The leader of the British First Party who set up a stall with the Union flag and launched a tirade of offensive racist abuse has been convicted of a religiously aggravated public order offence.

Police were called to the shopping precinct in St Andrews Road, South Oxhey, when leader of the far right party Kevin Quinn, 44, began using offensive language during a ‘demonstration’ about the arrest in Sudan of schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons.

The Liverpool teacher came to media attention when she was said to have insulted Islam’s prophet after she allowed pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

During the trial at St Albans Crown Court witnesses how they were offended by the racist and foul language used by Quinn with the aid of a megaphone on December 1, 2007.

The first of the prosecution witnesses, Valerie Gay, was on the way to work in Woolworths when she saw the demonstration with a man on a megaphone and people handing out leaflets.

Asked by Isabel Delamere, for the prosecution, what she noticed first, Mrs Gay said: “It was the bad language being used to be honest. He was going on about a young lass that went to Sudan and he was using F and B words saying it was unfair she should be executed for naming a Teddy Bear Mohamed.”

She added: “He was saying it was unfair she went out there to teach those retards and for that she was being executed.”

Mrs Gay said Quinn “definitely” used the word retard as it hit hard because she has a family member that is disabled.

“He said we should execute the f****** Bs in this country and send them back home and before much longer it won’t be our country.

“I was shocked. I couldn’t understand why people have to be so racist. I believe in letting people lead their own lives,” she said.

During cross examination Mark Kimsey, for the defence, disputed bad language or the word retard had been used.

He also pointed out the demonstration had been authorised by the police and that the party was a legal political organisation that supported the rights of indigenous British people.

Fay Wheeler had been out shopping and was about to go home when she saw the men dressed in black carrying a “large Union Jack flag” walking down the precinct.

Mrs Wheeler told the jury of six men and six women, how she stood and listened to Quinn before telephoning police.

Mrs Wheeler said Quinn spoke about people in Sudan burning the Union Jack and about the teacher being found guilty of naming a Teddy Bear Mohamed after going out to teach those “retards”.

Quinn also made reference to Lord Levy being Jewish in relation to the cash for honours allegations at the time, said Mrs Wheeler.

“The gist of it was it was against other people regarding their culture and their colour. I found it offensive and that’s why I called the police on my mobile.”

She added: “South Oxhey over the years has had difficulty with different cultures and you do not need someone standing in the middle of a shopping precinct shouting that. I was worried young people coming down may be influenced by it.”

Mr Kimsey in cross examination asked if Mrs Wheeler had mistaken the word retards for regards and put it that Quinn had said: “Why should she [the teacher] be punished with regards to the naming of the bear?”.

Mrs Wheeler, who works with disabled children, said: “No, because why would he say: ‘She has gone out there to teach those regards’ - that does not sound quite right to me.”

The owner of an electrical store in the precinct, Ken Shah, who fled Uganda 30 years ago, heard a man on a “microphone” shouting that Tony Blair should be called Tony Mohamed, the court heard.

Mr Shah said: “They were shouting about Tony Blair should be Tony Mohamed because of all the immigrants coming in, and what is wrong with this country and about immigration and schools full of immigrant children.”

He added: “I have been living 30 years in this country peacefully. We are not supposed to hate each other in this country. This is a peaceful country and with that type of demonstration people will start turning against each other and we do not want that.”

Usman Khawaja, a muslim, was working as assistant manager at a nearby shop when he caught parts of what was being said by Quinn, the court heard.

He also heard the Mohamed and the Teddy Bear issue and that Muslims are terrorists and should be “thrown out of the country”.

Mr Khawaja said there was swearing, but conceded that he did not think Quinn meant all Muslims should be removed from the UK only those that had committed acts of terrorism.

Mr Kimsey said the main thrust of the party is that it is “putting British people first” and that Quinn had done nothing illegal in voicing his opinions.

The jury of six men and six women took five-and-a-half hours to find Quinn guilty.

Judge Warner adjourned sentence for reports on Friday, April 3.