Finsbury Park councillor Asima Shaikh says she was alerted about the booking by the local mosque

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A FAR-RIGHT event due to be held at a bar in Finsbury Park last night (Thursday) was cancelled after warnings from local councillors and the police.

Resistance GB, a “news” website and YouTube channel that promotes anti-vax conspiracy theories, and platforms far-right activist Tommy Robinson, had planned to host a “fourth birthday” celebration at The Night Owl.

Asima Shaikh, an independent Finsbury Park ward councillor, said she was alerted about the booking by the local mosque and quickly saw the potential for a large-scale disturbance.

“I thought, is there a way for the council to stop them doing this? All they can do is indicate that this is likely to be disruptive and alert the police,” she said.

“I knew it was likely that some people would want to demonstrate against supporters of Tommy Robinson coming into our borough which is a massive multicultural and multi-faith community.”

Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn echoed Ms Shaikh’s concerns. “We do not need the far right to bring their message of racism and hate in Finsbury Park,” he said.

As news spread of Resistance GB’s scheduled event, residents decided to organise a counter-protest, headed up by organisation Stand Up to Racism.

Paul Holborow of SUTR said: “I’m absolutely sure that it was the threat of a counter-demo that forced action. They are a progressive night venue and they didn’t want to be associated with the hard right.”

The venue cancelled the booking and said in a statement on social media: “We would like to reiterate that The Night Owl has no affiliation with any far-right groups/political parties.”