The family of Stephen Lawrence, the murdered black teenager, was said to be “devastated” tonight after a £10 million architectural centre dedicated to his memory was vandalised in an apparent racial attack just one week after it opened.
Stephen’s mother Doreen Lawrence was too upset to speak to the press following the incident at the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford, south-east London, last night. She visited the building to survey the damage after eight large windows designed by Chris Ofili, the Turner Prize-winning artist and said to be worth around £15,000 each, were shattered with bricks in an attack that police said appeared to be racially motivated.
Karin Woodley, the chief executive of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust said on behalf of the family: “They are devastated, but this won’t hinder the work of the charity.
“She [Ms Lawrence] feels great sadness like we all do but this has also reinforced her determination,” Ms Woodley said.
The latest in a string of attacks on the centre, the vandalism comes on the 11th anniversary of the inquest which pronounced the killing of Mr Lawrence an unprovoked racist murder.
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It was met with expressions of outrage from across the capital. Hazel Blears, Communities Minister, branded the perpetrators “twisted” while Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, described it as an “outrageous act of racism”.
Mr Livingstone said: “I am disgusted by this racist attack on the Stephen Lawrence Centre, which comes only one week after it officially opened.
“This latest outrageous act of racism follows several others over the past few months on the centre.
“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 Doreen, who has fought to establish this cultural landmark for the whole community.”
The London Development Agency, which helped fund the centre, would assist with repairs if required, he said.
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Police were called to the centre on Brookmill Road in Deptford, south-east London at 5.45am following reports that vandals had destroyed the large front windows with bricks.
It is thought that the bricks were thrown from behind a 2.5 metre high metal fence surrounding the three-storey building. A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: “The incident is being treated as racial. That follows an allegation by a member of public.
“The incident is being investigated by our hate crime unit at Lewisham CID.”
One local resident, who did not wish to be identified, said that the centre had become a focal point for inter-racial tensions in the area.
Ms Woodley said it was the fourth time since October that the centre - which was intended in part to enhance community cohesion - had been targeted.
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Two windows had previously been broken in September, which also needed replacing, she said.
She confirmed that the building had 24-hour security and one security guard was in position at night. CCTV footage was being examined in the hope that it would help the investigation.
Ms Woodley said: “I believe they have picked something up on the CCTV cameras, but it’s too early in the investigation to know what.”
It was too early to say what effect the attack would have on the charity’s budget, she said, but added: “This just demonstrates why we are needed... we are used to challenges.”
The centre was designed by David Adjaye, the award-winning architect responsible for Denver’s new Museum of Contemporary Art, while the pattern of the decorated glass was created by Ofili, whose best known work, No Woman No Cry, was dedicated to Mrs Lawrence.
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It aims to provide thousands of deprived young people with opportunities in fields of architecture, urban design and building.
Before the opening ceremony, Mrs Lawrence said her son, who had himself dreamed of becoming an architect since he was 7 years old, would have been “so excited” that the centre was built in his honour.
Stephen was just 18 when he was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack at a south-east London bus stop in April 1993. After the initial investigation, five suspects were arrested but never convicted. The case was the subject of an internal Scotland Yard review, a re-examination by Kent police and the 1999 Macpherson inquiry, which famously concluded that the force was “institutionally racist” and as such had been incompetent in its handling of the case. The watershed judgement brought about legal changes including the scrapping of the double jeopardy law which prevented individuals from being tried for the same crime twice.
The suspected killers are still believed to live in the local area and last November police confirmed they were investigating new forensic evidence in the case.
However it was suggested by Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor, that the police might have been somewhat negligent in faiing to properly investigate earlier instances of vandalism against the centre.
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He said: “This is very personal for me. The Stephen Lawrence case transformed the way police investigate racial hate crime.
“This is a symbolic building for the local community but also for the racist, which is why it has come under attack.
“You have to ask what the local police have done to investigate the attacks.
“We need to establish what they have done in order to prevent attacks like this one from happening.”