Britons rally against far-right in Europe

The demonstration outside the Greek embassy formed part of an international day of action against racism in cities across the globe, including New York, Sydney and parts of Europe.

Unite Against Fascism (UAF), which organised the London demo, also sent a British delegation to Athens for an anti-fascist march and festival attended by 3,000 people.

Recent opinion polls rank Golden Dawn third among parties in austerity-hit Greece and the party won 18 seats in its parliament last June.

The country saw a huge surge in attacks against immigrant communities last year, which have been blamed on the party.

And last week Golden Dawn members attacked the car of Turkish consul general Osman Ilhan Sener in Komotini, northern Greece, during an anti-Turkey protest.

UAF joint secretary Weyman Bennett said: "Golden Dawn is an openly fascist organisation. It organises squads of thugs as Mussolini and Hitler did. It denies the Holocaust. Its members are involved in physical attacks on immigrants, journalists and political opponents, including MPs."

Other speakers at the London rally included Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and David Lammy, Tony Benn and Owen Jones.

Greek, Turkish, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities were also out in force.

UAF joint secretary Sabby Dhalu added: "Racism and fascism are on the rise across Europe, especially in this climate of economic hardship."

She reminded protesters that Britain is not "immune to the fascist threat" with two fascist MEPs and "various unscrupulous forces adding to a climate of intolerance and xenophobia."