Paul Boateng and Sir Trevor Phillips among those present to remember man who played pivotal role in 1963 bus boycott

More than 500 people including leading British civil rights figures filled Bristol Cathedral on Friday for a memorial service for the late Paul Stephenson, known for his role in the Bristol bus boycott.

Stephenson played a pivotal part in rallying thousands of people for a 60-day boycott in Bristol in 1963 over the Bristol Omnibus Company’s refusal to hire black or Asian drivers, contributing to the creation of the first Race Relations Act in parliament two years later.