The yearly memorial for murdered factory worker Altab Ali is being staged in Whitechapel this-evening in the east London park named after him.

East London Advertiser: 2016 service to Altab's memory. Picture: ALTAB ALI FOUNDATION2016 service to Altab's memory. Picture: ALTAB ALI FOUNDATION (Image: Altab Ali Foundation)

The date May 4 was formally adopted last year by Tower Hamlets Council as an annual remembrance for Altab, a machinist in the rag trade who was attacked in 1978 walking through what was then St Mary’s churchyard in Whitechapel Road.

Tower Hamlets Mayor John Biggs said: “Altab Ali’s murder and subsequent demonstrations was a tragic but important moment in our history. The community response showed that people in the East End won’t tolerate discrimination and bigotry.”

Campaigners have marked his death with flowers and impromptu service every year since, in what is now known as Altab Ali Park.

Today’s remembrance starts at 6pm with wreath-laying. A photography exhibition also opens at the Kobi Nazrul centre in Hanbury Street documenting the feeling in the 1970s, capturing a pivotal moment in East End social history. A talk by the Altab Ali Trust is being given at the centre on Saturday at 7pm.

East London Advertiser: Protest in 1978 after Altab's murder in Whitechapel [archive picture]Protest in 1978 after Altab's murder in Whitechapel [archive picture] (Image: Archant)