It's time for LU to say goodbye

For seven years, first on my own server then on Blogger, Lancaster Unity (formerly Lancaster UAF) has been fighting fascism and racism as embodied in such groups as the BNP and the EDL. From originally being set up to accompany local anti-fascist activity, the blog spread itself wider until it became a national resource with, over the years, many excellent contributors and countless thousands of readers.

When LU began, there was a gap in the market for a continually updated blog that has now been closed by a number of anti-fascist organisations elsewhere, some of which are listed below. Also, the advent and popularity of Twitter and Facebook (both easily accessible and updatable via smartphones) has made the anti-fascist presence on the internet much larger and more effective than it has ever been before. While the bad guys use technology to humiliate and embarrass themselves, anti-fascists have used it to inform and organise.

Because of ongoing health problems which are drastically eating into the time I can devote to Lancaster Unity, it has gradually become a copy and paste blog with very few original articles. This is no bad thing because it's always useful to have one type of news that appeals to a certain group located in a single place. This role though, is rapidly being superceded by Twitter, which does the same job very well. Better, in fact, than we ever could. Thus, it's time for Lancaster Unity to stand down, though the blog as it is will remain here as an archive and a resource for anti-fascists.

It's not too bad a time to be going. The EDL, although it has political ambitions, seems incapable of keeping itself from fragmenting in all directions, while the BNP at the moment appears to be shrinking by the day while Nick Griffin spends half his time in the European Parliament participating in the gravy train that he once professed to despise, and the other half boring us all to death with his tedious stories about smoked salmon.

Even better, it's a real pleasure to be leaving in the week that two of the killers of Stephen Lawrence have finally been convicted. We look forward to the day that the rest of them get banged up.

Big thanks to Denise and John, both of whom helped make LU what it was, and very many thanks to our contributors: Andy Minion, Iliacus, Roddy, Larry and all the rest of them. Special mentions go to NewsHound and Zaahid, both excellent news-spotters who should get their own sites together and keep up the good work. Naturally, a site such as this is useless without readers, and we've had a loyal and feisty readership over the years whose contributions have easily been as interesting as ours. Thank you to all of you (except the nazis, who are just complete morons).

We've been helped since the blog began by a number of organisations. Principal among these are Searchlight (who gave us essential help to get started in the first place, and who we worked closely with on numerous occasions), Hope not hate and Unite Against Fascism. Special thanks to those three and to all the other people who have helped out in one way or another.

It's been (at times) great fun, interesting and bloody hard work (especially on the all-night election specials). Thank you to everyone for all your input.

Although I have a good deal less time and energy these days, I shall be posting occasionally at my own blog space on Searchlight's new website. Thanks to Searchlight for offering me both the opportunity and the space. John has moved over to Anti-Fascists Online.

Ketlan
Lancaster Unity

This is not a comprehensive list of anti-fascist resources. If you think I've left anyone out who should be included, email me or make a comment and I'll add them.

Searchlight
Hope not hate
Unite Against Fascism
Anti-Fascists Online
EDL News
Everything EDL
Malatesta's Blog
Love Music Hate Racism
Show Racism the Red Card
EDL Watch at Urban75
HateWatch
Indymedia
Love Music Hate Homophobia
Liverpool Antifascists
Kick It Out
ICARE

Clarifying the story: a statement from the Dean of Bradford

There have been a lot of claims and counter-claims about the position of the Dean of Bradford in the Atzmon affair so I thought it was best to ask the Dean himself to make the last word. This is a statement he sent me last night and I hope it clarifies his position and answers those people, for their own political reasons, who have accused me of lying and falsifying documents:

Statement from the Dean of Bradford 26 November 2011:

"Mr Gilad Atzmon has posted a statement of mine on his website (http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/hope-not-hate-is-caught-falsifying-documents-again.html) which he has used to accuse Mr Nick Lowles of falsifying documents and spreading lies. I do not support this accusation.

I want to make it clear that I do not regard Mr Lowles as a liar or someone who has falsified documents, and I apologise if in any way this impression has been given by me. I did not in my initial statement quoted on Mr Lowles' blog make a public call for Mr Atzmon's concert to be cancelled, and it was on this basis that I disagreed with the headline over my statement. However, I had indicated elsewhere in a mail seen by Mr Lowles that cancellation would be preferred, since (as I note in my statement quoted by Mr Atzmon) I would have had to have withdrawn the concert if it had been due to happen on church premises due to the controversy involved, and it is this indication which led Mr Lowles to write the headline as he did; although it did not represent my intention it was not an unreasonable action for him to take, and he was engaged in interpretation not falsification.

Mr Atzmon and his supporters believe in his sincerity, and those opposed to him do not. Assessing what Mr Atzmon actually believes is not easy owing to the contested nature of the evidence. What is uncontrovertible is the fact that a lot of people believe that he behaves in a way which is anti-Semitic, flirting with Holocaust denial, and racist: and this behaviour has caused a wide variety of groups to distance themselves from him. As a cathedral we believe in truth, peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis, of whatever faith (or none); and we will continue to hold to that often uncomfortable position - a position which makes it impossible for us to offer a platform to Mr Atzmon."

Nick Lowles at Hope not hate

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

Atzmon Quotes From BNP Website To Attack Hope Not Hate

Gilad Atzmon is a campaigning antisemite and a supporter and promulgator of Holocaust denial material. For this reason, Hope not Hate and Bradford TUC have said:

'We believe that Atzmon should be shunned by all decent people – just as we would shun David Irving and Nick Griffin.'

Atzmon is incensed.

He has penned a lying, self serving attack on Hope not Hate and Bradford TUC:

'This weekend, Bradford TUC (Trade Union Council) joined the Israeli lobby’s attempt to silence me. This sort of thing is no surprise since my book ‘The Wandering Who’ exposes the devastating continuum between Israel, Diaspora Sayanim, Anti-Zionist Zionists (AZZ) and the influential and varied communities of Shabbos Goyim(1). So, is it a coincidence that last Shabbos (Sabbath) eve Paul Meszaros Bradford TUC’s secretary and some of his fellow unionists got very busy indeed doing the Zionists’ bidding?'

Here’s part of Atzmon’s attack on Hope not Hate’s Nick Lowles:

Here is an extract from a recent expose of Nick Lowles:

“Until recently, as editor of Searchlight, Nick Lowles was very camera shy. Over the years, he also attempted to generate various false trails with regards to his true identity posing, at various times, as a member of the Union of Jewish Students, a trotskyite activist for a Workers’ Revolutionary Party splinter group keen on infiltrating the Labour Party and a supporter of the violent anarchist Anti-Fascist Action, whose members later planted bombs for the IRA in London. For those reasons, and his close association with the mainstream media, Lowles is distrusted amongst anarchist and other far-left activists who regard him as a tout.”

The inaccurate “expose” to which Gilad Atzmon links is that of an organisation called Civil Liberty:

'The civil rights organisation Liberty refused to represent the British National Party in 2003 when Barclays Bank closed down their bank accounts. As a result of this failure to defend the right of the BNP as a democratic and lawful political party to hold bank accounts in Britain and to operate as a lawful political party and abide by the accounting rules of the Electoral Commission, other bank accounts of Palestinian charities supporting victims of the conflict in Israel were also closed down. From this we learn that a failure by the civil rights organisation Liberty to defend the principle of a right to a bank account for the BNP and all other lawful political and charitable organisations with bank accounts in Britain resulted in the denial of that right to a bank account not just to the BNP, but other organisations the banks wanted to close down as well.'

If that sounds like the sort of thing a BNP front organisation would write: that’s because it is. From The Guardian:

'An investigation by the Guardian has revealed that the fundraising group Civil Liberty, which claims to be independent of any political party, is run by key BNP activists with all the money donated through its website going to the BNP’s regional headquarters in the north-east.

It has raised concerns that the party appears to be attempting to profit from anti-Islamic sentiment in the United States since the attacks of September 11 2001, by presenting itself as being at the forefront of a campaign to save the UK from being “overwhelmed” by Muslims.

Since 2001 it has been illegal for any political party to accept overseas donations of more than £200, and party officials breaking the law face a year’s imprisonment or a £5,000 fine. Both Civil Liberty and the BNP deny they are trying to bypass UK election law, insisting they are entirely separate organisations .

However, the Guardian has established a series of links, including an audio tape of the BNP chairman, Nick Griffin, speaking at a US conference organised by a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, in which he calls on sympathisers to support BNP members by giving money to Civil Liberty.

“Please throw money at the BNP, actually don’t throw money at the BNP. Quite seriously it’s against the law, but you can as my colleague will be telling you tomorrow, throw money at a group called Civil Liberty which helps members of the BNP and that is within the law.”'

The Guardian also found that:

· Civil Liberty was set up and is run by Kevin Scott, who until September was the BNP’s north-east regional organiser.

· Its PO box address is registered to Tyneside BNP at the home of Jonathan Keys, a former party candidate.

· The site’s domain name is registered at the home in Stirling of Steve Blake, the BNP’s website editor.

· The BNP’s head of administration, Kenny Smith, is named on the BNP website as the national treasurer of Civil Liberty and responds to emails sent to CL.

It is not clear how much money Civil Liberty has raised as its accounts are secret, but the American Friends of the British National party was estimated to have raised £80,000 to £100,000 for the BNP between 1998 and 2001 when it folded – money Mr Griffin said made a “significant contribution to the BNP’s [2001] general election campaign”.

Yesterday the BNP and Civil Liberty strenuously denied the allegations.

“Civil Liberty is completely independent of the party,” said BNP spokesman Phil Edwards. “The BNP receives absolutely no money at all from Civil Liberty and any allegation that [money is being diverted] to the BNP in order to circumvent election laws will be met by a libel writ.”

…

Civil Liberty regularly advertises in BNP publications and has appealed for funds on the BNP website. Mark Collett, who was last year acquitted with Mr Griffin on charges of inciting racial hatred, is alleged to have handed out Civil Liberty flyers at a far right event in the US. And at the BNP’s annual conference in November, senior BNP figures accused the leadership of using Civil Liberty to build a fighting fund they said was not declared to the Electoral Commission or the wider membership.

Mr Edwards said: “Civil Liberty is an organisation which was set up to assist nationalists fight legal cases and employment tribunals and other civil cases … The fact that it is Kevin Scott [who set up Civil Liberty] … why shouldn’t it be?”

Atzmon is coated, head to toe, in fascist mire.

UPDATE

Oh dear. Stupid Gilad Atzmon is now trying to hide the fact that he takes his information on anti-fascist campaigners from the British National Party, by rewriting the paragraph and removing the link.

Unfortunately for Atzmon, his fascist fanboys have already republished his article, with the BNP quote and link intact.

Here it is on the “Truthseeker“.

Here it is on the Nazi website, “Shoah“.

Here it is on the Pacific Free Press website.

Too late, you thick Nazi.

PS – I see Atzmon is now being carried by David Icke. Just about his level, I reckon.

Harry's Place

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

Bankrupt Nasty People

There's no money to pay the bills but Porky Griffin has a nice new suit

The British National Party is set to face allegations this week that it is a dangerous, bankrupt and fraudulent organisation.

An unfair dismissal case brought by a disgruntled ex-employee­ could put the final nail in the coffin of the crumbling party.

The far-right organisation’s head Nick Griffin is expected to give evidence at the hearing in Belfast this week which has allegations of theft and kidnapping hanging over it. Griffin is expected to be surrounded by strong security when he makes his Belfast trip.

It comes as furious creditors claim they are owed up to £700,000 by the party. A claim denied by the BNP. Former administrator Marian Thomas says she was sacked after she raised concerns over allegedly fraudulent claims made by the BNP. She alleges that she was instructed by the party’s treasurer to alter invoices and stamp an outstanding invoice as “paid”. This is denied by the treasurer.

She says the invoices were submitted to the Electoral Commission and had been altered in order for it to appear that the BNP had complied with the law on election spending. Thomas claimed on BBC’s Panorama ­earlier this month that she was held against her will by BNP “heavies” ­demanding she hand over incriminating documents.

The hearing comes as the BNP, which has been rocked by savage infighting, holds its annual ­conference in a secret venue ­believed to be in Liverpool this weekend. The party is under investigation by the European Union and the Met Police for alleged fraud and breaches of electoral law.

Simon Cressy, from the anti- fascist group Hope Not Hate, says time is ­running out for the BNP. He said: “We’ve been saying for ages the BNP is as financially ­bankrupt as it is morally.”

Last month Griffin’s Skoda was repossessed by bailiffs acting on a court order. Weeks earlier BNP manager Adam Walker was ordered to pay £25,000 to a former employee after a judge ruled senior officials could be held responsible for the party debt.

A number of small businesses in Northern Ireland, where the BNP had offices until last Christmas, say they are owed large sums of money. Belfast-based businessman and anti-abortion campaigner Jim Dowson, the BNP’s former ­financial guru, claims he is owed more than £160,000 by the party, which he has left. It has also been alleged that families of senior BNP members were visited by “Ulster heavies” looking for cash.

Nine people in Belfast and two in England were arrested on suspicion of ­blackmail but charges were later dropped.

Cressy said: “The BNP is in a desperate mess. After a disaster at the 2010 General and council elections it has turned in on itself. Membership has shrunk to below 7,000 and not even the party’s two MEPs talk to each other, preferring to fight a bitter war of words over the internet and Twitter. It is tearing the party apart.”

Griffin has refuted the kidnap allegations. He said: “Ms Thomas was made redundant by the party and has made a claim to an employment tribunal. Curiously, she has made no mention of this in her ET1 form. Nor am I aware of any complaint ever having been made to the police. She has never complained to me. If such a complaint was made, it seems bizarre that no one was ever approached about it.”

Sunday Star

UDA Superfan

Snowy: Replaced his pipe for a flute

This is the far right English extremist who’s aligning his gang of thugs to the UDA.

Self-styled anti-Muslim fanatic John ‘Snowy’ Shaw is seen here posing for snaps in Derry during a recent Orange march. The former English Defence League leader – who has formed a breakaway group called ‘The Infidels’ is also seen posing in front of a UDA mural in north Antrim.

“Shaw went to Northern Ireland to try and get his photo taken with as many UDA and UVF men as possible to try and big-up his loyalist credentials,” says a loyalist source. “He went to the Apprentice Boys Parade in Londonderry, telling friends in England that he had the backing of the terror-groups in his bid to take over the EDL. He even plays the flute in an English loyalist ‘kick-the-pope’ flute band.”

Shaw is desperate to recruit Ulster based loyalists into his rag-tag bunch of football hooligans. But we can reveal the 40-year-old fascist has a bizarre background – he’s a former crack addict who runs a llama farm in Yorkshire.

The pathetic hate campaigner split from the notorious EDL after a fall out with leader Tommy Robinson.

Shaw was once charged along with Ulster’s run-away EDL leader Leon McCreery for a bizarre anti-Muslim rooftop protest in Dudley, West Midlands but the charges were later dropped.

The Sunday World can reveal that Shaw is desperately trying to get loyalist paramilitary groups involved in his violent anti-immigration campaign. And Shaw showed his true colours in a letter to far-right followers when he described EDL leader Robinson as a “little Fenian bastard” a “ginger fenian c***” and a “leprechaun ****”.

The EDL has recently been linked to the Norwegian extremist Anders Breivik, the man who murdered 76 people in Oslo in a campaign against Muslims in July. Breivik cited the EDL in his “manifesto”, describing the English group as an “inspiration”.

The EDL is an anti-Islam group that has courted controversy for its provocative and violent protests in England. It was formed after a counter protest by Muslim extremists, “Jihadists”, against a homecoming parade by British soldiers returning from Afghanistan in Luton in 2009 gained headlines around the world.

The EDL’s controversial leader Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon), is a recently convicted football hooligan with a previous conviction for assaulting an off duty police officer.

Robinson formed the EDL to protest against what he saw as a growing Muslim influence in England and the group quickly snowballed into a pressure group that could put thousands of “counter Jihadists”, mainly ageing football hooligans, onto English streets to whip up tensions against Muslims.

In desperation, former crack addict Shaw, who patrols his desolate farm in rural North Yorkshire dressed in combat fatigues while brandishing an air gun, has turned to Loyalism and sectarianism to drive a wedge among the predominately football hooligan membership.

Interviewed in 2010 before he left the EDL, Shaw told how he had wanted to previously come to Northern Ireland as a member of the British army as a teenager, but the “hard man’s” mother had stopped him joining the army as she was scared he would be hurt if he came to Northern Ireland.

Not long after the interview, Shaw was ejected from the group after a minor power struggle and reinvented himself as a self-style paramilitary “anti-Jihadist” and rival to the EDL’s leadership. Since then Shaw has been playing on the fact that the EDL leader has Irish roots to plant sectarian tensions in the bully boy outfit.

Shaw has even started playing the drums in the Yorkshire based “Leeds Crown Defenders” loyalist flute band and now rubs shoulders with English UDA chief Frank Portinari. Portanari has even taken to counselling the former crack addict as his 50- strong gang of fascists gain a more and more notorious reputation for violence not just against Muslims, but also against EDL members.

Not surprisingly, the EDL has already allegedly rebuffed the advances of Johnny Adair and his close friend, the German neo-Nazi bomber Nick Greiger who also wanted to take over the group.

EDL leader Robinson at the time cited his Irish ancestry as a reason why he wanted nothing to do with the disgraced former Loyalist leader.

A spokesman for the antifascist organisation Hope Not Hate that monitors the far-right described Shaw’s sudden conversion from anti-Jihadist to hard-line Loyalism as “part of a longstanding pattern” that sees English extremists turn up in Belfast “looking for kudos, a pint of beer and a new tattoo”.

Sunday World via Hope not hate

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

HOPE not hate condemns, 'extremist exploitation' of 9/11 anniversary

Muslims Against Crusades web site, “exposes pact of hate”

Anti-extremist campaign group Hope not Hate condemned what they called “exploitation” of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, after it emerged Islamist campaigners Muslims against Crusades had established a web site portraying a graphic reconstruction of the Twin Towers atrocity, alongside the slogan “You lost the War”.

The web site contains the sound of a roaring jet engine and a computer generated representation of an aircraft heading toward the twin towers, followed by an image of the World Trade center exploding in flames. The front page of the web site also asks whether the attacks were “justifiable” suggests the terrorists were “martyrs” and asks “Could There Be Another 9/11” before producing a countdown clock marking of the hours, minutes and seconds to the time the first plane struck the north tower.

Muslims Against Crusades have also announced they intend to hold a protest at the official 9/11 memorial ceremony in London, as part of what they have described as their “You Lost The War” campaign. The English Defence League have also announced their intention to hold a counter-demonstration during the service.

Commenting, Hope not Hate Director Nick Lowles said:

“This attempt by extremists on both sides of the political divide to exploit the appalling events of 9/11 should be utterly and unequivocally condemned. It again demonstrates the extent to which those who seek to divide our communities feed off each other’s warped agenda. Muslims against Crusades and the EDL are effectively joined together in a pact of hate. A plague on both their houses”.

Hope not hate

EDL ban cuts both ways

The application from the Metropolitan Police to the Home Secretary to ban an English Defence League march through Tower Hamlets on September 3 is a double-edged sword.

Clearly, the EDL intention is not to raise questions of theological dispute with Islam. It is to swagger through areas hosting large communities of Bangladeshi and other Asian descent, stirring up hatred.

There is no reason why the good people of Tower Hamlets and neighbouring boroughs should have to put up with the EDL and its ignorant, bigoted followers. Anti-fascist campaigners Hope Not Hate, civic leaders and local community organisations are to be congratulated on securing police support for a ban, backed by a 25,000-strong petition.

Doubtless the EDL will now try to organise a "static" demonstration which would still pose a threat to public safety. If so, the duty of trade unionists, socialists, anti-racists and anti-fascists will be to stand in solidarity with the local people of Tower Hamlets and east London on September 3. The duty of the police will be to deny EDL supporters any opportunity to disturb the peace with their provocative, racist behaviour.

But the Met application also seeks to ban all marches in five London boroughs over a 30-day period. This could include anti-fascist, trade union and other progressive marches. Whether the blanket will be thrown over the proposed Cable Street 75th anniversary events is not yet clear.

Police permission has already been granted for a march on October 2 from Aldgate East to Cable Street, supported by more than 40 organisations including national trade unions, trades councils, Searchlight, the Communist Party, the Jewish Socialist Group and a host of Bangladeshi and other local community bodies.

In October 1936, the police refused local pleas to stop Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts from marching through the area. Hundreds of thousands of people took their lead from local communist, socialist and Jewish bodies to block the way. Their slogan, borrowed from the defence of Madrid in Spain's anti-fascist war, was "No Pasaran!" - the fascists shall not pass.

The EDL cannot be allowed to pass on September 3. But nothing should stop thousands of people turning out on October 2 to celebrate a famous victory over the British Union of Fascists in 1936 and, it has to be remembered, over the Metropolitan Police too.

Net result

When confronted with social protest or upheaval, the gut instinct of the Britain's ruling class politicians and commentators is to reach for the big stick.

In the aftermath of the recent riots, Prime Minister David Cameron led the way with calls for social networking media to be more tightly policed if not shut down altogether. It seems that cyberspace freedom is an essential accoutrement of democracy in north Africa or China, while in Britain it is a threat to be suppressed.

Wiser heads appear to have prevailed in Thursday's meeting between Twitter, Facebook and BlackBerry bosses and Home Secretary Theresa May. There will be no shutdown in times of unrest. Even so, proposals to monitor such communications more closely could mean that demonstrators organising the peaceful occupation of a tax-dodging chain store, say, or trying to avoid oppressive police kettling, will be shopped to the authorities. That's democracy, British-style.

Morning Star

Welcome moves against the EDL

Great to hear that the police have formally applied to the Home Secretary to get the English Defence League march on Tower Hamlets banned. I’m something of a freedom of speech fundamentalist but this was an open invitation to violence.

I have had my differences with East London Mosque and believe that it is a pernicious political influence in the area. But there are many decent people who attend the mosque and no one deserves to be threatened with violence by these extremist thugs.

Hats off to Hope Not Hate, the anti-fascist organisation, which has been lobbying hard to persuade the authorities to see sense on this issue.

Oddly, Sunny Hundal at Liberal Conspiracy thought the march should go ahead. His argument that EDL violence loses it supporters is very peculiar and I can’t believe he really means it, predicated as it is on other people being hurt or having their property damaged.

Dave Hill gives some good context in his blog. In particular he claims that Lutfur Rahman, the mayor of Tower Hamlets, who has previously been a deeply divisive figure, has worked with his political rivals to bring the community together in opposition to the march. If true, this is a welcome development.

Unfortunately, however, Hill makes the mistake of suggesting that the EDL has been influenced by journalists who have warned about Islamist politics in East London. He provides no evidence for this line of thinking, which veers dangerously close to the nonsense touted by Socialist Worker. In an extract from a new book published on Multiculturalism published in the Trot paper Dilowar Khan, the director of East London Mosque, has even made the outrageous claim that the EDL has been inspired by my journalism and that of Andrew Gilligan.

This would be laughable if it weren’t so irresponsible.

For now, however, let’s be glad that the police have done the right thing and hope that Teresa May does so too.

Spectator

EDL could carry out Breivik-style massacres if they are not monitored

The English Defence League will carry out a Norway-style massacre in Britain unless the Government cracks down on the racist organisation, ­according to an expert.

The far-right group should be monitored in the way terrorists are to prevent a mass killing on the scale of the atrocity carried out by Anders Breivik last month. That’s the frightening verdict of Matthew Collins, who has closely followed the EDL since they burst on to the scene in 2009. Collins, 39 – who was once a top dog in the BNP and National Front but is now an anti-fascist ­campaigner – reckons top members of the EDL are as dangerous as Hitler.

He said: “The Government needs to treat gangs of white, far-right ­extremists like they do groups of Muslim extremists. Their leader Tommy Robinson, the pint-sized Fuhrer, says himself that we’re probably five years away from a Breivik-style incident in this country. So when are we going to act to stop it? These people are dangerous and they are armed and they are ­being led by racist dickheads.

“Show me any EDL member who has anything to contribute to ­society. When I see Tommy Robinson I see Abu Hamza or Anjem Choudhary. They comment on things they don’t know anything about. What does Choudhary know about me? What does Robinson know about the way Muslims live their lives? Nothing. Extremism breeds ­extremism. And there should be a plague on both their houses.

“If we don’t get it right, it won’t be just foolish young Muslims planting bombs on Tubes. It will be foolish young white kids, because people like the EDL tell them nothing about the great things about this country but will focus only on their twisted version of ­Englishness.”

Right-wing ­extremist Breivik blew up an Oslo government building, killing eight people, ­before shooting dead 69 others at a youth camp. The gunman praised the EDL in his ­manifesto and claimed he had 600 EDL supporters as Facebook friends and had spoken with “tens of EDL members and leaders”.

Collins – who has written a book about his time as a fascist, called Hate – says police should ban an EDL march in East London next month. He reckons the protest in the predominantly Muslim area of ­Tower Hamlets will end in a riot. The campaigner – who works for the anti-racist organisation Hope Not Hate – said: “The Police ­cancelled the England football match and the Tottenham game ­because of fears of a riot. So why are they allowing the EDL to march in Tower Hamlets in ­September? They are not coming here to ­protest about radical Islam. They are here for a riot. We need to stop this hatred brewing on our streets before it’s too late.”

Hate, My Life In The British Far Right, is out now.

Daily Star

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

Cash-strapped BNP 'turns to racist hardcore'

Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP which opponents say has suffered a split

The BNP was last night accused of turning to "a hardcore group of neo-Nazis and racists" to stand as candidates in next month's local elections.

The anti-BNP campaign group Hope not Hate said it had compiled a dossier of extremist postings of candidates standing on 5 May, either in council elections or those to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. Among the postings the group collected from Facebook pages were:

• One BNP candidate in the North of England who posted on his Facebook page a mock advert for the gas Zyklon B – used in the Nazi extermination chambers of the Second World War – captioned, "Try Zyklon B. It's a gas!"
• One candidate urges his followers to "Stamp out diseases today. Spray pakis and poofs with hydrochloric acid".
• An activist in Wales, who has a photograph of his endorsement by BNP leader Nick Griffin on his Facebook page. Underneath it reads: "My grandfather was killed in Auschwitz. Apparently he got pissed and fell out of the watchtower!"

The candidate also posted, "Just popped round to see my Muslim neighbour's new baby. She asked me if I wanted to wind it but that seemed a bit extreme so I gave it a dead leg instead."

• A woman, describing herself as a "a big supporter of the BNP leader Nick Griffin", responded to a protest by Muslims Against The Crusades by saying: "They should all be burned."
• Another candidate posting about his arrest for "an out of date bus ticket", says: "They [police] have just made me hate them even more. From now on I will be celebrating the death of serving police officers when they are announced on the news. May sound a bit extreme but I hate them that much." He also posted that Labour's newly elected MP for Barnsley Central, Dan Jarvis, a former officer in the Parachute Regiment, "should have been shot from behind while facing the enemy".

Overall the BNP will be fielding just over 200 candidates in next month's elections – nearly 500 fewer than the in 2007. It said it "was having to cut its cloth" because of the amount of money it had had to spend defending a legal action against the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

Hope not Hate said: "As his party crumbles, Nick Griffin has been forced to turn to what even by BNP standards, is a hard core of neo-Nazis and racists. These are not just activists, but people Griffin is putting forward as candidates for elected public office. They are literally the best the BNP now has to offer."

Hope not Hate, which is funded by the trades union movement, said the party had become hopelessly split – with many members defecting to the English Democrats and the breakaway party British Freedom Party.

The BNP has been engaged in a long-running court battle with the EHRC over its policy of restricting membership to "indigenous British people". It scrapped the rule but the Commission accused Mr Griffin of failing to comply with an order to remove potentially racist clauses from his party's constitution. In December Mr Griffin fought off an attempt to have him declared guilty of contempt of court at the High Court – which rejected the EHRC's attempt to seize the party's assets. Costs were awarded to the BNP but deputy leader Simon Darby said the battle had affected its ability to recruit members and had cost a huge amount in legal fees which had yet to be reimbursed.

Mr Darby said: "Unlike the Labour Party we cannot afford to be £19m in debt and we have had to cut our cloth accordingly." He said the unsavoury postings could be fakes to discredit the party.

'BNP postings' on Facebook

• "7/7 – keep trying ya raghead bastards. This is our country our England our rules. Time2 packup and get the fuck out of dodge."
• "Fly your flag! no excuses. We stock them. £5 to piss off your Muslim neigbours off big style. What a fucking bargain."
• "Going to the polling station was aday out for the lazy African population as they don't work."
• "Unless we stand up and are counted then it's bye bye England."

Independent

BNP reported over Scots leaflets

The BNP has been reported to the Electoral Commission over a campaign leaflet that falsely claims there are more Muslims in the UK than Scots.

A pamphlet was put through letterboxes across Scotland which said the BNP would put an end to mosque-building and warning of a “flood” of Eastern European immigrants about to arrive in Scotland.

Campaign group, Hope Not Hate, has reported the party over its claims. There are an estimated 2.4 million Muslims in Britain and more than five million in Scotland alone, 89% of whom declared themselves Scottish in the last census.

The far-right BNP is planning to field a record number of candidates in the next Holyrood and Westminster elections, but the Sunday Herald can reveal that a shortage of candidates has meant Nick Griffin’s daughter Jenny has been forced to stand in English, Welsh and Scottish elections under her married name, Jennifer Matthys. Opponents said it was damning evidence of the BNP’s lack of support.

A spokesman for Hope Not Hate said: “The BNP’s campaign of hate has been rejected by the Scottish people, which is why they have resorted to a tissue of lies. The BNP is desperate when Nick Griffin is forced to pressgang his own daughter into standing in three separate elections. This makes a mockery of their claims to be building support across the country.”

Aamer Anwar, human rights lawyer, said Muslims could be intimidated by the leaflets and they should call the police if they felt threatened. He said: “This could be considered breach of the peace. It’s racist nonsense which is totally inaccurate and trying to play on people’s fears.”

BNP Scottish organiser Gary Raikes said the leaflets were checked before going out and questioned whether the UK’s Muslim population had been accurately measured.

Herald Scotland

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Luton: The day extremism lost

Police contain the EDL thugs

Now the dust has settled it is perhaps a good time to reflect on the weekend’s events in Luton. Despite the huge media coverage the day was a failure for both the English Defence League and the Islamist extremists of Anjem Choudary’s Islam4UK.

The EDL must have been disappointed with their numbers. At its height there were somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 EDL supporters on the march, far fewer than everyone had expected. The EDL had been telling journalists that they were hoping for up to 8,000 to be there. Police briefings in the days running up to the march suggested 5,000 to 7,000. I put the figure at 4,000 to 5,000. We were all wrong.

EDL supporters came from across the country. There appeared to be almost 50 coaches, though many were far from full. Hundreds more made their way on trains and in cars. What was clear, however, was the lack of Lutonians there. Despite the bravado of claiming mass local support the vast majority of local people shunned the demonstrations. The profile of the EDL demo was the same as for previous events. It was largely made up of white men, aged between 20 and 45, many either former or current football hooligans.

There was a splattering of women and older people and literally a handful of non-whites, but to all intents and purposes the composition of the demo was the same as it has always been.

The day passed off relatively peacefully, with just seven arrests. Despite some provocation and the now customary fire crackers thrown at police horses, the police did a good job in containing the EDL and keeping them away from the general public. The authorities were helped by the absence of Islam4UK as we believe it would have only taken a handful of these extremists to parade around with their provocative placards for serious disorder to break out. While I had been critical of the approach taken by the police in the run-up to the demonstration they did a good job on the day.

The fact that there was no violence was largely down to the excellent work of the local Muslim community who self-organised, debunked rumours and calmed tensions. There were over 300 stewards on hand and several mediation teams who were used to intervene when tensions rose. At one point during the afternoon over 1,000 Muslim youths began gathering on the Dunstable Road following rumours that a mosque had been attacked. The mediation teams and stewards went in and the group soon dispersed.

Across the city, the council's cohesion team, faith and community groups did an excellent job in reassuring local people and showing solidarity to one another.

We were happy with our intervention in the overall campaign. Once again we avoided counter-demonstrating on the day, preferring a strategy of constructive community engagement which sought to educate people about the EDL, provide experience and good practice from previous EDL demonstrations and reassure local communities. In the run-up to the day there was considerable tension between the police and the council and the police and the local Muslim community. Given the lack of trust, particularly from many in the Muslim community towards the police approach, we played a vital role in supporting key community leaders and activists. Because of our relationship building, the information/background we were able to provide via the magazine, briefings and one to one meetings, coupled with our sympathetic stance on building community, we were a trusted source of information on the day. The community mediation teams in the Muslim community found it useful to speak to our team on the ground and share information on how events were unfolding direct from the scene. They wanted to know about numbers of EDL, the mood, what was being done by the EDL etc. As rumours flew around about Qur’an burning by the EDL (for example) we were able to scotch those rumours instantly as a trusted and 'on side' source. This helped the community mediators calm young people down and counteract the rising tensions.

Also losers were the Islamist extremists. They boasted of making an appearance on the day but in the end they were nowhere to be seen. They had claimed that only they could defend the Muslim community but in their absence local people were able to cope just fine.

It is unclear where the EDL will go from here. Given Luton’s importance, both as a birthplace of the EDL and the link with Islamic terrorism, its relatively small numbers will be a major disappointment to its organisers. Future street mobilisations will only be smaller. There are some inside the EDL who are pushing for a more political approach in preference to street actions but this will alienate many of its current supporters. With the obvious thuggery of the EDL a political path looks slim.

Luton survived the EDL demo and it appears that the vast majority of local people – of all races and religions – shunned the extremists. The job now is to build on this by actually bringing people together in a town where fear has for too long reigned over hope.

Hope not hate

The EDL marches in Luton today. Hold your breath

Today's EDL march in Luton has put the interests of a few extremists above the wishes of the majority

Several thousand supporters of the English Defence League are marching in Luton today in protest against Islam. What began as a street movement to oppose Islamic fundamentalism has broadened its target to the religion itself. A few hundred metres away, Unite Against Fascism has arranged a counter-demonstration and, separately, a group of local Muslims will be meeting in a park to act as a buttress between the EDL and their neighbourhood. The town centre will be in lockdown, with most roads closed and 2,000 police on duty. For most local people, of all races and religions, today is viewed with dread and fear. Tensions have been building over the last week, and there is a real fear of disorder on the streets.

For the EDL, the march is being billed as coming "back where it began". The group was formed in the town in the summer of 2009 as a response to a handful of Islamic extremists who protested against an army homecoming parade. The EDL considers Luton to be the frontline. It is home to al-Muhajiroun, now known as Islam4UK, and there has been a Luton link to many recent terror plots in Britain.

Since then the EDL has gone national, with 80,000 supporters on Facebook and local groups across the country. It has held over 30 demonstrations and protests across the country, many ending in violence. The police hope they have the resources to ensure a peaceful day. I certainly hope they are right, but I also have reason to be fearful. The whole policing operation has been dogged by inconsistent mixed messages, confusion, and divisions between the police and the local council. They appear to have accepted the EDL line that by allowing the march they are reducing the risk of trouble. The residents of High Town, the mixed area of Luton where the EDL march is due to starts, were only informed of this last Sunday. No wonder the EDL themselves are openly and publicly bragging that the "tide has turned" and the police are on their its side.

The apparent willingness of the police to accommodate the EDL has had an adverse affect on many locals, including the Muslim community. Many do not trust the police to protect them, and this has bolstered calls to mobilise to defend their neighbourhoods. Compare this with the police in Bradford and Leicester, who restricted EDL demands and went out of their way to reassure target communities – and as a result reduced tensions.

I am not advocating a ban on all marches, but with freedom of speech comes responsibility. The rights of one group have to be put against the affect it has on others. Whatever the outcome, Luton is a more divided town than it was a fortnight ago. The EDL is already feeling confident enough to demand a local shopping centre withdraw plans for a multifaith prayer room or face an EDL response. The march, and the police's acceptance of the EDL's wish to gather at a pub in one of the outlying estates, further reinforces the perception that certain areas of the town belong to the EDL.

More worryingly, the EDL protest is likely to further alienate the Muslim community. Many Muslims will be more nervous; others are likely to be attracted by the extremist message peddled by Anjem Choudary and his Islam4UK group.

Shortly before Christmas, the head of the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit claimed that EDL activities pushed young Muslims into the arms of extremist groups. I have argued this for a long time. There is a symbiotic relationship between the EDL and the very groups they claim to oppose. Each needs the other to justify their own existence, and their respective memberships are boosted by the activity of the other.

Bedfordshire police are following the line set down by the government and police chiefs at the Home Office. They do not consider the EDL to be an extreme rightwing group and they view the march as simply a law-and-order issue. It is the events on the day that matter, rather than the longer-term consequences of their actions. With cuts of up to 50% in the Department for Communities and Local Government, and the closing of its tension-monitoring groups, no one in the government is willing to look at the wider implications of EDL activities.

Only yesterday a building that had been earmarked for a Muslim cultural centre in north Wales was set alight, two weeks after an EDL protest was held there. Mosques in Kingston upon Thames and Stoke-on-Trent have been attacked following EDL protests. A Hindu temple was obviously mistaken for a mosque during an attack in Dudley on the day of an EDL protest.Everyone will be holding their breath that today passes off peacefully; but it seems strange that, at a time when the government advocates localism, the interests of an extremist few are put above the wishes of the majority.

Nick Lowles at Comment is free

EDL protest attracts European far-right activists

English Defence League protests are attracting an increasing number of young people.
Photograph: KeystoneUSA-Zuma/Rex Features

Up to 7,000 due in Luton for English Defence League rally, as anti-racist and Muslim groups prepare counter-demonstrations

Far-right activists from across Europe will join thousands of English Defence League supporters tomorrow for the biggest rally in the group's 20-month history. Police expect up to 7,000 demonstrators will descend on Luton, the Bedfordshire town where the EDL started in spring 2009, amid evidence of the group's growing influence among young people. The organisation has staged more than 30 protests since it was formed, many of which have been marred by Islamophobia, racism and violence.

This rally will see more than more than 25 coaches transport members to Luton from across the UK, with thousands more activists due to make their way by car or train. One EDL activist said 800 far-right supporters would be meeting at Kings Cross train station in London before travelling north. UK-based members will be joined by activists from recently formed copycat "defence leagues" in Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands – as well as supporters of more established far-right groups from France, Germany and Denmark.

Nick Lowles, from the anti-racist campaign group Hope not Hate, said the presence of these groups underlined the EDL's growing international links.

"The significance of the EDL marching in Luton extends way beyond our shores," said Lowles. "Across Europe and in North America anti-Islamic groups are watching the EDL with interest, increasingly copying their tactics, even replicating their name. The attendance of so many international supporters is testament to the EDL's role in the international anti-Islam movement."

There is widespread fear of disorder during the rally and the Bedfordshire police force is planning its biggest operation, with 2,000 officers on duty and hundreds more on standby. It is expected to cost more than £800,000.

The demonstration comes amid concern that the EDL is attracting young people into extreme racist, nationalist and Islamophobic politics. The group now has 70,000 followers on its Facebook site.

Luton youth worker Mohsin Malik, who works with young people up to the age of 18, said he could detect the group's influence in the town.

"No one comes out and says 'I'm an EDL member' but the telltale signs are there," he said. "It comes out in the arguments that they make – the idea that social minorities get priority in social housing, that the police are scared to stop and search Asians."

Malik said the group was specifically targeting teenagers and young people.

"For some of the young people I work with the EDL are very appealing – people like street cred. When you're young you want people to respect you and this is one way of gaining respect. There are some kids who are being manipulated – they think they're the big guns."

Sam Adofo, the director of the Salmon youth centre in Southwark, south London, echoed this view.

"People who say the EDL are stupid are naive ... The way they are targeting youth now is extremely strategic, and it's working for them. They've tried to be inclusive and add young people to the whole idea of what it is … The techniques they are using are the basics – interacting with the working class, meeting in the pub, watching the games. It gives young people a sense of belonging that is key."

Keith Vaz, chair of the home affairs select committee, called on politicians to take the EDL threat seriously.

"The government really needs to find out why young people in particular are turning to the far right for answers," he said. "Whether it is because of the recession and unemployment, social problems within their community or a general disillusionment with politics, we cannot afford to lose people to a group that is so prejudiced against the idea of a multicultural Britain."

Anti-racism campaigners are holding a counter-demonstration in a separate part of Luton. Unite Against Fascism, which is organising the event, says it expects thousands of supporters to travel from across the country. A separate event is being organised by sections of Luton's Muslim community.

The town has had links to Muslim extremism in the past. In December, it emerged that Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born Swede who set off a car bomb in Stockholm before killing himself with a second device, had spent time in the town. But community leaders claim it is being unfairly stigmatised and warn that the EDL is increasing tensions in the town.

"This group is having a severe impact on the people of Luton," said Fiyaz Mughal, the director of Faith Matters who co-authored a report on the EDL last year. "The tensions between communities are rising and fractures are starting to appear. The Muslim community is under real pressure and feels it is being persecuted and becoming the main target for the EDL."

The far-right group was formed after a small number of protesters from an extremist Muslim group held up placards at the homecoming of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment in Luton, reading "Butchers of Basra" and "Anglian soldiers go to hell". At a subsequent protest scores of EDL supporters attacked Asian businesses, smashed cars and threatened passersby.

The group has "divisions" across the country and its leadership insists it is not violent or racist, opposed only to what it describes as radical or militant Islam. However, many of its demonstrations have descended into violence and racist chanting. Some of its supporters are extreme far-right activists and football hooligans.

The Guardian

EDL plans for Luton protest raise fears of disorder

Police expected to mount biggest operation in town's history as councillor says vast majority reject extremism of any kind

The far-right English Defence League is due to stage the biggest demonstration in its 18-month history this weekend amid growing fears of widespread disorder. Thousands of EDL activists from across England will descend on Luton, the Bedfordshire town where the organisation started, for the protest on Saturday.

The EDL has staged more than 30 protests in towns and cities across the UK since it was formed in March 2009, many of which have been marred by Islamophobia, racism and violence. On Saturday, between 25 and 30 coaches packed with EDL supporters are expected to travel to Luton, including a number of activists from far-right groups in France, the Netherlands and Germany.

"This event is creating more fear than anything else, especially among the elderly who have seen the pictures of what has happened at these events in the past," said Luton councillor Mahmood Hussain. "Everyone is very much concerned about what could happen because you only have to look at the record of this group to see what we face."

Bedfordshire police are planning the biggest operation in Luton's history with around 2,000 officers expected to be on duty, with several hundred more on standby.

Anti-racism campaigners are holding a counter demonstration in Luton on Saturday in separate part of the town. Unite Against Fascism, which is organising the event, says it expects supporters to travel from across the country. Community leaders and politicians have been working with different community groups in Luton since the EDL announced it was going to stage the protest under the catchline "Back to where it all began".

"We had a very emotional meeting last week where the young people were very concerned with some of the awful things that were written on the internet by EDL people," said Hussain. "But we are trying to tell them not to be provoked because that is just what these people want."

The EDL was formed in Luton after a small number of protesters from an extremist Muslim group held up placards at the homecoming of the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment reading "Butchers of Basra" and "Anglian soldiers go to hell". At a subsequent protest in the town scores of EDL supporters attacked Asian businesses, smashing cars and threatening passersby. The group has branches across the country and its leadership insists it is not violent or racist and is opposed only to what it describes as radical or militant Islam.

However, many of its demonstrations have descended into violence and racist chanting. Some supporters are known far-right activists and football hooligans.

Nick Lowles from anti-racist group HOPE not hate said: "The EDL poses the biggest threat to community cohesion in Britain today. Its activities are designed to increase tensions in communities with a large Muslim population and especially in areas that have had problems in the past. By demonstrating in these areas they embolden local racists and seek a violent reaction from local Muslim youths, which in turn will lead to a new cycle of violence."

Luton has had links to Muslim extremism in the past. In December, it emerged that Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born Swede who set off a car bomb in the Swedish capital before killing himself with a second bomb, had spent time in Luton.

However, Lowles said the vast majority of people in Luton rejected extremism of any kind.

"The danger is that people will get the impression that there is only extremism in this town which is simply not true. What we want to do is mobilise mainstream opinion and give them a voice to oppose the EDL and any other extremists."

Hussain agreed that the vast majority of people in Luton were opposed to the EDL's message of hate and division.

"I have been here since 1969 and we have never had any race riots or anything like that," said Hussain. "This is a truly diverse place and we won't turn our back and let the EDL destroy all that is good about it."

Guardian

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HOPE Not Hate Proudly Presents
BILLY BRAGG

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Briana Corrigan

Saturday 12th March 2011

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2
in MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY UNION
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MANCHESTER M13 9PR



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Recession politics: The HOPE not hate campaign in 2011

The coming year will be dominated by economic hardship as the austerity measures begin to bite. Job losses, increased taxes and rising living costs will put everyone under strain and, as history has taught us, when people feel under pressure so resentment, fear and hate rise.

Against this background the HOPE not hate campaign is more important than ever.

May's local elections will once again be the main focus of our campaigning year as we ensure that the British National Party is unable to make any political breakthrough. Despite its current problems the BNP will be looking to exploit economic hardship and growing pessimism.

All-out elections will take place in Stoke-on-Trent and across much of the East Midlands, areas where the BNP has previously done well. Other key areas include Greater Manchester and South and West Yorkshire. There are also signs that the BNP vote is recovering in places where the fascist party made its initial breakthroughs during the 2002 to 2006 period but was subsequently beaten back.

We are also likely to see an improvement in the BNP vote in areas where the Liberal Democrats have performed well in recent years, often on an anti-BNP ticket. These include wards in Burnley, Pendle, Bradford and Kirklees.

The Welsh Assembly, contested under proportional representation, offers an opportunity for the BNP, especially in the North Wales constituency where it missed out only narrowly in 2007.

Much of our work will consist of providing support and guidance to broader campaigns. We have to ensure that those fighting the cuts and trying to keep communities together are equipped with effective tools to fend off racists and allay people's fears. We must be prepared to join with other groups to defend local communities. This is not about politicising the HOPE not hate campaign, but about recognising that divided and weakened communities open the door for extremists.

The BNP enters 2011 in a dreadful state but we must guard against complacency. Politics can change very quickly and as people really start to struggle suddenly we could be faced with a resurgent BNP. Its success in recent years has been achieved in a relatively benign economic climate. If it can somehow overcome its present problems then we could be in trouble.

Violent incidents sparked by the English Defence League would be another potential trigger for a resurgent right. While the EDL has no political outlet, its brand of provocative marches and violence whips up tensions and trouble in communities and can quickly lead to communities becoming polarised and so susceptible to a racist message.

Over the past six months the EDL has emerged as the principal far-right threat in the UK today. Its anti-Muslim message has given it a wider appeal as it taps into a general and growing Islamophobia, which is both widespread and acceptable in a way that the BNP's hardline racism is not.

The threat of the EDL poses new challenges. The EDL is not a fascist organisation and we have to deal with the EDL differently from how we deal with the BNP. Our campaigning needs to be peaceful and non-confrontational, and involve longer term work in communities to break down division and suspicions. We also need to be clear that we oppose all extremism that tears communities apart. We will be launching a new national campaign on this theme later this year.

Last year was one of amazing achievements for anti-fascism. The current demise of the BNP stems from its humiliation in Barking and Dagenham, which was itself a product of the most intensive anti-fascist campaign to date. Over 1,500 people got involved on the ground and almost 7,000 donated online.

This year the challenges will be different but they are certainly there. As people struggle in these difficult economic times there is an even greater need for anti-fascists to be active and involved.

Have your say

Do you agree with our strategy? Do you have any ideas about what we should be campaigning on in 2011? How can we bring divided communities together?

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Hope not hate

HOPE Not Hate Proudly Presents BILLY BRAGG

HOPE Not Hate Proudly Presents BILLY BRAGG

+ Special Guest

Briana Corrigan

Saturday
12th March 2011

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2
in MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY UNION
OXFORD ROAD
MANCHESTER M13 9PR

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EDL gloating backfire

The EDL took great delight in reporting the death of Bertie Lewis, a 90 year old from Bolton who recently spoke out against them. "This was the old clown from Bolton who went on tv being a little daft dhimmi mouthing off about edl. 1 less commie rat to worry about," wrote the EDL on their Facebook site.

The only problem was that Bertie had a distinguished war record in Bomber Command and it wasn't long before EDL supporters turned on their leadership.

Michael Jones said: "Man was a war hero, regardless of who he supported. Get a grip admin, you sound just like the idiots we oppose."

Wayne from Blackburn joined the fray. "Stuff like this gives the Muzzies ammunition to ridicule. Remove this post."

Anyway, unlike the EDL I would like to pay our respects to Bertie. He was born in Chicago and grew up in New York and was one of the few Americans to enlist with the RAF. He was 19 when WW2 broke out and two years later worked his way across the Atlantic shovelling coal on a Norwegian ship intent on joining the RAF. He was eventually to become a Flight Sergeant in Bomber Command and took part in 40 missions over Germany.

In more recent years he became an active anti-war campaigner and every weekend would take to the streets of Bolton to spread a peace message.

Last year he took part in a demonstration against the EDL in Bolton. He was knocked over by police but continued his protest from a chair. He later told the Bolton News: “I fought the fascists during the Second World War and if I let someone like the English Defence League, which are the enemy, get away with coming here and protesting then what did I fight the war for?”

Hope not hate