The clock is ticking for the Home Secretary to ban a far right Hungarian politician entering Britain to stir up racial hatred.

As the deadline neared to stop Jobbik Party chief Gabor Vona from attending two far right gatherings in London this weekend, London Assembly member Andrew Dismore made a last-minute appeal to Theresa May.

He said: "The Home Secretary must act urgently and ban Mr Vona from entering the UK. On Thursday I stood alongside Hope Not Hate and handed in a petition with over 14,000 signatures to the Home Office.

"I am now urging the Home Secretary to stand with us and stop Jobbik's message of hate being broadcast on the streets of London."

Mr Dismore explained why it is so important to prevent Vona from spreading his message.

He said: "Jobbik are the most powerful outwardly fascist political party in Europe. London is a diverse city and we must take a stand against those who have no other aim than to incite hatred.

"Our Jewish and Roma communities in London, for whom Jobbik reserves special hate, need defending against their filthy ideas. All our residents need protection from the undesirable audience of far right activists he is likely to attract."

The UK Roma Support Group backed the calls for a ban following attacks on Roma communities in Hungary by Jobbik.

They said: "Jobbik's 2010 manifesto says 'the co-existence and cohesion of Magyar and Gypsy is one of the severest problems facing Hungarian society.'

"The echoes of the 1930s are all too evident. But the growth of intolerance and hatred doesn't just happen - groups and organisations make these things happen. Allowing the visit of the Jobbik leader to this country and to this city, is the wrong message."

Vona plans to meet with other far-right leaders in London - including the BNP's Nick Griffin - on Sunday, the eve of holocaust memorial day.

In the past he has called for the "criminalisation of the Gypsies" in his native Hungary and founded the now banned "Magyar Gárda Mozgalom paramilitary guard."

The Home Office had not issued an entry ban on Vona at the time the Star went to press.