Up to 20 members of Our England Today waved placards and St George's Cross flags at KFC in Deepdale Shopping Park, Preston, on Friday
The restaurant is one of around 80 outlets across the country taking part in a trial following requests to provide halal food in parts of the UK.
Officers from Lancashire Police attended and several of the group's members were kicked off by retail park security staff for drinking cans of lager. They handed out leaflets, put them on car windscreens and tried to dissuade customers going into KFC.
Louise Nixon, 39, from Freckleton, near Preston, said: "They were just saying, do you know it's halal meat or something. They tried to give me a leaflet but I didn't take it, it might put me off. It's the first I knew about it. The girl inside said it changed in February. I don't think the protest is very nice really."
A police spokesman said no arrests were made and the group left after around an hour to go to a nearby pub.
Halal meat means the animal has been killed in accordance with Islamic dietary laws. Traditionally, it is killed by hand and must be blessed by the person doing the job. But some Muslims, including the Halal Food Authority, say a mechanised form is also now acceptable. KFC recently met with the Lancashire Council of Mosques to defend its halal chicken products.
The group, mainly young men, some with children, said the protest was not an English Defence League (EDL) demonstration. However it was advertised on an EDL social networking website page and a statement on their website said: "We would like to encourage "flash demos" at these restaurants".
An Our England Today spokesman said: "This KFC has taken it upon themselves to serve Halal. We were not asked, we had no choice and if we want to eat KFC we have no choice other than to eat Halal."
A KFC spokesman said: "Although these stores are now halal accredited, we are still offering the same great tasting chicken and meeting the same high standards of animal welfare that we always have and, wherever possible, we have made sure that a trial store is near a non-halal restaurant to give our customers a choice. We hope the majority will understand that we are offering halal food in a number of our restaurants in response to demand from our customers."
A Unite Against Fascism spokesman said: "This was a very small turnout, quite a pathetic demonstration, attempting to fuel hate and racism."
Lancashire Evening Post
Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up
April 25, 2010
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22 comments:
Here is a video of the EDL doing exactly the same thing a couple of weeks ago : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fikpOxubFk8
I'm a Preston resident, and blogged about this rather pathetic attempt to whip up racial tension in one of Lancashire's most tolerant towns here:
http://riversstream.blogspot.com/2010/04/cooking-up-trouble-at-deepdales-halal.html
On the EDL's website they feature the KFC logo photoshopped to change their colonel's head into a turban with a bomb.
www.englishdefenceleague.org
Very offemsive and extremely libellous.
Logos cannot be used without permission.
I hope KFC sue millionaire Alan Lake for millions.
Ring up KFC to tell them about this, if they don't already know, so they can sue the fascists's backers for every last penny: -
Customer Careline on 0845 753 2532 Monday – Friday from 9am – 4pm.
Or write to them at:
Customer Services Department
KFC Customer Services
PO Box 57984
London
W4 9AX
Surely changing the Colonel's hat into a turban with a bomb on it, is not legal.
It is copyright infringement.
If the EDL are indeed taken to court over this, it will finish off the scumbags for good.
BRILLIANT!!!
Ever since the EDL top dogs infamously grassed up their hooligan followers to the Old Bill in that Sheffield Police Station, they have avoided censure for their criminal behaviour.
Classic proof of grassing.
"A police spokesman said no arrests were made and the group left after around an hour to go to a nearby pub".
You can bet your bottom dollar, if these had been animal rights protestors, they would have had the book thrown at them.
100% likely to be state collusion in the EDL's affairs in return for info on known soccer thugs so they can be given ASBOs before the 2010 olympics.
Can't the racist fuckers do anything without lager?
Didn't Hitler's blackshirts always get pissed-up in beer pusches before beating up Jewish and Roma people in Nazi Germany?
http://1millionunited.org/blogs/blog/2010/04/22/edl-attack-halal-kfc-video-exclusive/
We held off posting this one until details became clearer, but today we can exclusively reveal that the EDL members in the KFC harrassment video posted this week include well-known bully-boy Anthony Bamford. Bamford has a history of harrassing individuals and this is not limited to fast food restaurants; 1MU have seen evidence of his ongoing cyber-bullying, deep-rooted racism and threats of violence.
Socialist Worker had this to say:
The English Defence League (EDL) has taken to copying the tactics of Le Pen’s Front National (FN) in France.
They have called for attacks on all Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) for selling halal meat.
And they are encouraging people to film the attacks and to wear pig masks—which is what the FN has done at fast food outlets in France.
In a video posted by the EDL on YouTube of one protest, one of the mob shouts, “Who here is a Muslim?”
The video can be viewed exclusively here. It appears that Bamford and co have removed it themselves, now the press and police have got hold of it, in an attempt to wriggle out of potential charges; unfortunately for them, we copied it as a soon as it appeared.
It is thought that the thug at the end of the film, giving obscene hand gestures is the EDL’s Sam Burgess, who recently earned himself a three-year ban from football matches after punching a police officer. His identity has not yet been confirmed.
The following video has also been released recently by EDL members, and appears to show them confronting KFC board members, having barged into a meeting.
(SEE LINK ABOVE!)
KFC’s website clearly states that not only is the halal meat on it’s menus only a trial at this stage, but also that the Norwich branch harrangued by Bamford and co is not one of the outlets taking part in the trial. They are also keen to point out the following:
Due to our strict animal welfare standards, we insist that all our poultry is stunned before slaughter. Our halal chicken has been accredited by the Halal Food Authority, one of the most widely recognised bodies in the UK and overseas. It allows the use of a technique called ’stun-to-stun’ – a pain free process that makes the animal insensible to pain and suffering. A verse is also recited from the Koran at the point of slaughter by an appropriate person and the poultry will not come into contact with non-halal meat at any point in the supply chain.
The HFA accreditation which is clearly signposted in the participating restaurants allows us to offer halal accredited meat whilst remaining committed to the same animal welfare standards as before, which meet or exceed all relevant UK and EU legislation.
Anthony Bamford's bahind this all, but why won't the coppers call at his door?
What exactly happened in Sheffield when Robinson was being arrested?
2012 Olympics, sorry.
There has to be snitching going on.
I'll give the KFC's customer service team a ring in the morning.
Does an aybody have an email address for KFC also, Ketlan?
Would be useful to point out the copyright infringment to get their lawyers on the case, thanks!
"Surely changing the Colonel's hat into a turban with a bomb on it, is not legal"
SURE ISN'T!
IF KENTUCKY CHICKEN CAN BE PERSUADED TO SUE, THE EDL WOULD BE BANKRUPTED!!!!!!!
SEND OFF THOSE LETTERS, LANCASTER BLOG FANS, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!
Anthony Bamford's a well known fascist thug who has intimidated African asylum seekers as well as Muslims.
He's C18
Surely drinking lager in a non-licenced place in public is an offence?
Just read this on Stormfront: -
"Tommy Robinson from the EDL is NOT Tommy Robinson from the MIGS. The lad from the EDL used Tommy Robinson's name because he was a well know football lad ,the EDL lad just cashed in on the reputation that went with the name.The last I heard Tommy Robinson had moved abroad ,so it seems the EDL leader not only hides his face but also his true identity".
Isn't KFC owned by Pepsi? If the British arm of KFC aren't interested then take it to corporate in America. KFC conciously targets ethnic minority communities both here and in the States. I'm sure they don't want their logo associated with a group of racists like the EDL. Not good for business.
Found this comment on youtube from someone calling themselves
0Made1nEngland0;
Respect to the lads who took part. Next time.. count me in if anywhere near Leeds, West Yorkshire. Member of the Leeds Division here. On camera they can push me around, I'll be courteous, off camera.. different matter.. I'll do time if necessary! Done it before, will do it again with ease.
EDL - NO SURRENDER!
and here's his profile on there, showing that he has links with BNP too.
Scum!
"Tommy Robinson from the EDL is NOT Tommy Robinson from the MIGS. The lad from the EDL used Tommy Robinson's name because he was a well know football lad ,the EDL lad just cashed in on the reputation that went with the name.The last I heard Tommy Robinson had moved abroad ,so it seems the EDL leader not only hides his face but also his true identity".
So who is the one that was arrested in Sheffield?
We've had a similar incident in Norwich, and I've been blogging about it.
The young counter staff in our KFC were brilliant, so cool about it. That's Norfolk spirit - see the video.
EDL - British wankers harrassing British workers.
@Sue the EDL - @Ring up the KFC . . ':- done.
Im very anti BNP and EDL but Im very anti halal meat.Animal cruelty should never be excused in the sake of religion. We have animal laws which should be strictly adhered to no matter who you are.
@Anon 11.23am
Leaving aside any debate about the business practices of Kentucky Fried Chicken, or about halal meat, or even any discussion about the ethics of eating meat at all, the essential point seems to be this:
Are people ready or willing to accept the bullyboy tactics of any organisation like the EDL or the BNP? Can we tolerate this low-level off-the street gang thuggery?
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