A lawyer who represented Stephen Lawrence’s mother has claimed institutional racism is "thriving" in the Met Police ahead of a new three-part documentary into her son’s death.

Imran Khan, who has represented Stephen's mother Baroness Lawrence since her son's death in Eltham, said the new BBC documentary series on the murder and its aftermath had left him feeling betrayed by the police.

The racist killing of the Plumstead man and the botched initial murder investigation nearly 25 years ago led to a public inquiry that in 1999 branded Scotland Yard institutionally racist.

Met Police came out earlier today (April 11) saying that the case is “unlikely to press further” due to no more information, and Stephen's mother also came out recently and said she also thought police should close the enquiry.

Current Commissioner Cressida Dick insists in the new three-part BBC series that the force has moved on in the past 25 years, but Mr Khan said he now believes officers only paid "lip-service" to progress.

Speaking at a screening of the first part of the series, he said: "We had a number of police officers who I had assumed had moved forward with us, who if they had blinkers on then they finally understood what racism was about, or institutionalised racism was about.

"Having viewed all three programmes I feel betrayed by those officers. I feel now that the sense of progress that I think had been made with police officers understanding racism and institutional racism goes back to simply lip service.”

The QC believes the programmes "will reignite the feeling among the black community that the police haven't changed at all."

Former detective Clive Driscoll, who led the investigation that saw two of Stephen's killers Gary Dobson and David Norris finally convicted of murder, said the issue of racism in the police will be "an ongoing thing for a very, very long time".

"The police need to focus very, very carefully on making sure that they are open and transparent, and if they do come across any discriminatory behaviour then they should come down on that like a tonne of bricks. Otherwise nobody will ever have any confidence in the system or the police, and that makes policing harder."

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said no one from the force had viewed the series and so could not comment on it specifically, but said: "Stephen's horrific murder was a terrible act.

“The Public Inquiry, published in 1999, made a series of recommendations which led to far-reaching changes in the Met's approach to murder investigation, race crime and staff diversity. The Met has brought two people to justice for this appalling crime.

"The Commissioner has been instrumental in personally improving the response to racist crime in London and enhancing the service we give to London's black community. She has very clearly stated she will not tolerate racism within the MPS.

“Our high standards and expectations are made clear when officers and staff join the MPS, and are reinforced during training throughout their careers. The MPS has a clear set of values for its staff and the code of ethics reinforces the standards of behaviour expected.

"Our officers' response, when a small minority of their colleagues are found to be guilty of racist behaviour, can leave others in no doubt that there is no place for racism within the MPS."

The three-part series Stephen: A Murder That Changed A Nation will start on BBC One on April 17.