BNP leader Nick Griffin concedes defeat

Mr Griffin, 51, picked the battle with 65-year-old Ms Hodge in the mainly white, working-class constituency of Barking in east London, but he conceded defeat shortly after 2am.

He said: "Margaret Hodge has clearly held the seat.

"She has won the seat rather comfortably.

"I think we're in with a pretty good chance of a second, which will be the first one I've ever had in a General Election."

Earlier, a smiling Ms Hodge, who was laughing and joking with reporters, said she was confident of victory.

Labour has won the seat every year since it was created in 1945, taking a majority of 12,183 (33%) in 2005.

Asked if she was confident of victory, Ms Hodge said: "I hope so."

Smiling, she said her tellers reported that the count was "going well" but added the result would not be known until 3am or 4am.

"It's been the toughest battle of my life," she said, describing the fight against the BNP as a "moral battle for democratic values as opposed to fascist values".

The Labour candidate added: "I'm hoping I've turned the threat into an opportunity to really smash this wave of fascism."

Asked about reports of voters being locked out of polling stations, Ms Hodge said: "It hasn't happened here.

"If there were problems elsewhere in the country, I don't know about them.

"That is an issue of concern and what we have to make sure is that everyone entitled to vote gets that opportunity to express their preference at the polling booth."

She went on: "What was very, very warming was that all the polling stations I visited were really busy, much, much busier than they've been before.

"So if there's engagement in politics, that's all to the good.

"If you get higher voter turnout, you get better democratic legitimacy."

Ms Hodge said Prime Minister Gordon Brown was a "fantastic leader working in the most difficult circumstances".

She went on: "The real story tonight is that David Cameron has failed to seal the deal with voters."

Ms Hodge added that the BNP and the extreme right were exploiting real issues for "evil purposes" while Labour were "responding to legitimate needs, legitimate fears, legitimate aspirations and legitimate frustrations in a positive way that builds a strong community".