The Met appeals for witnesses of EDL graffiti on burned Muswell Hill Somali community centre

Firefighters tackle the blaze at the Somali Bravanese Welfare Association and the Al-Rahma Islamic Centre

The Met has appealed to anyone who saw EDL graffiti daubed on the walls of a Somali community centre before it was destroyed in a suspected arson attack.

The letters EDL were spotted on the wall of the Bravanese Welfare Centre in Muswell Hill, north London, by the first firefighters and police at the scene, just after 3am on Wednesday, before they were destroyed in the flames.

Reports of the graffiti prompted the force to call in its counterterrorism officers to investigate the potential role of far-right activists amid concerns of a backlash against Muslims following the Woolwich terror attack.

“Anybody with any positive or negative sightings of that graffiti would be very helpful,” said Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley.