Fascists show their faces in Liverpool

The fascist BNP today continued their campaign of intimidation and racism on the streets of Liverpool. At around 2pm Andrew Tierney, again claiming to be a freelance journalist, set up his camera tripod directly in front of the Socialist Workers Party stall. This was a clear attempt to unsettle and intimidate people as they engaged in legitimate political activism. Tierney also filmed a local former Big Issue seller who now works advertising for local companies. This man, who has no association with the SWP, was going about his job and became frightened when the camera was put about a foot from his face.

After the police intervened the BNP made it clear that they were not going to disappear and the four or five of them began to attempt to distribute their leaflets to a less than susceptible public. Anti-Fascists soon rallied around and began to arrive at the street in numbers shouting “Nazi Scum, Off out Streets” and “Sing it loud, Sing it clear, BNP not welcome here.” The timely arrival of some Hope not Hate leaflets meant that the anti-fascists had some literature which they could give out to the public revealing the fascist and violent nature of the BNP. These leaflets were quickly snapped up by passers by and left the fascists looking dejected as they stooped to pick their own leaflets off the floor before people realised the reaction they were receiving. One confused lady, who thought we were the BNP, refused to accept a leaflet off me because she wasn’t a racist. If people refuse my literature because they hate the BNP it is fine with as me the message is already out there.

The growing group of anti-fascists soon began to get even louder in their shouts and the BNP group made their way up Bold street. A few of their supporters, mainly young skin head males, joined them and began to shout back at the group with phrases like “BNP all the Way” and “White Supremacy”. Seeing that they were by now outnumbered and were not getting their message across the BNP, who had filmed anti-fascists throughout the two hour standoff, made their way up Bold Street and home. Not the kind of thing we want to have to do the weekend before Christmas but wherever the Nazis show their faces we will oppose them, even at short notice.

Merseyside Coalition Against Racism and Fascism