Stephen Lawrence actor stabbed 'in racist attack'
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The actor who played Stephen Lawrence in a television drama about the race murder has himself been stabbed in what is believed to have been a racist attack.
Leon Black, 20, was set upon in a park in Islington, north London, after an incident with a group of men at a nearby pub.
Mr Black, who was allegedly called "nigger" by one of his assailants, believed that he was going to be killed. The actor reportedly said: "They were shouting in their Cockney accents, 'We're going to get you.' I was furious. My mates were trying to calm me down, we didn't want any trouble."
Mr Black, who starred in ITV's 1999 dramaThe Murder of Stephen Lawrence, was stabbed in the ribs. He was treated at the scene by ambulance staff and was taken to Whittington Hospital, north London, where he was given stitches but was later released.
Mr Lawrence, an architecture student, was stabbed to death aged 18 by a gang of white youths near a bus stop in Eltham, south London, in 1993.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said yesterday: "It is believed that the attack may have followed an earlier altercation outside the nearby Lark in the Park public house."
The attack has been recorded as a racial incident although police are still "keeping an open mind" on the motive.
Mr Black had been drinking with a group of friends when an argument developed with another group of three white males.
The incident led to all of the participants being ejected from the pub.