Community holds strong against EDL London demo

They came, they saw and they were cornered - the English Defence League's mission to enter Tower Hamlets on Saturday turned out to be a failure.

The far right group had intended to march through the streets of the borough which has a vibrant mix of cultures and communities. The EDL billed September 3 as the day when they would enter the "Lion's Den" and "reclaim the streets". The group had been banned from marching following home secretary Theresa May's decision to ban all marches for 30 days in six London boroughs including Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest, Islington, Hackney and the City of London.

Instead, they were confined to a small area just outside Aldgate station, failing to get into the heart of Tower Hamlets which is home to the east London mosque as well as Brick Lane, famous for its curry houses. And as well as coming up against a wall of blue in the form of 3,000 police officers, the EDL were also given a message that they were not welcome to peddle their message of hate, with over 1500 anti-fascist demonstrators taking to the streets of Whitechapel to show their support for diversity.

Chants of "They Shall Not Pass" echoed the events of the past when Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists march against the immigrant communities in the East End were thwarted by demonstrators and local people in what is referred to as the "Battle of Cable Street". The defeat of the Blackshirts showed the spirit of the community in the East End and that was on show again at the weekend.

Around 60 EDL protesters were arrested as scuffles broke out and bottles and firecrackers were thrown as more than 3,000 riot police and mounted police tried to maintain control. EDL leader Stephen Lennon, arriving in disguise as a Jewish rabbi, addressed a crowd, telling them he had broken his bail conditions to be at the protest. Police moved into arrest him which set of further trouble between the EDL and officers. According to reports, Lennon was not arrested on Saturday but has been remanded in custody for a week today.

While the policing was praised as a whole, the decision to allow a coach carrying EDL members to pass through the streets of Whitechapel and Mile End towards the end of the afternoon was bound to cause trouble especially as the coach broke down near Stepney Green station and was pelted with bricks and stones by local youngsters.

But on a day when the EDL had planned to "reclaim" the streets and protest against "Islamic extremism", it was the locals and anti-fascist supporters who claimed victory against peddlers of hate and most importantly, the vibrancy of diversity.