Far Right Britain First Party 'Invade' East London Mosque

Police were called to a mosque in London after members of the far-right Britain First party "invaded" the building and handed out Christian leaflets and bibles.

Eyewitnesses described seeing a group of four wearing matching uniforms, described as "green activist jackets" by Britain First, entering the building before handing out bibles and asking to speak to the Imam.

The four memebers could then be seen leaving the East London Mosque in Whitechapel and driving away in a car. The group described how they "invaded" the mosque on their official Facebook group page.

It is the third incident in recent weeks in which the group, made up of former members of the BNP, have entered mosques across the UK. Members of the party have also staged "Christian patrols" in East London whereby they hand Christian leaflets to local Muslims and staged protests by drinking alcohol outside of mosques.

Metropolitan Police said no arrests have been made in the latest incident.

In a statement following the incident, the East London Mosque said: "Britain First, the fringe far-right, Muslim-hating group, made a second visit to the East London Mosque today (apparently an 'invasion' which involved four people).

"They left pretty quickly, after a local Community Support Officer spotted their car on zig-zag traffic lines.

"Britain First's previous visit as part of their misnamed 'Christian Patrol', showed them bravely swigging lager and unfurling a banner on the street outside ... before again running off quickly.

"Of course, members of the public are welcome to attend the mosque and, with a booking, take a tour of the facilities (perhaps Britain First had trouble writing down the number)."

Britain First - which describes itself as a "patriotic resistance frontline" have also sparked controversy recently for using the name of Lee Rigby on the ballot paper for the European elections on 22 May – the first anniversary of the soldier's death.

The electoral commission were forced to apologise to Rigby's family for allowing Britain First to use the slogan "Remember Lee Rigby" on voting slips for the upcoming election.

His mother, Lyn Rigby, said she was "heartbroken" that the group had used his name for their own political purposes.

She wrote on Facebook: "Their views are not what Lee believed in and has (sic) no support from the family."

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said "Officers on patrol in Whitechapel Road, E1 witnessed a group of three men and a woman running into the East London Mosque at 1231hrs on Monday 19 May.

"The group dropped off some leaflets in the mosque before making off in a motor vehicle. The leaflets have since been seized by police and are published by Britain First."