Sonic Youth hit out at the far-right British National Party (BNP) at a London gig on Friday night, calling them "clowns."

The outburst at London's the Forum came the night after the BNP's leader Nick Griffin appeared on the BBC's flagship politics programme 'Question Time' -- the first time the party had been given such a high-profile public forum.

The BNP, which formed out of the ashes of the ultra-right National Front, has in the past called for the forced repatriation of non-whites and currently campaigns for an immediate end to immigration to the UK. Griffin has in the past been charged with race hate offences after being covertly filmed describing Islam as a "wicked, vicious faith."

The band's guitarist Thurston Moore said, "Thanks for standing up to the BNF," alluding to the BNP's links to the National Front.

The BBC had been obliged to invite Griffin on to the political discussion programme, as the BNP this year won two seats in elections for the European Parliament, giving them a national political profile for the first time in their 27-year history.