EDL leader demanded debate on killing David Cameron and archbishop

A rare photograph of Alan Lake, who said it would be ‘great to see liberals executed or tortured’.

Alan Lake ran a far-right website where he discussed execution of political and religious leaders and predicted Islamic enclaves

A senior member of the English Defence League, who founded a far-right website carrying articles by bloggers closely monitored by the Norwegian gunman Anders Behring Breivik, published an online essay discussing the execution and torture of the UK's political and religious leaders.

On 23 May 2010, Alan Lake posted on his 4 Freedoms website an article outlining his belief that "in 20 or 30 years the UK will start to fragment into Islamic enclaves". He went on: "It's time we decide... who we will force in the Islamic enclaves (and who we will execute if they sneak out.) By forcing these liberal twits into those enclaves, we will be sending them to their death at worst, and at best they and their families will be subjected to all the depredations, persecution and abuse that non-Muslims worldwide currently 'enjoy' in countries like Pakistan... It will be great to see them executed or tortured to death."

Lake urged visitors to the site to contribute the names of people who should be sent to the Islamic enclaves and made three of his own suggestions. He suggested that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, should be a candidate on the grounds that he "approves of the creation and use of sharia courts". David Cameron, he explained, should be included in the discussion "to help refine our criteria about who deserves to die at the hands of the Muslim overlords". He also included Nick Clegg on the grounds that he is "such an angelic and pure person that he upholds various 'human rights' issues more important than plebeian matters of public safety".

Soon after his posting, Lake removed the references to execution and torture. "I took it back after one day," he said. "I said, 'This doesn't help.' I'm not perfect, I will make mistakes. But the fundamental point of that piece is correct. I am holding people responsible for the consequences of their actions."

In interviews outlining the EDL's philosophy, Lake describes himself as its"events director". He has admitted to loaning the EDL equipment, but denied claims he bankrolls the organisation.

Users of the 4 Freedoms site have posted articles by a far-right blogger known as Fjordman who was extensively cited by Breivik in the 1,500-page manifesto he issued shortly after the mass killings. On a separate far right website, Gates of Vienna, Breivik is believed to have posted a tribute to Fjordman , under the internet pseudonym "year2183".

"Keep up the good work mate," Breivik writes in response to a Fjordman posting. "You are a true hero of Europe, although most ppl [people] won't realise this for a very long time."

Last week Lake issued a statement saying he did not know Breivik and had never met him: "I categorically condemn his actions, which have also killed friends of a friend of mine – one in Oslo and two on Utøya island." But Lake said he would continue his support for the EDL. "England is the only country that has anything like the EDL, a large grassroots movement that is raising issues that you are not supposed to raise," he said. "They reopen the debate."

Lake has spoken at far-right rallies in Sweden and on Norwegian television, where he has warned that Europe is in danger of becoming an Islamic state. Responding to a march by Muslims in Britain calling for the imposition of sharia law, Lake told the Norwegian channel 2 Nyhetene: "They are seeking the overthrow of the state. As far as I am concerned, I'll be happy to execute people like that."

Some of his comments have alarmed even those close to the EDL. Paul Ray, a right-wing Christian blogger, who founded the EDL in 2006 and who has denied being Breivik's mentor, said: "As things have gone on, it's become apparent how extreme [Lake's] views are. This is a guy directing an extreme far-right movement in the UK."

Ray said Lake played an important role in linking the EDL to influential far-right communities online. "The anti-jihad movement isn't your mainstream press, it's all online [far-right] blogs and websites and Lake has been able to keep them on board. They [Tommy Robinson, the EDL's leader] know that without this online presence they won't have any support."

Fjordman has condemned the killings in Norway and in an online posting said he would not be responding to calls for interviews. The EDL has also condemned Breivik's actions.

Observer