Mrs Lawrence launches crusade

BY Joe jENKINS
ON THE DAY that the Bishops published their guidelines for the Catholic vote, Frances Lawrence, widow of murdered headmaster Philip Lawrence, launched her own "manifesto for the nation" a personal reflection on what needs to be done if society is to prevent senseless violence and to imbue in the young a sense of social responsibility.
The manifesto, published in The Times on Monday, was roundly welcomed by political leaders. John Major claimed that his election campaign would concentrate on many of the issues raised by Mrs Lawrence, while Tony Blair said that her call for lessons in citizenship for schoolchildren would be integrated into the national curriculum under a Labour Government.
Mrs Lawrence wrote of her husband, distinguished headmaster at St George's RC School, Maida Vale, in north London: "The values that he embodied must not die with him.
"That is why I would wish to see the emergence of a nationwide movement, dedicated to healing our fractured society, banishing violence, ensuring that the next generation is equipped to be good citizens and urgently debating how the moral climate can be changed for the better."
In her manifesto, which Mrs Lawrence distances from political documents of the same name, she says that there should be a ban on the sale of combat knives and
the shops that stock them. This would be a practical step in the fight against a violent society where a twist of a knife can cut short a life.
Mrs Lawrence also wants to see the status of teachers and the police improve in the eyes of the young.
Governments, she says, should no longer be neutral on the central importance of the family unit to a good society. Parents must not allow children to live separate lives. If children receive love and warmth at home, they will behave in a similar fashion outside of the home.
Mrs Lawrence also called for schools to teach "the three Es" effort, earnestness and excellence.
• Learco Chindamo, the 16year-old killer of Mr Lawrence, is serving an indefinite sentence in Feltham Young Offenders Institution, west London. He will be transferred to the main prison system at 21.