Two white men were on Tuesday found guilty of the murder 18 years ago of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in an unprovoked attack that became a defining moment in race relations in Britain.

Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, had denied involvement in the knife attack on the 18-year-old at a bus stop in Eltham, southeast London in April 1993, by a gang of white youths.

But a jury at the Old Bailey court in London found them both guilty on the basis of new forensic evidence.

A judicial inquiry into the handling of the case by London's Metropolitan Police found "institutional racism" within the police and led to significant changes in the way murders involving black victims are investigated.

The so-called Macpherson report is regarded by many as a defining moment in British race relations and one of the key moments in the modern history of criminal justice.

As he was led from the court, Dobson -- who will be sentenced along with Norris on Wednesday -- protested his innocence.

"You have condemned an innocent man here, I hope you can live with yourselves," he shouted.

Lawrence's parents Doreen and Neville, who have campaigned tirelessly for justice for their son, wept as the verdicts were delivered.

The jury's decision followed an emotionally charged six-week trial, but senior officers from Scotland Yard said they would continue working to find the other members of the gang that attacked Lawrence.

"We do, of course, acknowledge that there were five people involved on the night that Stephen was murdered," said Scotland Yard's Acting Deputy Commissioner Cressida Dick.

"We have not brought all those people to justice. So if we get new evidence, if we have further opportunities, we will respond to that... We don't see this as the end of the road."

She added that it was a "matter of huge regret" that it had taken 18 years to get a verdict.

"We've transformed the way we do investigate homicide and I like to think that where we are now exemplifies how we've changed in terms of the way we investigate," she said.