It took 19 years for Gary Dobson and David Norris to be finally convicted of the horrific murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in Eltham, South East London. But three other suspects, some linked to earlier incidents of knife crime in the area, would never face justice.

Amid these long years of torment for the Lawrence family who unceasingly sought justice for their son, the Metropolitan Police were branded racist. The final conviction for the pair came on January 3, 2012.

But well before that, one afternoon in February, 1997 Eddie Young, the Daily Mail’s chief legal adviser, sifted through the paper’s forthcoming stories and noticed its proposed front page lead: “Murderers”, it read, accusing all five men of killing Stephen Lawrence.

daily mail

The Daily Mail front page naming the Stephen Lawrence killer suspects as 'Murderers', an editorial decision approved by Young

It was a moment of truth for the man who became group legal adviser to Associated Newspapers, publishers of the Mail. Young, who has died aged 80 after a long battle with cancer, had faced similar moments in his career, but none with such dangerous implications.

At first he demurred, telling editor Paul Dacre the headline sounded “legally pretty damaging”.

But as he mulled over the material assembled by the news desk, Young, a courageous and independent-minded lawyer who had never shied away from trouble when press freedom was challenged, was increasingly infuriated by the five suspects’ refusal to answer questions, while leaving the court taunting and insulting the crowds and cameramen outside.

“My gut feeling was that the five of them were guilty,” he said. “I know that’s not good enough but that was my feeling. We were not dealing with honest and upright citizens.” Some of the suspects had criminal records and came from notorious underworld families and had very little reputation to defend, as is required in a libel case.

But approving the headline was a serious calculated risk for him and Dacre. It could have literally finished both their careers. The five men, he knew, could have sued for libel, but he was astute enough to realise that if they did they could not ignore the crucial questions as they had done in court.

As Young later told UK Press Gazette, he knew he could not hope to prove in one afternoon what the prosecution had failed to do in court; but by 6pm on that February day he was feeling “comfortable that at the very worst there were tremendous grounds for suspecting these people, even if in a court of law I couldn’t prove that they were the murderers”.

He had to balance that theory against calculating what damages the men might be awarded if their libel case was successful. As they were dealing with “five established racist thugs”, he reasoned that even if the paper lost, those damages would be minimal. And so he advised Dacre the risk was well worth taking.

And so –- the next day’s front page screamed – “Murderers!” in capital letters followed by the strap line: “The Mail accuses these men of killing. If we are wrong, let them sue us.” Below were printed pictures of the five suspects, Gary Dobson, Neil and Jamie Acourt, Luke Knight and David Norris.

Back home with his family, and armed with a proof of the following day’s front page, Young left his office worries behind him. The family were in shock, but Young was happy with his decision. If the courts could not convict, at least the paper had named those it believed were guilty of the murder.

The story proved to be a truly seminal moment in journalistic history. And true to his own convictions, none of the five men sued.

Pressure on then Home Secretary Jack Straw resulted in an enquiry into the murder which culminated in the Macpherson Report which recommended the law against double jeopardy should be repealed in murder cases and that an acquitted suspect should face a second trial if — “fresh and viable” evidence became available.

This recommendation was implemented in the 2003 Criminal Justice Act and finally led to the conviction of Dobson and Norris for Lawrence’s murder in 2012. Young, by then retired, was vindicated. The case of the “rogue” headline proved a well-earned victory for courageous investigative journalism and represented at least some belated justice for the Lawrence family.

Editors valued Young’s sagacity on similar legal matters, on which he had form, but the Lawrence case would prove his greatest achievement in 40 years as a newspaper lawyer. In a compilation for his grandchildren, he ranked it among the “best moments” of his life, although behind his delight at England winning the 1966 World Cup!

Young modestly placed the honour squarely on Dacre’s shoulders. Dacre described Eddie as “loyal, fearless, utterly decent and simply the finest newspaper lawyer I’ve ever worked with. He was more concerned with levering contentious material into the newspaper than keeping it out, and I often suspected he had greater affection for journalism than the law.”

Another colleague, Adam Cannon, who worked with Young for nine years and is now legal director at The Sun, said: “He always said that journalists’ words were ‘sacred’ and should only be amended by lawyers when absolutely necessary.”

The Mail itself, in a tribute by Richard Kay, praised Eddie Young’s -- “unflappable courage that helped nail the Stephen Lawrence murderers”, describing him as the legendary lawyer who was “one of the unsung heroes of the newspaper business”.

Colleagues praised the tall, courteous lawyer for his formidable grasp of the intricacies of law whose influence was on every page and every headline. That banner headline he sanctioned received non-stop media coverage. Young would say later he was quite happy to take some of the glory!’

The intrepid lawyer was said to be fearless when standing before a High Court judge but nervous in front of a class of journalism students.

He was so popular with his colleagues and legal team that he was in some way considered an honorary journalist, not least when he retired in 2009 and was “banged out” of office, a distinction only offered to retiring long-serving editorial staff.

Eddie Young was born in London during the Blitz in November, 1942 — tragically, the first bomb to fall on a London residential building killed his three-year-old cousin. He was the fourth of six children born to Alfred, a car dealer, and Katherine, an Anglican who at 70 switched to her husband’s Catholic faith.

Educated at St Benedict’s, Ealing he studied law at University College London and worked as a £15-a-week trainee with a lawyer and part-time vicar in Islington. Two years later he moved to a West End firm as an assistant solicitor.

Yet it was touch and go whether he would become a lawyer at all. He could not believe he had passed his law exams and opted for a career in advertising, while exercising his skills at cricket and rugby, which became life-long interests.

Eddie himself changed faiths, converting to Judaism on meeting Diana, his wife. She survives him with their three children; Daniella, who lives in Israel and worked for many years in police forensics, Nadine, the chief executive of an advertising agency, and Ilan, an osteopath.

Eddie Young: born November 3, 1942. Died November 17, 2022