Stephen Lawrence's Mother Given Lords Seat

The mother of Stephen Lawrence, who has campaigned for justice since his murder in 1993, is being given a seat in the House of Lords.

Doreen Lawrence, 60, is being made a baroness and will sit on Labour's benches in the Upper House as a working peer.

Party leader Ed Miliband signed off the proposal and it was put forward to Downing Street as part of Labour's recommendations.

A new peerages list is expected to be released on Thursday, confirming the appointment.

It is understood Mrs Lawrence was persuaded to accept a seat in the Lords by Labour's shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan.

A Labour source said: "Doreen Lawrence is a hero of modern Britain. The strength and courage she has shown in her fight for justice for her son Stephen has had a profound impact on attitudes to racism and policing.

"Her campaigning has changed, and will continue to change, our country for the better. Ed Miliband believes voices like hers should always be heard in Parliament."

Mrs Lawrence led the campaign to expose the failings of the police investigation into her teenage son's murder.

This led to the groundbreaking MacPherson Report which warned of "institutional racism" at Scotland Yard.

A special needs teacher and divorcee, she also founded a charity in her son's name to promote a positive community legacy.

Last year, she was picked to take part in the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics and held the Olympic flag.

She was awarded an OBE for services to community relations in 2003 and is also on the board of human rights group Liberty.

Stephen, 18, was killed by a gang of white youths at a bus stop in Eltham in April 1993.

The case and its handling by police became notorious and forced a reassessment of how police investigated racially motivated crimes.

Two of the original murder suspects, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were convicted of the murder in January last year.