Met Police accused of breaking own rules by banning UKIP rally over safety concerns for Muslims

The demonstration is part of a series of events happening across the UK, promoted as a "mass deportations tour", with organisers calling on attendees to "reclaim Whitechapel from the Islamists".

A counter-protest was organised by Stand Up To Racism and a number of local groups.

The Met Police stated they had imposed Public Order Act conditions, meaning Ukip cannot hold its protest in Whitechapel or anywhere else in the borough of Tower Hamlets.

Commander Nick John said: "Tower Hamlets has the largest percentage of Muslim residents anywhere in the UK, and the prospect of this protest taking place in the heart of the borough has been the cause of significant concern locally.

"It is our assessment that there is a realistic prospect of serious disorder if it were to go ahead in the proposed location.

"This is in addition to the disruption that two large protests taking place on a key arterial route through east London would cause."

He continued: "Ukip are free to organise their protest in an alternative location but they will not be holding it in Tower Hamlets.

"Anyone who tries to assemble, in breach of the conditions, or who encourages others to do so, will face arrest."

Responding to the announcement, Ukip said the police had "caved into the Islamists and violated our democratic right to peaceful assembly in Whitechapel this Saturday".

The party said it is in the process of reorganising the march for another location in London.

Ukip said: "This comes less than week after the disastrous decision from West Midlands Police to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending an Aston Villa game.

"British police are now caving into sectarian violence across the country, which is unacceptable.

"The Met must decide who is in charge of police strategy, police commanders or Islamist' community leaders'.

"Today's announcement is another blow for our democracy, but we will not be deterred or stopped from taking our country back."

Former spokesman for Gordon Brown, Lord Walney, accused the Met Police of breaking its own rules, saying: "When the Met Police met me and members of Jewish community groups about the threat to Jewish people from the Gaza marches, officers said their legal advice was that they could not place a condition on a protest that banned it from an entire borough.

"Yet this is exactly what they have now done to prevent this UKIP protest."

Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Luftur Rahman, said the Ukip demonstration "would have caused significant disruption and intimidation in our local community, and spread fear and prejudice".

He said: "We will still hold our peaceful march in Whitechapel on Saturday to celebrate our diversity and unity.

"From the Battle of Cable Street to today, the far right has never succeeded in dividing our community, and they never will."