A neo-Nazi gathering held inside a council-owned building in Murcia has sparked local outrage.

It comes after attendees were filmed performing fascist salutes and displaying Nazi symbols.

The event was organised by Nucleo Nacional at the Casa de la Radio, a municipal venue in Torre Pacheco, over the weekend.

Around 50 to 60 residents and anti-fascist activists gathered outside to protest against the meeting, leading to tense confrontations and exchanges of insults with some of those attending.

Local Police and Guardia Civil officers were deployed to prevent the situation from escalating.

Footage shared on X showed Nucleo Nacional members shoving protesters and shouting verbal insults.

The decision to allow the organisation to use a public building has drawn particular criticism in Torre Pacheco, where around a third of the population is of immigrant origin and 99 nationalities are represented.

Recent data suggests around 1,500 Brits in live in the municipality, making up around 12% of the population, although the largest foreign group is Moroccans.

Resident Gabriel Alcazar accused those attending the event of deliberately provoking the community.

‘Nucleo Nacional is a legal organisation,’ he said.

‘The issue is that when they are performing fascist salutes in a town where a third of the population is made up of immigrants and where there are 99 different nationalities, it seems to me that the mayor was creating a powder keg.’

Alcazar claimed he witnessed fascist salutes and Nazi imagery among some attendees, adding that protesters wanted to draw attention to what was happening in the town.

The gathering also coincided with Torre Pacheco’s local festivities, further increasing concerns about the potential for public disorder.

Jose Antonio Artero, who has lived in the town for almost 25 years and previously worked at the radio station housed in the building, said he could not understand why permission had been granted.

‘I do not agree with that event being allowed to take place,’ he told Cadena Ser.

‘I don’t know who permitted it, but I would like to know.’

Artero added that the choice of venue was particularly troubling because the meeting was held in the theatre beneath the Casa de la Radio.

He argued that either the council or the Government Delegation should have intervened, or at least prevented it from going ahead during the town’s celebrations because of the foreseeable risk of disorder.