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Superintendent Ali Dizaei, falsely accused of dishonesty by senior police officers, once referred to the "cancer of racism" that had taken hold of the Met. It was an apt phrase and one that might equally well be applied elsewhere in our public services: the inquiry into the death of Zahid Mubarek in Feltham Young Offender Institution and the prison inspectorate's recent report on Portland YOI both in their different ways provide evidence of racism's brutal grip.

We owe the fact that institutional racism in parts of the public sector is so vigorously debated to Sir William McPherson, whose inquiry asked awkward questions about the way in which Stephen Lawrence's murder had been investigated but did not restrict its criticisms to the police. Even Lord Scarman, whose report on the Brixton riots in the early 1980s made such an impact, had not accused the police of endemic racism. But five years after McPherson, how much has really changed?

The answer appears to be not much. As an independent inquiry led by Sir Bill Morris published findings this week of serious discrimination against black and ethnic minority officers in the Met, the Mubarek inquiry heard how one prison officer had been forced to resign because of racial abuse which had gone unchecked for years. In the year 2000 alone, there were 62 allegedly racist incidents in Feltham YOI.

It is for the inquiry to judge whether cock-up or conspiracy lay behind the murder of Mubarek by his cellmate Robert Stewart four years ago. But one thing is clear: the prison service must begin rooting out racism in YOIs now rather than wait for the outcome of the inquiry. As McPherson shows, the pace of reform is slow enough already. The toll of 93 suicides in prison so far this year is further testament to the need for a more enlightened regime.

Fortunately there are some hopeful signs. Colin Moses, the chair of the Prison Officers Association, has signalled his determination to tackle questionable attitudes among his membership, and the Commission for Racial Equality has the prison service in its sights. But the forces ranged against change are considerable. Let the battle commence.