MP Ben Bradshaw criticises English Defence League's burka protest a 'scandalous waste'

Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw has called a city centre clash between a right-wing group and rival campaigners a "scandalous waste" of police resources.

Describing the views of English Defence League (EDL) supporters as "obnoxious and racist", he said there was no place for their opinions on the streets of Exeter. He was speaking after angry exchanges as a group of men claiming to represent the EDL clashed with Unite Against Fascism (UAF) supporters in Exeter's High Street.

The EDL Exeter Division had organised a "ban the burka" demonstration with leaders suggesting in advance that 140 people were expected to attend. In response, anti-fascists planned a "celebration of diversity" in Bedford Square. This was attended by an estimated 300 people including representatives from UAF, the Devon branch of the National Union of Teachers and Exeter Anti-Cuts Alliance. It was supported by Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem city councillors.

A spokesman for the EDL Exeter Division said the High Street protest was called off at the last minute to avoid "inevitable friction" with opponents. He said the group of around 15 people in the High Street – who were wearing balaclavas, waving St George's Cross flags and chanting "EDL" – may have been EDL supporters, but they were not members and did not represent the group. He said: "Our members did not go into the High Street. We heard about the counter demonstration and we knew there would be trouble, so we decided not to go ahead.

"We did not want to cause any friction or a drain on police resources. We wanted to hand out leaflets in a peaceful demonstration. We told the police on the day that we would not be there. Everybody had a message to say the plan had changed and to contact us. Instead of going to the High Street, around 30 members went around other parts of Exeter. We will look into further events in High Street."

Anthony Harris, 19, from Heavitree, Exeter, was among the group of EDL supporters in High Street. He said: "We've come to peacefully demonstrate, show who we are and what we're about, and speak to members of the public about what we believe. We're here to stand up for our country and stand up against militant Islam. We're not safe. We're not against Muslims, but Islam needs to be put into the 21st century."

Dimah Mahmoud, a 25-year-old Muslim student, was wearing a burka when she met the group in the High Street. Miss Mahmoud, who comes from Sudan but lived in various countries before moving to England in 2006, told the Echo: "I tried to have a debate with them but they weren't knowledgeable. They seemed to think all women are forced to wear a burka.

"This is supposed to be a free country. A woman might choose to wear a burka because she has a scar or skin disease, or she's beautiful and doesn't want to be envied or raped, or she likes the mystery, or she's convinced it's the right thing to do. To focus on being forced to wear a burka is very misleading. They say we need to forget our traditions – how welcoming to a country is that?"

Around 20 police officers were in High Street to ensure there was no significant trouble. Inspector Mike Robison said: "Our role was to facilitate lawful protest by both groups. From our perspective, it went relatively well. There were no arrests."

But Mr Bradshaw said: "This was a scandalous waste of police time and resources at a time of swingeing Government cuts. We don't need or want these obnoxious, racist views being expressed on the streets of Exeter. The turnout indicates that most Exonians abhor the views of this fringe neo-fascist group."

Mike Gurney, from Exeter UAF, said: "It was a great day for Exeter, for anti-racism and for all those who oppose prejudice. It was great to see Christians, Jews and Muslims standing together side by side to oppose the EDL. The people of Exeter showed that the EDL's politics of hate are not welcome here and will be challenged whenever they arise. Burkas aren't an issue in Exeter. Scapegoating one section of the community for society's problems is just trying to divide people."

Lib Dem leader Cllr Adrian Fullam attended the counter demonstration. He said: "I was thrilled with the turnout and support for the diversity of Exeter. The EDL are a minority and their views don't have any place in Exeter."

Exeter City Council and Labour leader Cllr Pete Edwards said: "I'm totally opposed to the views of the EDL but if they want to protest, it's up to them. There are more important things to focus on, like the massive budget cuts."

The Lord Mayor of Exeter, Cllr Marcel Choules, added: "Exeter is a friendly and welcoming place for everyone, and everyone has a right to march and protest. Diversity exists in the city and that is a good thing."

This is Exeter

Police prepare for right-wing 'ban the burka' demonstration in city centre

Devon and Cornwall Police are preparing for a potential flash point with the right-wing English Defence League and anti-fascist campaigners set to converge on Exeter at the weekend.

The controversial group is understood to be taking part in a "ban the burka" protest in the city centre on Saturday while there is expected to be a counter rally by anti-racist campaigners, including the group Unite Against Fascism. A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said officers did not anticipate any major disruption.

"Police are aware of the intended EDL protest on Saturday and will police it appropriately to ensure the safety of the public," a spokesman said. "Similar previous protest meetings held within the force area have not caused major disruption or public disorder."

English Defence League supporter Jim Myers, from Exeter, said the protest was not being organised by EDL.

"We haven't organised it, we're just supporting it," he said. "It has been organised by another group, the United People of Britain."

Mr Myers said the event would be a "peaceful protest" and that police were aware of their plans.

Supporters of the group, which claims to be non-racially or politically motivated, say they will be wearing balaclavas and burkas to emphasise their message.

Meanwhile, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is planning to meet at Bedford Square, in the city centre, between 11am and 2pm. Liz Allnatt, of UAF, said: "People of Exeter are more concerned about jobs and pay and what is going to happen to their local services. Exeter is a beautiful city and people of all different beliefs and backgrounds usually get along here. The Muslim community has added to the city. The annual Respect Festival is a huge, well-attended celebration of Exeter's diversity."

This is Cornwall

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

BNP members plan and glorify racist murders

Charlotte Lewis shows her contempt for Muslims as she smokes, drinks
alcopops and reveals her underwear while wearing a burka at a Halloween party

“I wish Derrick Bird could have come down to London and shot dead some illegal immigrants, rather than killing his fellow British people. If that offends you then tough; It’s my opinion & I’m entitled to it.”

Who would write such a thing just two days after the terrible and tragic events in Cumbria where Derrick Bird used his guns to murder 12 people and injure 11 on 2 June? Perhaps a stupid, ignorant teenager in a desperate grab for attention?

At around the same time this comment was posted, Nick Griffin, the BNP leader and MEP for the North West, was rightly offering his condolences to the victims and their families. Given the BNP’s wish to put more firearms into the community, writers at Searchlight proffered that the BNP’s policies would probably lead to more such events as it so difficult to legislate for what makes seemingly normal people “snap” or “go postal” to use the American expression.

The writer of this bile was, however, no attention seeking teenager, but an adult woman and associate of Griffin. Charlotte Lewis is a frequent Croydon BNP election candidate, spokesperson on BNP TV and campaigner for animal rights.

“Ok, so I know I may get into trouble for saying this – but I’ve got to get it off my chest,” wrote Lewis on her Facebook page prefacing her offensive comment.

The 37-year-old who was the BNP parliamentary candidate in Carshalton and Wallington in last month’s general election is no stranger to controversy and threats of violence. Lewis received a six-month jail sentence in 2001, when she wrote threatening letters to staff at the Huntingdon Life Sciences animal research laboratory in Cambridgeshire.

During the elections she was exposed as a foul-mouthed racist who encouraged attacks on the home of a teenager, writing “I hope she gets cancer”. She had earlier caused offence by turning up at a Halloween party dressed in a burka, swigging alcohol from a bottle and flashing stockings and suspenders, an act that she described as “hilarious”.

No sooner had Lewis written her vile message than a host of other BNP members and supporters expressed their support. Dave Castle wrote of “going down to southall [sic] with a f***ing machine gun” if he were ever diagnosed with a terminal illness. In fact Southall has a large Asian and Sikh population, a community to which the BNP is desperate to reach out in its anti-Islam campaign.

But it didn’t end there. Among the dead in Cumbria was a trade union organiser, an innocent victim of Bird’s rampage. “At least amongst the innocent was a f***ing union organiser,” wrote Sam Cash, another BNP member and, at 67 years old, not a stupid teenager.

Lewis’s and her colleagues’ views are sickening. Even hardened journalists who know Lewis and other BNP members were surprised at BNP members’ openly expressed hatred. They do not discriminate: asylum seekers, illegal immigrants, Sikhs, Muslims and trade union organisers are the very people that, deep in their hearts, BNP members would wish to see brutally murdered. As we have always said, away from Question Time and BBC interviews, this is how the BNP generally feels about modern Britain and other human beings.

People like Lewis, Cash and Castle are the very people, one must assume, that the BNP would wish to see armed for their “own protection” under a BNP government. These are the “decent law abiding folk” that the BNP claims make up the membership of the party. These are the very people who Griffin and his party claim will be one day involved in a “civil war”.

Make no mistake: not only is the BNP racist, ignorant and vile, if your face does not fit, it is also potentially murderous.


Hope not hate

BNP candidate revels in Burqa shame

This is the true “face” of British National Party election candidate Charlotte Lewis she would rather you did not see

As she swigs from a bottle of alcopops at a Halloween party, burqa clad BNP parliamentary hopeful Miss Lewis reveals her contempt for Muslims. The right wing activist is pictured smoking and drinking and revealing her underwear while on the night out dressed as a Muslim. And these exclusive pictures of the woman standing as a candidate for Carshalton and Wallington, and a Croydon Council nominee, are just the start of her bigoted views.

Miss Lewis, 37, has been using her Facebook page to openly call for violence and post hate-filled racist rants about “pakis”. Lewis has previous convictions for sending death threats to staff of Huntingdon Life Sciences and served a six month sentence in 2001 after she pleaded guilty to four charges of harassment. Now she is using the internet to encourage others to take up her campaign of terror against what she calls “animal abusers”.

Lewis joined a Facebook group dedicated to tracking down the home address of a teen convicted of harming a cat, declaring; “I hope people turn up in the middle of the night & throw bricks through her windows - frighten the life out of her! The internet is great! There was no such thing as the internet when I was a kid. Now we can share information about scum.”

She went on to say: “Her brain needs to be re-programmed. She's sub-human, & not fit to breathe the same air as the rest of us. I hope she gets cancer.”

Lewis’s Facebook profile features repeated calls for foreign “paki” criminals to be executed. In one racist rant she declares that “The Pakis that murdered Kriss Donald should be put on it (the electric chair). They were born in Glasgow I think, but their parents were from Pakistan - so they are Pakis.”

The hate-filled MP-hopeful has also targeted the head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Philips, whose recent court proceedings forced the BNP to open their membership up to non-whites. Lewis declared: “If that wanker Trevor Phillips died then I would open a bottle of champagne and party.”

In February 2009 Lewis lost the Croydon by-election and the BNP cash deposit when her violent animal rights background was revealed. In 2006 she was questioned by police over possible election fraud after standing for election in Waddon. She had placed on her nomination form an address in Lind Road, Sutton, as her home residence, which was later exposed as false.

Miss Lewis said: “I think it’s completely acceptable to dress that way. I thought it was hilarious and so did everyone at the party. Anyone who does not find it funny needs to develop a sense of humour. You can print the pictures if you want and give your readers a bit of a laugh.”

Croydon Guardian

We have sacked Wallace, say BNP

The British National Party no longer has a Calderdale councillor after its last member was sacked for refusing to toe the line, the party has said.

Geoffrey Wallace, who represents Illingworth and Mixenden, had the party whip removed for backing two planning applications to develop properties on green belt – a direct contravention of party policy, it said. It means, just nine months after the death of Labour councillor Tom McElroy opened up the possibility the ward could become the first in the country to be entirely represented by BNP councillors, the party is now unrepresented. Barry Collins, Labour member for the area, said: "It's splendid news. There should be no place for this party in Illingworth or Mixenden."

HalifaxMP Linda Riordan added: "It is good to see the BNP now have no councillors on Calderdale Council, which is exactly how it should be for a party that preaches hatred and division."

Councillor Wallace, the party's prospective Parliamentary candidate during the 2005 General Election, is said to have backed proposals to build on green land, including developing an agricultural property at Mason Green. The application was later turned down.

A BNP spokesman said: "We are a party of strong principles and if it means losing councillors who renege on party policies, that is what we will do."

After the death of Tom McElroy, the party came within a few hundred votes of winning the by-election and becoming the only party in Illingworth and Mixenden. In May's elections, group leader Richard Mulhall was ousted. It is now likely Coun Wallace will serve as an independent. He declined to comment.

Halifax Evening Courier