Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens is to be investigated in connection with the inquiry into Scotland Yard's handling of the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, it was revealed last night.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission confirmed it was investigating the UK's former highest-ranking serving officer over his disclosure to the Macpherson Inquiry in 1998, which found evidence of "institutional racism" within the Metropolitan Police.

Scotland Yard said it had referred the matter to the IPCC last year after a complaint following the damning review of the Lawrence case by Mark Ellison QC.

A Met spokeswoman said the complaint was made "in relation to Lord Stevens' role as the then deputy commissioner and disclosure to the Macpherson Inquiry" 17 years ago.

Stephen Lawrence, 18, a would-be architect, was stabbed to death by a group of up to six white youths in an unprovoked racist attack as he waited at a bus stop in Eltham with a friend on April 22 1993.

His father Neville told Channel 4 News: "I'm glad that they're actually doing what they were supposed to do because this is not the first time that we've asked them to look into it and they've come back with a negative result. I'm hoping that this time they're going to come back this time with a result that can help us to get further into the truth of what was happening during the investigation into Stephen's death."

An IPCC spokeswoman said: "We can confirm we are independently investigating Lord (John) Stevens following a referral from the Metropolitan Police."

The Met spokeswoman said: "Following the receipt of a public complaint in relation to Lord John Stevens, former commissioner, the MPS made a referral to the Independent Police Complaints Commission on Tuesday, November 4 2014. The complaint has been made in relation to Lord Stevens' role as the then deputy commissioner and disclosure to the Macpherson Inquiry.

"This issue was raised in the Stephen LawrenceIndependent Review by Mark Ellison QC, published on March 6 (last year), where he concluded there were defects in the level of information that the MPS revealed to the Inquiry."

Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington was Britain's top police officer until retiring from the post in 2005 after five years. He then headed inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and alleged football bungs.

Born in Kent, the son of a former RAF pilot turned commercial aviator, Lord Stevens began his policing career in Hammersmith, west London, and quickly rose through the ranks, receiving 27 commendations for his detective work. A series of top postings with regional police forces followed.

In 1986, he was appointed assistant chief constable of Hampshire Constabulary with responsibility for personnel and training. Two and a half years later he was appointed deputy chief constable of Cambridgeshire Police. He became chief constable of Northumbria before being made deputy commissioner of the Met in 1998, with responsibility for leading the fight against corruption in the force.

It took more than 18 years to bring two of MrLawrence's killers - Gary Dobson and David Norris - to justice. They were jailed for life in January 2012 for their role in the attack.

Mark Ellison's major review of the case found evidence to suspect one of the detectives on the original Stephen Lawrence murder investigation acted corruptly.

It found there was a high level of suspicion that former Detective Sergeant John Davidson was corrupt both before and after he worked on the police investigation.

The Ellison report said that, in late July 1998, Scotland Yard's Anti-Corruption Command held a debriefing with former Detective Constable Neil Putnam, in which he made claims against Mr Davidson.

The barrister said that both the intelligence picture suggesting Mr Davidson was a corrupt officer and the content of Mr Putnam's debriefing should have been revealed to the public inquiry led by Sir William Macpherson.

"It is a source of some concern to us that nobody in the MPS who was aware of the detail of what Neil Putnam was saying about Mr Davidson appears to have thought to ask him about Mr Davidson's motives in the Lawrence case," the report says.

The Ellison report led Home Secretary Theresa May to announce a judge-led public inquiry into the work of undercover officers.