Hard-left firebrand Jeremy Corbyn, who was re-elected in Islington North after standing as an independent, dropped by at the controversial Finsbury Park mosque on Saturday to thank his “brothers and sisters” for their support. 

Greeting the crowd with “As-salamu alaykum”, Corbyn said: “Brothers and sisters, a huge thank to all of those who supported our campaign.

“I am honoured to be re-elected to do my best to represent all of you.

“A huge thank you for your faith, determination and support yesterday

“This is also a victory also for those who believe in peace and the rights of the Palestinian people to live in peace, to end the bombardment, to end the sale of arms and destruction of the West Bank.”

The mosque has in the past hosted an Egyptian imam, Omar Abdelkafi, who pledged to “liberate” Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem from the “filth of the Jews”.

Abdelkafi is also on record quoting from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a notorious antisemitic forgery that claims Jews seek to dominate the world.

The north-London mosque’s general secretary, Mohammed Kozbar, has described Abdelkafi as “our beloved preacher”.

Kozbar also praised Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas who was killed by Israeli missiles in 2004, as a “martyr” on a visit to Gaza in 2015.

A JC investigation revealed that Finsbury Park Mosque received almost £300,000 from the Labour-controlled Islington Council between 2017 and 2022.