Ray Lewis was deputy to then-London mayor Boris Johnson, but resigned in July 2008.
A former deputy mayor of London who founded a organisation which helped disadvantaged young children, which is said to have inspired a BBC series, has died aged 61.
The work of the charity is said to have inspired the creator of BBC3 series Boarders, a comedy drama about five black students who win scholarships to an elite private school.Mr Lewis, who as deputy mayor had been in charge of leading the capital’s policy on youth crime, at the time said he was resigning in the face of a “drip, drip” of allegations against him which was “getting in the way of the very important work of this mayor and his vision for London”.
In 2010 it was announced that Mr Lewis would help to lead Mr Johnson’s drive to recruit 1,000 people to inspire troubled and often violent youngsters. In 2000 he started work in the Prison Service at Woodhill Young Offenders’ Institution, and then in 2002 he set up the Eastside Young Leaders’ Academy.Mr Lewis extended EYLA’s reach across London and further afield to Milton Keynes, Leicester and Nottingham.
EYLA’s co-founder Anne Collard and head of programmes Carol Murraine said: “Ray was not just the founder of EYLA, he was a friend and father figure to many and will be deeply missed. He said: “Almost from the first days I arrived to live in England 25 years ago, Ray Lewis joined me, partnered with me and taught me how to lead with grace, import and impact as we jointly sought to make a difference in the inspiration and aspiration of the disenfranchised young people throughout our country.
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