The mother of a murdered teenager visited a secondary school in Neasden to inspire pupils to vote stressing the importance of leading their lives and never giving up.

Brent & Kilburn Times: Stephen Lawrence was murdered in 1993 aged 18Stephen Lawrence was murdered in 1993 aged 18 (Image: Archant)

Baroness Doreen Lawrence accompanied Labour parliamentary candidate Dawn Butler to the Crest Academy in Crest Road, speaking to more than 100 sixth formers as part of National Voter Day last week.

Her 18-year-old son Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death in an unprovoked racist attack in South London in April 1993.

After campaigning tirelessly for justice, two of her son’s killers, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were convicted of his murder in 2012.

Ms Butler said: “The day was really phenomenal. Students were asking her about injustices, representation, black people in positions of power, things that really matter to them. They were really engaged.”

Voting has changed so now individuals must vote to register where before everyone in the household was included.

Ms Butler added: “It’s made it much harder now for people to register. Nationally more than 6,000 people are missing from voter registration in Brent and nationally almost a million. A lot of those people are students, young people and ethnic minorities.

“Baroness Lawrence really wants to get the message out of the importance of voting and the importance of having a voice.”

Jon Carr, head of sixth form at Crest Academy, said: “The students were extremely excited to meet Baroness Lawrence. They were touched and moved and inspired by what she had to say about not giving up, choosing your battles and being able to lead.

“Most of them were born after Stephen was murdered.

“The legacy of Doreen’s work still impacts our kids and she made a huge impact on their lives and they were conscious of that through talking to her.”