A far-right Dutch lawmaker who has likened Islam to Nazism visited London on Friday, eight months after being turned away for spreading "hatred and violent messages".

Geert Wilders successfully appealed earlier this week against a government ban on entering Britain and upon his arrival said it was "ridiculous" to suggest he posed any threat to public order.

"Being here today... is a victory for freedom of speech," the 46-year-old, who leads the Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands.

A press conference outside the Houses of Parliament had be hastily reconvened inside a nearby building due to concerns for Wilders' safety. He has lived under 24-hour police protection for the past five years.

The lawmaker has received death threats for his comparison of the Koran and Adolf Hitler's book Mein Kampf, his call for the Koran to be banned and his characterisation of Islamic culture as "retarded".

He repeated these assertions in London, adding he was not against Muslims, but against the "Islamisation of our societies".

He said: "I am no extremist, I am a politician who is democratically elected." A small band of about 10 protesters gathered outside parliament to demonstrate against his visit, throwing eggs and holding up placards saying "Sharia for the Netherlands" and "Islam will be superior".

One demonstrator, 27-year-old network engineer Abdul Mousa, said that Wilders "is not going to get away with what he said.

According to the Koran, he must get capital punishment, which is death".

Wilders was turned away at the airport when he tried to visit Britain in February. The Home Office said it was to stop him spreading "hatred and violent messages" but the ban was overturned at an immigration tribunal this week.

Although the government expressed its disappointment at the ruling, a spokesperson said Thursday that Home Secretary Alan Johnson was "not minded" to refuse entry to Wilders.

"Clearly Mr Wilders' statements and behaviour during a visit will inevitably impact on any future decisions to admit him," the spokesman said.

Wilders was in London to hold talks with Lord Malcolm Pearson, a member of parliament's upper House of Lords who invited him for the abortive visit in February, and to arrange a new date to screen his film Fitna.

The 17-minute film, which juxtaposes images of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States with pictures of the Koran, was shown in Wilders' absence in the House of Lords in February.

The movie has been described as "offensively anti-Islamic" by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim educational organisation, said before Wilders' arrival that it was right that he be allowed into Britain, but warned his comments should be closely monitored.

"The right decision was made to let him in because we believe in freedom of speech in this country, no matter how abhorrent someone's views are," said spokesperson Mohammed Shafiq.

"But he has got to be monitored so that he doesn't say anything to incite religious violence."

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