Philip Lawrence
Encyclopedia
Philip Ambrose Lawrence (21 August 1947 — 8 December 1995) QGM
, was a London
-based headmaster who was stabbed to death outside the gates of his school when he went to the aid of a pupil who was being attacked by a gang.
colonel
, and brought up in County Wicklow
. He attended Ampleforth College
and won an exhibition to read English at Queens' College, Cambridge
, being awarded his BA in 1969 and his MA in 1970.
In the 1970s, he taught English at St. Benedict's School at Ealing Abbey
, a Roman Catholic independent school
. On 10 February 1973, he married Frances Huntley, a fellow teacher at the school; they had three daughters and a son.
Lawrence later became the Head of English at Gunnersbury Boys' School
in Brentford
, Deputy Headmaster at St. Mark's R.C. School, Hounslow
, and later was named Headmaster of the Dick Sheppard School
, a Lambeth
comprehensive school
. In 1993, he was appointed headmaster of St. George's Roman Catholic School, Maida Vale
, regarded as a rough school with poor exam results. He improved the academic reputation of the school, but problems with violence continued.
gang, which was mainly Filipino
, aspired to be a junior version of the Triads. Twelve of the gang's members, led by 15-year-old Learco Chindamo, who was a pupil at another school who claimed to be a Triad member, went to St. George's school on 8 December 1995, to "punish" 13-year-old black
student William Njoh, who had quarrelled with a Filipino pupil. Lawrence saw them attack the boy with an iron bar and went outside to remonstrate with the gang. Chindamo punched Lawrence, then stabbed him in the chest; he died in hospital that evening. Chindamo was convicted of murder at the Old 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.
Chindamo had for years claimed that he was the victim of mistaken identity, and that the real killer was another boy who had borrowed his jacket, although he does not deny that he was present. During the trial it was shown that Chindamo's claim of links to Chinese Triad
society was untruthful. On 10 October 1997, he lost his appeal. He was also a suspect in the non-fatal stabbing of a man named John Mills during a mugging
in Camden
several months before Lawrence's murder. Chindamo was born in Italy
to a father from Italy and a mother from the Philippines
. Chindamo and his mother moved to the UK when he was six.
in the early 1990s.
Philip Lawrence was posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal
(QGM) on 14 June 1997.
The Philip Lawrence Awards
were instituted by the then Home Secretary
Michael Howard
in Lawrence's honour, and were first presented on 15 March 1997. They honour outstanding achievement by young people aged between 11 and 20. Lawrence's widow Frances was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours for services to charity for her role in setting up the award.
ruled that Chindamo could not be deported
to his home country of Italy
on completion of his prison sentence, as doing so would breach his human rights
. Although the Home Office
argued that Chindamo presented a "present and serious threat" to society, the tribunal disagreed; they also argued that Chindamo had a right to a "family life" under the terms of the Human Rights Act 1998
. The decision was severely criticised by Frances Lawrence, widow of the murdered headteacher Philip Lawrence. David Cameron
, as leader of the opposition, argued that the case highlighted the need for a fundamental review of human rights legislation in the United Kingdom
, including the abolition of the Human Rights Act 1998
and its replacement with a "British Bill of Rights".
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. On 24 August 2011, Chindamo and his two co-defendants were acquitted of robbery
.
Queen's Gallantry Medal
The Queen's Gallantry Medal is the third level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.It was instituted on 20 June 1974 to replace the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, the British Empire Medal for Gallantry, and the Colonial Police Medal for Gallantry...
, was a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based headmaster who was stabbed to death outside the gates of his school when he went to the aid of a pupil who was being attacked by a gang.
Biography
Lawrence was born in Dublin, the son of a retired Indian ArmyBritish Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
, and brought up in County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
. He attended Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...
and won an exhibition to read English at Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou , and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville...
, being awarded his BA in 1969 and his MA in 1970.
In the 1970s, he taught English at St. Benedict's School at Ealing Abbey
Ealing Abbey
Ealing Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastic foundation in West London, England, and part of the English Benedictine Congregation.-History:...
, a Roman Catholic independent school
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
. On 10 February 1973, he married Frances Huntley, a fellow teacher at the school; they had three daughters and a son.
Lawrence later became the Head of English at Gunnersbury Boys' School
Gunnersbury Boys' School
Gunnersbury Boys' School is a Roman Catholic Secondary School for boys. It is situated in Brentford, London. -Alumni:* Kieran Campbell, Ireland/Ulster Rugby Union player* Adam Devlin, lead guitarist from Hounslow-based Indie band, The Bluetones...
in Brentford
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
, Deputy Headmaster at St. Mark's R.C. School, Hounslow
Hounslow
Hounslow is the principal town in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development situated 10.6 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It forms a post town in the TW postcode area.-Etymology:...
, and later was named Headmaster of the Dick Sheppard School
Dick Sheppard School
Dick Sheppard School was a large school, originally for girls, at Tulse Hill in the South London borough of Lambeth. It was founded as the sister establishment to Tulse Hill School for boys and as the Comprehensive alternative to St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls...
, a Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
. In 1993, he was appointed headmaster of St. George's Roman Catholic School, Maida Vale
Maida Vale
Maida Vale is a residential district in West London between St John's Wood and Kilburn. It is part of the City of Westminster. The area is mostly residential, and mainly affluent, consisting of many large late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats...
, regarded as a rough school with poor exam results. He improved the academic reputation of the school, but problems with violence continued.
Murder
The Wo Shing WoWo Shing Wo
Wo Shing Wo is the original Wo Group Triad, and it is the triad with longest tradition in Hong Kong.Wo Shing Wo was established in Sham Shui Po in 1930 and, while maintaining its traditional stronghold in Tsuen Wan, it has extended its influence to Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok.It also operates in...
gang, which was mainly Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
, aspired to be a junior version of the Triads. Twelve of the gang's members, led by 15-year-old Learco Chindamo, who was a pupil at another school who claimed to be a Triad member, went to St. George's school on 8 December 1995, to "punish" 13-year-old black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
student William Njoh, who had quarrelled with a Filipino pupil. Lawrence saw them attack the boy with an iron bar and went outside to remonstrate with the gang. Chindamo punched Lawrence, then stabbed him in the chest; he died in hospital that evening. Chindamo was convicted of murder at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
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.
Chindamo had for years claimed that he was the victim of mistaken identity, and that the real killer was another boy who had borrowed his jacket, although he does not deny that he was present. During the trial it was shown that Chindamo's claim of links to Chinese Triad
Triad
Triad is a term used to describe many branches of Chinese criminal organizations based in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Macau, Taiwan, China, and also in countries with significant Chinese populations, such as Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom...
society was untruthful. On 10 October 1997, he lost his appeal. He was also a suspect in the non-fatal stabbing of a man named John Mills during a mugging
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
in Camden
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
several months before Lawrence's murder. Chindamo was born in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to a father from Italy and a mother from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Chindamo and his mother moved to the UK when he was six.
Aftermath
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 a public issue in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the early 1990s.
Philip Lawrence was posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal
Queen's Gallantry Medal
The Queen's Gallantry Medal is the third level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.It was instituted on 20 June 1974 to replace the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, the British Empire Medal for Gallantry, and the Colonial Police Medal for Gallantry...
(QGM) on 14 June 1997.
The Philip Lawrence Awards
Philip Lawrence Awards
The Philip Lawrence Awards were created in the UK in 1997 to reward outstanding achievements in good citizenship by young people aged 11 to 20...
were instituted by the then Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
in Lawrence's honour, and were first presented on 15 March 1997. They honour outstanding achievement by young people aged between 11 and 20. Lawrence's widow Frances was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours for services to charity for her role in setting up the award.
Chindamo deportation controversy
In August 2007, an Asylum and Immigration TribunalAsylum and Immigration Tribunal
The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal was a tribunal constituted in the United Kingdom with jurisdiction to hear appeals from many immigration and asylum decisions...
ruled that Chindamo could not be deported
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
to his home country of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
on completion of his prison sentence, as doing so would breach his human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. Although the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
argued that Chindamo presented a "present and serious threat" to society, the tribunal disagreed; they also argued that Chindamo had a right to a "family life" under the terms of the Human Rights Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
. The decision was severely criticised by Frances Lawrence, widow of the murdered headteacher Philip Lawrence. David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, as leader of the opposition, argued that the case highlighted the need for a fundamental review of human rights legislation in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, including the abolition of the Human Rights Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
and its replacement with a "British Bill of Rights".
Release
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." He was freed in July 2010. On 24 November 2010 Chindamo was arrested in CatfordCatford
Catford is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Architecture:...
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
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
in Camden. On 24 August 2011, Chindamo and his two co-defendants were acquitted of robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
.
External links
- BBC 'On This Day', 8 December 1995: 'Youth gang stabs head teacher to death'
- BBC Lawrence School Attack Victim Jailed
- Article recording the background to the case and the verdict in The Daily Telegraph
- Philip Lawrence Awards Network
- St George's School since the murder, from the Education section of The Independent