendants were acquitted of robbery. He remained in custody under the terms of his life licence as he was adjudged to present a risk. On 2 May 2014, the Parole Board announced its approval of Chindamo's re-release from custody after serving three-and-a-half years.[17]
