Campaigners have officially demanded the reversal of a decision to name a Highgate roundabout after an assassinated Russian dissident, branding it “undemocratic”.

The junction of Highgate Road, Highgate West Hill and Swains Lane was officially named Boris Nemtsov Place at an unveiling in November last year.

Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin’s regime, was shot and killed near the Kremlin in 2015.

The roundabout was named after him by Camden Council after a month-long consultation last year, but some residents remain unhappy with the decision.

The Highgate Village Green Preservation Society (HVGPS) has now submitted a formal complaint to the council calling for the removal of planters and road signs and a plaque bearing his name.

Helen Rapley, who launched a petition against the naming, told Ham and High that the complaint focused on the “undemocratic” nature of the decision, rather than the name itself.

She said: “Obviously a lot of residents don’t like the name because it means absolutely nothing to them. But we’ve made a point of not lodging that as the complaint.

“We’ve got no argument with them [the Boris Nemtsov Foundation] or their values.

“Our concern is with the process. We were told in very virtuous tones it was being installed in the name of democracy.

“But having done it in such an undemocratic way it just makes a mockery of the whole thing really.”

One concern raised by some residents was the lack of clarity about what the final installation would look like before the council’s consultation closed.

Ms Rapley claimed: “People didn’t actually know what the installation was going to comprise.

“There was a lack of information despite repeated requests.”

She added that residents believed there would be a “couple of planters”, but that three planters, four street signs and a commemorative plaque were installed instead.

Last year Camden Council told Ham and High that the naming decision had support from “a cross party campaign nationally”.

Of the 130 responses received by the authority during the consultation last year, 58% were in favour of the proposal and 42% were against.

When approached about the HVGPS’ request that the installation be removed, a Camden Council spokesperson said: "We will be considering this complaint in accordance with our usual procedures."