Calls for ban on far-right marches in Tower Hamlets after two Britain First protests in a fortnight

Demo: Three protesters stand with an unfurled Britain First banner on the doorstep of the East London Mosque
East London Mosque
Laura Proto16 March 2016

Far-right demonstrations should be banned in Tower Hamlets after Britain First staged two protests in the borough in a fortnight, the borough's mayor has claimed.

About 15 demonstrators carrying union jack flags, crosses and a banner paraded outside East London Mosque on Saturday afternoon.

The protest came just days after members of the same group chanted “we want our country back” while primary school pupils visited the mosque.

John Biggs, mayor of Tower Hamlets, today met with senior Metropolitan Police commanders and urged the force to better manage any further "provocations" in the borough.

Mayor Biggs also demanded the police investigate using legal powers to block further appearances outside the mosque and elsewhere in the borough by Britain First and to act quickly to break up future protests.

He said: “Since the appearance of Britain First on Saturday I have overseen the response of the council and partners, and unreservedly condemned these provocative acts, which are dressed up as a ‘passive protest’ but are clearly designed to provoke a reaction, obstructing local people from going about their lawful and proper business and increasing the risk of violence.”

“I stand in solidarity with all residents of Tower Hamlets, and particularly our Muslim community, who feel threatened by these events.

“We must be vigilant, and we must maintain the higher ground, away from the gutter of provocation where these groups belong.”

Britain First and the Metropolitan Police Service have been contacted for comment.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in