death by a gang at a bus stop in Eltham, south east London, in 1993. Nobody has been charged in the case.

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Race 'not issue in Lawrence case'

Sir Ian, who resigned last October, had been accused of racism by former assistant commissioner Tarique Ghaffur.

Mr Ghaffur withdrew the claims against the Met and Sir Ian and accepted an out-of-court settlement.

Speaking about the Stephen Lawrence case, Sir Ian said the force treated the Lawrence family as other working class people.

'Treating working class'

He said: "Anybody who had read the Macpherson Report would recognise an institution that was treating people in a very monochrome way.

"I don't necessarily believe there was anything racist about the activities of the Metropolitan Police in relation to the Lawrences.

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The Stephen Lawrence murder took place in southeast London in 1993

"What the investigators did was they treated the Lawrences as they treated a whole range of working class people and they just did not understand the expectations and experiences of the black community. That is what has changed."

Sir Ian said the tag of 'institutional racism' was "very helpful" as the force had learnt from it but it was also "very unhelpful" as many officers "did not understand it and saw it as a personal affront".

Sir Ian said officers were not racist in the Stephen Lawrence case

Sir Ian also spoke about the race claims which resulted in him resigning and criticised the ongoing inquiry.

He said: "I am probably the only one who can