The man who was with Stephen Lawrence on the night of his murder accused Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon on Thursday of trying to “humiliate” him by attempting to ban him from speaking at a public event.
Duwayne Brooks said the disagreement was the latest chapter in a feud with Lady Lawrence, who he said “blames me for the death of her son”.
Mr Brooks, a Liberal Democrat councillor in the south London borough of Lewisham, said he had asked the council to delay a ceremony on Friday to grant Lady Lawrence the freedom of the borough.
He said the involvement of the Labour peer was inappropriate so close to the May council elections. Her appearance could damage his attempt to become Lewisham’s elected mayor.
Mr Brooks said Lady Lawrence asked that he did not speak at the ceremony.
He was with Stephen when he was killed by racist thugs at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, in 1993.
“The request by Doreen Lawrence was one to humiliate me in the most hurtful way possible,” he said. “If she wanted to keep our disagreements away from the public she would have made the request via family friends we have in common. She blames me for the death of her son.
“As a councillor I am entitled to attend freedom of the borough ceremonies. I will be speaking on behalf of my party.
“Even though there has been a request by Doreen Lawrence that I should not speak, Doreen Lawrence is to understand that I am an elected member of this council and I will speak when I wish to.”
Lady Lawrence won a payout in a 2004 libel action against the publishers of Mr Brooks’s book Steve and Me, which accused her of subjecting her son to a “harsh and uncompromising” regime. Mr Brooks had alleged that a curfew in the Lawrence household had made Stephen choose to take a dangerous route home on the night of his death. The publisher Time-Life agreed to pay her legal costs and make a “substantial” out-of-court payment over the claims, which Lady Lawrence said added to her distress after her son’s murder.
Mr Brooks said Sir Steve Bullock, the incumbent mayor who will be Labour’s candidate at the election, would benefit from the event for Lady Lawrence.
The ceremony is to be held at the council chamber in Lewisham town hall in Catford, south-east London. Mr Brooks said: “He is trying to split the black vote. We should cancel the ceremony until after the election.” In an email earlier this month to Barry Quirk, Lewisham’s chief executive, Mr Brooks referred to a previous conversation in which he was told of Lady Lawrence’s request “that I do not speak”.
He then asked: “Can you update me on the situation please?”
Mr Quirk replied that he could see no reason to defer the event.
A spokesman for Lewisham council said Mr Brooks joined in the unanimous vote to recognise Lady Lawrence.
“But she has indicated very clearly to us that she does not want him to speak,” he said. “We would hope that Cllr Brooks will respect her wish.”
