Michael Foot memorial vandalised with fascist graffiti and swear words

'This is disgusting beyond belief. Michael was a great man and a good friend. This strikes at everything he stood for,' tweets Alastair Campbell

The memorial to Michael Foot in his home town of Plymouth was unveiled July last year (Luke Pollard/Facebook)

A memorial to the former Labour leader Michael Foot has been vandalised with fascist graffiti and swear words.

The main tableau of the memorial in Plymouth had Nazi Swastikas and the names of far right groups "BNP" and "EDL" scrawled onto it.

Well known for his hard leftist political views, Foot served as the leader of the Labour Party from 1980 to 1983.

Luke Pollard, Labour Parliamentary candidate in Plymouth at the 2015 election, posted a picture of the vandalism on Facebook, saying: "Michael stood up against fascism and to see these symbols of hate on his memorial is sickening.

"I was proud to be one of the organisers of the appeal for a lasting memorial to Michael and I know from the tweets, messages and conversations how important it is to so many people in Plymouth.

"We live in toxic times which means it is even more important we stand up for what is right. Taking a stand against hate is in all of us. Nazi graffiti is unacceptable wherever it may be."

Michael Foot MP speaking at a podium in 1972 (Getty Images)

Mr Pollard called for anyone with knowledge of the perpetrators to notify the police.

The former Labour insider and press officer Alastair Campbell tweeted in response: "This is disgusting beyond belief. Michael was a great man and a good friend. This strikes at everything he stood for."

Mr Foot served 42 years in parliament, was editor of the Evening Standard aged only 28 , wrote a series of books and was a staunch nuclear disarmament activist.

Parallels have been made between his leadership and that of Jeremy Corbyn as both were long-standing members of the left wing of the party and experienced crippling schisms and rebellions in the Parliamentary Labour Party.

During Foot's tenure, four senior Labour MPs known as the "Gang of Four" including Roy Jenkins left the party to form the Social Democratic Party.