Attack on Lawrence memorial 'was racist'

Vandals have attacked a centre for inner-city children that was built to commemorate the murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage only a week after it was opened to the public.

Police said they were treating the attack on the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford, south-east London, as a racially motivated incident and that the hate crime unit at Lewisham CID were investigating.

The attackers are believed to have struck in the early hours of yesterday, causing more than £100,000 worth of damage. Eight reinforced windows designed by the Turner Prize-winning artist Chris Ofili, and dedicated to Stephen's mother Doreen, were destroyed during an attack which sources said was "sustained and planned".

The attack on the £10m centre, designed by the award-winning architect David Adjaye, immediately drew condemnation from anti-racism campaigners and politicians.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said he was "disgusted" by the attack on the centre. "This latest outrageous act of racism follows several others over the past few months on the centre," he said. "It also comes on the anniversary of the inquest that confirmed Stephen's death to be an unprovoked racist murder and will be even more distressing for his mother, who has fought to establish this cultural landmark for the whole community."

The centre was built to inspire young people of all races from deprived backgrounds to pursue careers in design and architecture, the career path that Stephen had hoped to follow. The 18-year-old student was stabbed to death by a racist gang after being attacked as he waited at a bus stop in Eltham 15 years ago. His killers have never been brought to justice and some of those suspected of carrying out the murder still live in the area.

The inquiry into how the authorities handled the murder investigation accused the Metropolitan Police of "institutional racism" and lead to a major overhaul of how racist crimes were dealt with by police forces.

Dr Richard Stone, an adviser to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry said yesterday: "This seems to have been a premeditated attack aimed at causing distress to the Lawrence family because they are black.

"This is a sad day for people committed to equality of human beings and is a reminder of the injustice faced by the Lawrences."

Yesterday's attack is the fourth time that the centre has been targeted by vandals in the past year.