Campaigners in Southampton have condemned what they called “violent threats” from UKIP leader Nick Tenconi, who has vowed to return to Southampton after a political event was cancelled.

The UKIP leader had been scheduled to appear at The View Bar in Bassett on Tuesday night, before the pub cancelled the event – that was billed as the official UKIP pub tour – stating the gathering had been booked under “false pretences”.

Campaigners from the Southampton Stand Up To Racism group had pledged to peacefully protest outside the pub, with a UKIP spokesperson confirming Tenconi would travel to the venue to meet the protestors.

However, the much-anticipated protest became a non-event after the campaigners decided to cancel and instead “let Tenconi rant to an empty seat if he wants,” a spokesperson for the organisation said on Facebook.

In the end, no protestors from either Stand Up To Racism or UKIP attended on Tuesday, with one police car standing by throughout the evening.

READ MORE: Southampton bar shuts and cancels planned UKIP event

Taking to Instagram in a video, the UKIP leader said: “On November 26, I announced I would be giving a speech in Southampton on Tuesday, December 10, at 7pm.

“This would be at an undisclosed location. The left has managed to find the location and as usual deployed their violent and aggressive intimidation tactics to the staff of the venue, forcing the venue to not only close our event but close for the day.

“We will be returning to Southampton in January. We will meet the soldiers of anarchy and chaos head on.

“There will be no mercy, no diplomacy, and no surrender shown to domestic terrorists. The battle rages on and victory in war will be ours.”

The View confirmed on social media that they cancelled the event, stating they have no political affiliation, and were advised to close for the safety of staff.

Hampshire Constabulary told the Echo officers provided advice, but did not tell the bar to close.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Southampton Stand Up To Racism said: “It’s incredibly important that as a city we stand up to those who wish to infect our communities with the hateful and divisive rhetoric of the far right, and that’s precisely what Nick Tenconi represents.

“We believe in free speech but not hate speech. The violent, racist riots that took place this summer demonstrated very clearly how dangerous that can be.

“In a post on Instagram on Tuesday night, Tenconi said he plans to return to Southampton in January, promising to show ‘no mercy’ and ‘victory in war.’

“These are violent threats that we will, once again, stand up to peacefully and without fear as we always have. There is no room for racism in Southampton.”