Lawrence officer `is no racist'

THE WIFE of one of the police officers criticised during the public inquiry into the investigation of the Stephen Lawrence murder has defended her husband's honesty and competence.

Rosemary Ilsley, the wife of Detective Chief Superintendent William Ilsley, 54, denounced claims that her husband was racist, and said he had worked "22 hours a day" on the case.

Mr Ilsley, 54, was one of four officers who retired with a Metropolitan Police pension but who would otherwise have faced disciplinary action recommended by the Police Complaints Authority.

"My husband is not racist nor is he corrupt. He is one of the most honest people you could wish to come across," Mrs Ilsley said, adding that the officers in the case were condemned in a "trial by media" manipulated by people for their own political ends.