Crowds of students jumped to their feet and gave a thunderous round of applause as they welcomed civil rights activist Jesse Jackson to Middlesex University today.

Six hundred students and staff packed the university’s Hendon campus where Revd Jackson spoke as part of his UK tour commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech.

He congratulated the university for creating a multi-cultural and multi-racial environment, before encouraging students to aim high “against the odds”.

He said: “Your education is the best that Britain has to offer because you’re learning to co-exist.”

Revd Jackson fought racial injustice in America alongside Dr King and together they planned the transformation of civil rights for African-Americans. 

More to follow.