Duwayne Lloyd Anthony Brooks (born 27 September 1974) is a former councillor in the

London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes throug ...

. He was a friend of

Stephen Lawrence Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

and was with him when he was murdered.

Early life

Brooks was born in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

to Jamaican parents. He grew up in

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

and attended

Blackheath Bluecoat Church of England School Blackheath Bluecoat Church of England School was a secondary school and sixth form located in the Blackheath Standard area of Blackheath, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Its closure was announced in January 2012 and the school formally close ...

in Charlton. In 1991 he went to study engineering at

Woolwich College Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

and at

Lewisham College Lewisham College is a further education college in the London Borough of Lewisham, south-east London. It was established in 1990, having previously been known as SELTEC (South East London College of Technology) since the early 1970s, which was run ...

a year later.

Murder of Stephen Lawrence

Brooks was with his friend Stephen Lawrence when he was murdered on 22 April 1993, and experienced severe post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the attack. He sought damages under the tort of

negligence Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...

for his treatment by the police in the aftermath of the murder, as a suspect rather than a witness. This claim was rejected on the basis that case precedent, particularly the case of ''

Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire was a judicial decision of the House of Lords in relation to the claim by the mother of Jacqueline Hill (one of the last victims of Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper") against West Yorkshire Police that their negligence in failing to appreh ...

'' (1989) had not established that police should owe a duty of care to claimants impacted by their negligence. Although, unlike ''Hill'', the police had harmed Brooks directly, rather than him being harmed by their lack of action, the police were not deemed liable for his psychiatric injuries. The murder led to an inquiry headed by Sir William Macpherson which concluded that the

Metropolitan Police Force The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

was "institutionally racist". Brooks was arrested after allegations that he was involved in an incident during an anti-racist march outside the

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

headquarters in

Welling Welling is an area of South East London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley, west of Bexleyheath, southeast of Woolwich and of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. ...

days after the murder. Although Brooks was charged, the judge dismissed the case against him. It was later revealed that the

Special Demonstration Squad The Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) was an undercover unit of Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS or the Met), set up in 1968 with the approval of the Wilson government, to infiltrate British protest groups. It was part of the Sp ...

had been set to discover any incriminating details about members of the ''Justice for Stephen Lawrence'' campaign, including his parents and friends. The allegations against Brooks subsequently appeared. Brooks sued the Metropolitan Police in 2006, winning £100,000 in compensation.

Political career

In February 2009, Brooks became a councillor for the Liberal Democrats in the London Borough of Lewisham following a by-election in the

Downham Downham is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It borders the London Borough of Bromley, and is located north of Bromley and south of Catford. Downham was named in honour of Lord Downham, who was ...

Ward. Later that year, he was elected onto the Safer Communities Board at the Local Government Group as Lead Member for the Liberal Democrats. He was re-elected for the Downham Ward in May 2010, and appointed "Community Cohesion and PREVENT Champion" at the Local Government Group months later. In autumn 2010, Brooks was named among the potential candidates for the

2012 London mayoral election The 2012 London mayoral election was an election held on Thursday 3 May 2012, to elect the Mayor of London. It was held on the same day as the London Assembly election, and used a supplementary vote system. The election was won by the incumbe ...

but was never shortlisted. He was part of the team around the eventual Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate,

Brian Paddick Brian Leonard Paddick, Baron Paddick (born 24 April 1958), is a British politician and retired police officer, currently sitting in the House of Lords as a life peer. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral elections of 2 ...

, said to be as a proposed Deputy for Youth and Communities. He stood unsuccessfully as the Liberal Democrat candidate for

Mayor of Lewisham The mayor of Lewisham is a directly elected mayor responsible for the executive function of Lewisham London Borough Council in London, England. Steve Bullock held the position from 2002 until May 2018, when he was succeeded by Damien Egan. R ...

in 2014. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

2015 Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

for public and political service. Brooks was shortlisted to be the party's candidate for the

2016 London mayoral election The 2016 London mayoral election was held on 5 May 2016 to elect the Mayor of London, on the same day as the London Assembly election. It was the fifth election to the position of mayor, which was created in 2000 after a referendum in Greate ...

, but withdrew in August 2015 in order to assist a review of stop and search by police in Northamptonshire. In 2018, he stood unsuccessfully as an independent candidate to become Mayor of Lewisham. Brooks joined the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in May 2018. He was longlisted to be their 2020 London mayoral candidate, but was not selected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Duwayne 1974 births Living people Councillors in the London Borough of Lewisham Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Lewisham British people of Barbadian descent Black British politicians Conservative Party (UK) politicians