Whitechapel anarchist bookshop torched

An anarchist bookshop in Whitechapel has been targeted in a suspected firebomb attack.

Police are treating the blaze at the Freedom Press bookshop on Whitechapel High Street as suspicious.

No one was injured in the fire.

London Fire Brigade said it was called at 5.03am and firefighters had extinguished the blaze by 7.12am.

LFB says flats above the shop were not affected with about 15% of the ground floor premises receiving fire damage.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Inquiries into the circumstances of the fire are under way but at this early stage it is being treated as suspicious."

No arrests have been made, he added.

A statement on the shop's website reads: "The bookshop has been firebombed. Fortunately nobody was hurt, but there's quite a lot of damage from both the fire and the water used to douse the flames.

"We're still assessing the damage, so watch this space for further news."

It added that a clean-up has been arranged to take place from 1pm tomorrow and any volunteers would be gratefully received.

The website describes it as the "largest anarchist publishing house in the nation and the oldest of its kind in the English speaking world".