EDL And BNP Erect Gallows Outside Lee Rigby Killers' Sentencing At Old Bailey (PICTURES)

Members of the EDL and BNP turned up at the Old Bailey to hold a rally and string up a noose while Lee Rigby's killers were sentenced Wednesday.

There was a huge police presence amid angry scenes as Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale awaited sentencing for the murder of Lee Rigby at the London court.

The two far-right groups erected gallows outside the Old Bailey as part of a protest demanding capital punishment for the men who murdered Fusilier Lee Rigby.

Adebolajo, 29, and Adebowale, 22, mowed the young soldier down in a car before hacking him to death in front of horrified onlookers near Woolwich barracks in south-east London on May 22 last year.

The protesters cheered as Rigby's family wept when Adebolajo was handed a life sentence today, while Adebowale was handed a sentence of 45 years.

Veterans and supporters of the BNP gather outside the Old Bailey

The EDL and BNP have already been accused "capitalising" on the soldier's death.

"Various extreme groupings such as the EDL and the BNP began to try and capitalise on the incident for purely political purposes," said Nick Raynsford, The MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, in December.

Former EDL leader Tommy Robinson, 30, and former co-leader Kevin Carroll, were detained last year after attempting to stage what they claimed was a charity walk to Woolwich Barracks via the East London Mosque in Whitechapel.

Anti-extremist organisations reported a surge in attacks against Muslims in the wake of the murder, while members of the BNP clashed with Unite Against Fascism during demonstrations in London.