The black leather strap was left on the road where Stephen was targeted in Eltham, South East London, in April 1993.
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It was a misinterpretation of the scene examiners’ notes, the cop revealed.
Mr Lawrence’s bag was found around 6 metres (20 feet) from a footway, his blood was 10 metres (32 feet) away and the strap was 15 metres (50 feet) away, according to the revised position.
Chris Le Pere, the senior investigator in the case, said: “Detectives continue to pro-actively pursue all lines of enquiry in relation to Stephen’s death”.
The strap was recovered a few metres away from the south-east London bus stop where the 18 year old was attacked by six white men in August 1993.
He was spotted on CCTV footage at a nearby off-licence two hours before the murder and officers want to establish if it’s the same man described by a witness near the crime scene in a green jacket with a V-shape on the back.
Brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, and Luke Knight, were all charged in the 1990s with the murder but were never convicted.
Mr Le Pere added: “She is a witness”.
Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty in connection with Mr Lawrence’s murder and jailed for life in January 2012.
The Guardian says the bag strap was first identified as being of interest during a review of the forensic evidence in 2007.
The judge concluded that alleged police corruption had not hampered the investigation.
The following year Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said he had no plans to close the investigation and warned the remaining suspects “We are after you”. He said it did not belong to Lawrence and he believed it was left by one of the suspects at the junction of Dickson Road.
A female’s DNA was found on the strap whilst being analysed in a fresh round of tests on 540 crates of material obtained during two investigations.
The investigating officer said “people are very frightened and anxious” when Stephen Lawrence is mentioned, so he was not surprised by the number of people who refused to provide DNA.
But 46 have declined, 12 failed to respond to police requests and the remainder were eliminated for medical reasons.
Mr Lawrence’s father Neville said: “One small little bit of information can bring it all together”.
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“I am grateful for all the help from the media and public so far, and continue to appeal for the male that rang Crimewatch and Crimestoppers in 2013 with significant information to ring the incident room on 020 8785 8310”. “Please come forward and give the information and lets put closure on this long running tragedy”.
