Two Ilford men on hunger strike for more than a month after being denied asylum in the UK will stage a protest this afternoon.

Iranian brothers Mehran and Mahyar Meyari have spent 32 days outside the UK Border Agency’s headquarters in Croydon.

Lobby group No Borders say the pair, together with four other pro-democracy Iranians, have shown “overwhelming evidence of brutal torture for their beliefs”.

They will join supporters at 2pm today in Parliament Square before marching to the Home Office in Marsham Street.

A spokesman said: “The men also wish to highlight the contradiction in government policy on the issue of democracy in Iran.

“While government rhetoric indicates a support for the democracy movement in that country, according to the Home Office 1,645 Iranian asylum applicants were refused leave to remain from a total of 1,870 applications last year.”