The mother of a murdered teenager urged students to make sure they had a voice.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence – mother of Stephen Lawrence, who was stabbed to death while waiting for a bus in 1993 – visited Harrow College with Harrow East Labour candidate Uma Kumaran to encourage students to vote.

The peer, who has been a well-known campaigner since her son's death, spoke to students about her life since the death of her son and how she tackled racism in both the police force and the justice system.

She now runs the Stephen Lawrence Trust, which helps get disadvantaged young people into professional careers, and also spoke about how important it is to register to vote in this year’s General Election.

In Harrow nearly 8,000 residents have dropped off the electoral roll in the past 12 months as a consequence of government reforms, and new voter registration rules mean registration must now be completed individually and not by household.

Mrs Lawrence said: “Many people in the community do not have a voice and as a peer, I see my role as being able to be that voice over the years and challenge people about how they treat us in the community.

“I cannot tell you who to vote for, but I would like to encourage you to register to do it.

“Make sure you are on the register because if you are not, you do not have a voice.”

Ms Kumaran spoke about being selected as the Labour candidate for Harrow East as a ‘relatively young’ person.

She added: “It is really important for you to have a voice and be heard, not just in this general election but in parliament too.”

Pupils asked questions both Baroness Lawrence and Ms Kumaran questions, with tuition fees playing a large part in the discussion.

Student Union president Anca Purcaru said: “It was a real honour meeting Baroness Lawrence today, as I have long admired her campaigning work.

"Harrow College’s student union, with the support of the NUS, has been working hard to encourage our students to vote in the forthcoming General Election.

“We’re really glad that Baroness Lawrence is also inspiring students, in particular black, Asian and ethnic minority students, to take part in the political process too.”

Student Kanwal Munir added: “Baroness Lawrence and Uma Kumaran had some really interesting points to make about the importance of young people voting.”