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With thousands of people expected to head to Trafalgar Square this evening for a candle light vigil against hate crime, London Mayor Boris Johnson has sought assurances from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner that everything is being done to tackle the problem of homophobic attacks in the capital.

Today's vigil is backed by the Mayor and will be attended by the Deputy Mayor for London Richard Barnes. It follows the death of Ian Baynham as a result of such an attack last month and comes amidst fears that they are on the increase.

The Mayor raised the matter with the Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson at yesterday's full meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority. The Commissioner assured the Mayor that the Met is taking the issue of homophobic crime seriously and he outlined measures that include third party reporting and increased sanctioned detection rates, as well as raising staff and community awareness and efforts to encourage the community to report attacks.

The Mayor said today: 'Londoners have become increasingly concerned about the number of homophobic attacks and the recent death of Ian Baynham was particularly appalling. My thoughts are with his friends, family and everyone affected by hate crime.

'London is known around the world as a place where people can be who they want to be. Homophobic attacks and other hate crimes must not be tolerated and we are committed to working with the Metropolitan Police Service to ensure that they are dealt with rigour. We must keep hate crime high on the agenda across London if we are to ensure perpetrators are held to account and reduce the risk of it happening in the first place. So I would urge anyone affected by, or witnessing a hate crime, to report it.'

Deputy Mayor Richard Barnes, who is attending the vigil, commented: 'This was a terrible crime and a tragedy for all who knew and loved Ian Baynham. London's strength and dynamism lie in its many communities and every person should have the right to live their lives as they choose, free from persecution and abuse. It is a dark episode, but as Londoners we must seize this opportunity to raise awareness about the tragic consequences of homophobia and to educate our young people.'

Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said: 'My sincere condolences to Ian Baynham's family and friends. This was a dreadful crime and we are, and will continue to do everything we can to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.

'As I said publicly yesterday, we have seen an increase in reported homophobic crime and that clearly is of concern to us. This is attributed in some ways as a result of increased confidence by the community, however there is still significant under reporting of this crime, which we wish to address.

'The Met is committed to continuing its awareness raising of this type of crime both inside the organisation, and within communities. Working with partners, we have been able to set up third party reporting protocols, engage through local safer neighbourhood teams and continue to support the use of LGBT liaison officers in London boroughs. While this has seen our detection rates in relation to this type of crime increase, there is always more to be done.'

The vigil is being organised to bring people together, to show support to all victims of hate crime and make a stand to seek to stop such attacks happening again. The organisers are Facebook group 17-24-30, so named to remember the three communities targeted by the London nail bomber in 1999.