Lords seat for Doreen Lawrence

Doreen Lawrence is to be given a seat in the House of Lords, 20 years after the murder of her son Stephen in a racist attack.

She will be made a baroness in a list of peerages expected to be published on Thursday. It is understood that she will sit on the Labour benches as a working peer.

Mrs Lawrence, 60, has campaigned tirelessly for justice for her 18-year-old son, who was stabbed to death after being set upon by a gang of white youths while waiting at a bus stop in south London in 1993.

She founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust to support young people from ethnic minority backgrounds to pursue their ambitions, and has been chosen to sit on Home Office and police panels.

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

The Labour Party declined to confirm or deny the appointment when approached.

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."