The case against four men charged over the shooting of black equal rights campaigner Sasha Johnson at a 30th birthday party has collapsed.

Ms Johnson, a mother-of-two, was shot in the head during a silent disco in the garden of a house on Consort Road in Peckham, south London, just before 3am on Sunday May 23 last year.

Having initially been described as “critical”, her condition is now said to be serious but stable as she continues to receive treatment in hospital.

Prince Dixon, 25, of Gravesend, Kent, Troy Reid, 20 of Southwark, Cameron Deriggs, 19, of Lewisham, and Devonte Brown, 19, of Southwark, had denied conspiracy to murder.

They had also pleaded not guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

A trial had been fixed for March 7 but at an Old Bailey hearing on Tuesday the prosecution announced the Crown would not be pursuing the case.

Ms Johnson, 28, is a founding member of the Taking The Initiative Party and had been a prominent figure in the Black Lives Matter movement last summer.

Police have said previously they do not believe she was the intended victim of the shooting.

The defendants appeared by video link from Belmarsh top security prison for the hearing before Mr Justice Hilliard QC.

The four men, who wore black tracksuits, reacted with smiles as the prosecutor Mark Heywood QC announced their case was being dropped following a review.

Mr Justice Hilliard recorded formal not guilty verdicts after the prosecution offered no evidence.