Duwayne Brooks

Duwayne Brooks (born 27 September 1974) is a Liberal Democrat politician and former Councillor for the London Borough of Lewisham. He was a friend of Stephen Lawrence and was with him when he was murdered.

Brooks was born on 27 September 1974 in Lewisham, London, to Barbadian parents. He grew up in Deptford and attended Blackheath Bluecoat Church of England School in Charlton. In 1991 he went to study engineering at Woolwich College and at Lewisham College a year later.

Brooks was with Stephen Lawrence when he was murdered on 22 April 1993. The murder led to an inquiry headed by Sir William Macpherson which concluded that the Metropolitan Police Force was "institutionally racist".

Brooks was arrested after allegations that he was involved in a scuffle during an anti-racist march outside the British National Party headquarters in Welling days after the murder. Although Brooks was charged, the judge dismissed the case against him. It was later revealed that the Special Demonstration Squad had been set to discover any incriminating details about members of the Justice for Stephen Lawrence campaign. These included his parents and friends. The allegations against Brooks subsequently appeared.

In February 2009, Brooks became a Councillor for the Liberal Democrats in the London Borough of Lewisham following a by-election in the Downham 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 to the Downham Ward in May 2010 and also appointed as Community Cohesion and PREVENT Champion at the Local Government Group months later.

In autumn 2010, Brooks was named among the potential candidates for the London mayoral election, 2012 but the selection process was deferred for twelve months and Brooks was not on the final shortlist. He failed to get approved candidate status to stand as a GLA candidate. However, he was part of the team around the eventual Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate, Brian Paddick, as proposed Deputy for Youth and Communities.

In May 2014 he stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Lewisham and was defeated by Steve Bullock. He also lost his seat on the council.