A group of Europe’s most extreme far-right parties gathered in Milan on Saturday in their first meeting as part of the newly launched “Alliance for Peace and Freedom”.

About 300 people attended the meeting, among them representatives of Italy’s Forza Nuova, Greece’s Golden Dawn, the British National Party, Spain’s Democracia Nacional and the German National Democratic Party.

Delegates spoke about defending Christian values in Europe and the threats posed by “African invaders”. One speaker mentioned the danger of “Zionist globalism”.

Authorities in the Italian city came under severe criticism for allowing the far-right meeting to take place, and a simultaneous rally was organised by left-wing movements in the city centre.

A few weeks ago, Hammerfest, a neo-Nazi music festival, drew extremists to Milan from all over Europe.