BNP demo in Borough High Street

The BNP demo outside the offices of the Campaign for Racial Equality was in protest over the death of Gavin Hopley, a white man from Oldham, Greater Manchester, who the BNP claim was the victim of a racial attack, a view not shared by police or anti-racism campaigners.

Reports suggest that approximately 20 BNP supporters were outnumbered by over 50 people on a counter-demonstration organised by Unite Against Fascism with the support of The 1990 Trust, Operation Black Vote, the National Assembly Against Racism and the Black Londoners Forum.

A spokesman for the Greater Manchester Police said: "We are aware of how the far-right use these type of cases to whip up hatred." He added: "The case was fully investigated and no evidence of racial intent was ever discovered."

• Appropriately, a plaque in the entrance of the nearby John Harvard Library recalls the occasion when crowds of Southwark residents halted a march by Oswald Mosley's blackshirts in Borough High Street.