2 Jul 2009, 1717 hrs IST

LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has paid rich tributes to the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi during a visit to Leicester, where an imposing bronze statue of the apostle of peace was unveiled last week.

A crowd welcomed Brown on Belgrave Road, the heart of Asian business and culture, where people often stop by to marvel at the seven-and-a-half foot statue.

The Prime Minister was presented with a garland of roses and chrysanthemums by a representative of the Indian charity organisation Samanvaya Parivar, which funded the 20,000-pound statue sculpted by Kolkata-based Gautam Pal.

Laying a garland at the feet of the statue yesterday, Brown wrote a message in the visitors' book: "This statue is an inspiration to all who will visit. It reminds us of the great courage and vision of Gandhi and the great changes we can all work together to achieve."

The bronze statue in Leicester is the second Gandhi statue in a British town. The first Gandhi statue was installed in Tavistock Square in London in 1968.

The two-year campaign for the statue was surrounded by some controversy with several local residents opposing Gandhi's statue on the ground that he did not visit or have any links with Leicester.

The Leicester City Council, however, approved Samanwaya Parivar's request for permission to install the statue.

The organisation said it will bear the cost of maintaining the statue located in a busy area mainly inhabited by people of Indian origin.

A multicultural town, Leicester has the largest Indian population in the UK outside London. By 2012, it is predicted that it will be the first city in Europe with a majority of non-white population.

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