A Riot Laugh With The EDL!

Crivvens! Britain burns, Dave dithers and Boris bumbles through but luckily the English Defence League are on hand to help! Phew! It’s not really been going too well for the EDL over the last few weeks what with the media fingering them over connections to Norwegian killer Anders Breivik, the continuing fallouts with the Jewish division, the appalling attack on a takeaway joint by Plymouth EDL and the subsequent sacking of Hayley Wells as regional organ grinder which incurred the wrath of the action monkeys of the ‘Combined Ex-Forces’ – regimental motto ‘Don’t panic! Don’t panic!’ And to top it off, after various factions have been sticking their nebs in where they simply weren’t wanted round ‘riot torn’ Britain they ended the week with a pisspoor demo in Wellington.

Poor Do!

Considering that there has been a bit of a hoo-ha recently on Albion’s fair streets, plod thought it wise to ban the EDL’s Wellington march but could not refuse a static demo. Locals were grateful as the EDL bought a bunch of outsiders into town, the Telford/ Luton match was rescheduled and shops had to fork out to some dodgy company to get boarded up. In case you don’t know, a static demo is when the EDL arrive in a town where they are not wanted armed with carrier bags of Stella to stand in a carpark with no toilets for an hour or two. After shouting a bit and getting out of hand, which the stewards always fail to deal with, plod then escorts them back to their coaches and they are told to go away. This is how ‘Islamic extremism’ has been successfully defeated by the EDL. Not really. At Wellington a diminished EDL stood cluelessly about getting more and more irate then, after chucking bottles at plod, some clever fellow attempted to get in the dog van! Why? As Rochdale proved plod dogs love the taste of EDLers – apparently they’re like kebabs! As usual, the EDL couldn’t help themselves and after a wee bit of argy bargy there were 5 nickings, the silly Billies! As usual the stewards lost control and one female steward ‘scratched the life out of’ another member. As usual, it also kicked off a bit on the train station when plod dished up Section 60s which mean ‘bugger off now, we’ve had enough!’ and there may also have been arrests at Birmingham train station when the Stella and Charlie relationship (the EDL’s royal couple) fully blossomed. Jeff ‘Stabber’ Marsh is currently seething and posting frenzied rebuttals to the scant press reports of the day on his website. Help Ma Boab!

It’s been a bit of week for ‘Cocaine’ Kev Carol, de facto EDL leader now that Tommy has to be in bed by 7. ‘Sir’ Tommy Robinson is currently under bail restrictions so cannot attend demos – though this did not stop him from appearing on Newsnight for some reason – and Cocaine Kev is now calling the shots. He turned up at the London trial of 3 brave EDL warriors who had been arrested for attacking ‘Muslamics’ at Speakers Corner. So much for defending free speech then lads? 1 EDL had also grabbed a policeman’s genitals! Really! There are better ways of asking for dates you know! At Wellington the cocaine cowboy praised the father of one of the 3 guys who had been killed last week for being a ‘good Muslim’ and held a minute’s silence. Apparently South Yorkshire also tried to organise a flash demo yesterday in solidarity but they didn’t get up in time. Shame.

A Bunch of Posses!

The EDL have also been making a perfect nuisance of themselves following last week’s interruptions to the weekly shop. In Eltham a bunch of ‘middle aged men’ – who surely should know better – ended up chanting EDL slogans and fighting with plod. Locals claimed that these characters were outsiders and were not welcome especially after they attacked a bus with some black lads on it and members of the EDL Facebook pages were calling for some ‘nig bashing.’ How 70s! The EDL have claimed that these chaps weren’t members but seeing as how there is no formal membership scheme anyone who says they are EDL is therefore EDL no matter how many times Kev and Tommy deny it. David Cameron condemned the EDL this week by calling them ‘sick’ and the EDL have finally got round to issuing a statement on it. It makes for dull reading. In Enfield, an EDL vigilante posse turned up to be roundly condemned by plod for drinking too much and getting in the way of things. Manchester EDL made a half-arsed attempt to do something but then didn’t. The EDL also claimed to have swept the streets of Cambridge clear of Brigands and then indulged in their favourite pastime of intimidating takeaway joints (like in Plymouth and Leicester).

Following the attack on the Plymouth takeaway 2 weeks back, Hayley Wells was removed as regional organiser for her part in the incident. The EDL leadership of course denied they had anything to do with it but seeing at it was caused by the Plymouth EDL after a Plymouth EDL meet and greet then it was Plymouth EDL wot done it! Hayley got a bit of a Facebook bollocking of Ma Wells for drinking and fighting instead of looking after her children. Hayley’s fiancé is Michael Rafferty, ‘commander’ of the Combined ex-Forces group (they love their little titles don’t they?) and he waltzed off in a tizz after Tommy slagged them all off and they are no longer friends. Hayley ran the EDL Extra on Facebook and she is currently having a pram war with Hel Gower (Tommy’s PA & known fascist) and the toys are flying about! The Combined exForces also features our old mate Billy ‘Bunter’ Baker of the English Nationalists Association –hello Chubs, how’s the diet? – and they are threatening to march on Downing Street on September 3rd. I may be wrong but the only ‘forces’ Bunter Baker has experienced is when he forces another pasty into his toothless maw. The 3rd is also the date of the Tower Hamlets do which Tommy has promised is going to be a ‘bloodbath.’ Yes, but for who?

The EDL have been invited to a Peterborough mosque to discuss issues but we will not be holding our breath. The EDL will not publicly debate with muslims for 3 reasons: that many of the EDL’s arguments are flawed and do not stand up to scrutiny; that the leadership have no one left who is articulate enough to debate in public; and they are unable to distinguish between moderate Muslims and the tiny percentage of Islamic extremists in the UK – as demonstrated by them singing ‘Mohammed /Allah is a pedo’ and assuming ‘moderate Muslims’ will not mind. So all in all a pretty terrible couple of weeks for the EDL: Norway, the Jewish division problems, numerous fallouts, being slagged in Parliament by Mr Dave and ever diminishing demos. Shame. See you on the 3rd!

Malatesta's Blog

EDL stoop to all time low, yet again

Some of you may remember the lead up to the Luton Demo. The EDL had just received several bad blows to their popularity (what a surprise) and were desperate to gain support and paint muslims in a bad light to do so.

This was when Kev Carroll (Tommy's uncle and co-leader of the EDL) claimed to have been chased round his back garden by a ninja shotgun-waving man, who obviously introduced himself to Kev as being a muslim.

Kev unceremoniously claimed to have surrendered his family to the ninja by abandoning them and fleeing to save his own life (stuff the family I am out of here). Kev then claimed to have 'stubbed' his toe in his rush to run away (everyone say awwwww!).

It was no real surprise to find that the police rushed to the scene and found no evidence at all of their ever being an incident and door to door enquiries also failed to provide any witnesses at all, not a single one.

Sticking to the same tactics, we now find Tommy Robinson aiming to grab the headlines as some sort of hero (why do these creeps just not join the army). Tommy was recently stopped by Police in yet another of his street brawls (I bet it was brown people) with total strangers. Tommy quickly invented a story that he was protecting an old lady that had been robbed.

No surprise yet again to find that the 'old lady' was nowhere to be found and still remains as much of a mystery as the ninjas that chased Kev (no surrender) Carroll. Next up we will have Guramit Singh reporting he parted the water in the English channel and saved a ferry full of pregnant ladies on an unscheduled Ghost crossing.

These idiots really do not get any more desperate and clearly show the intelligence of those that accept these stories as fact.

Daily Star

Thanks to Zaahid for the heads-up

Puppet Master

Searchlight investigates the man behind the English Defence League.

Somewhere in North London a diminutive and slightly nervous man is scribbling on pieces of paper. He is involved in all sorts of organisations – political, street armies and religious – though conveniently keeps them quite separate.

Meet Alan Lake, at least that is the name he is using now. Lake claims to be a multimillionaire who made his money in computers. More importantly, he is the man behind the English Defence League.

Lake’s association with the EDL has been known ever since he addressed a conference in Malmö on Islamisation organised by the far-right Sweden Democrats in September 2009. What is less well known is the central role Lake has played in getting the EDL off the ground.

Searchlight has learned that it was Lake who came up with the name “English Defence League”. He had heard about Stephen Lennon after the demonstration in Luton in May 2009, when Lennon and his hooligan friends went under the banner United People of Luton. The protest had been organised in conjunction with March for England, a group that Lake actively supports.

Through an intermediary Lake invited Lennon and a couple of others to London where discussions began about forming a national organisation.

For Lake this was the chance to put into practice a plan he had been working on for at least a year. In the United People of Luton he found an uncompromis-ing group willing to take to the streets.

“Cut the politically correct tape tying everyone’s hands and do something about this Terrorist group who hate everything our great county stands for,” read the main statement on the United People of Luton website.

“There is no point sitting in your armchair and shouting at the TV. The only way to get the message across is to take it to the streets. This is a chance to show the Police and the council the power of public opinion. The entire country is behind us!”

Lake liked this approach and made much of it in his hour-long Swedish lecture. “Another strategy we’re trying to do in the UK is reach out to more physical groups like football fans, get them involved,” he told his audience. “Well actually they’re contacting us, because they’re concerned, and these are people who are happy to go out on the street. I mean your average intellectual is happy typing on his PC, but we’ve reached the end of that road. You’re not going to get a fat lot more mileage out of that.

“You can blog and write letters to your MP as much as you like. Your MP doesn’t care, he doesn’t care what you say. The only thing that is going to make people start caring again, that is our nobility, our elite leaders, is if we have more numbers, and if we sometimes get out on the street. Then they’ll care but they don’t care about our words. They don’t care whether we’re right or wrong and they don’t read the blogs.

“So if you can engage with the physical groups, people who are quite happy to go on the street, the thing about the football fans is they go see a match, and then after the match, they’re already there on the street, so if you can then bring them off for a demo that works really well. You get the numbers. And they’re not scared as well. Everybody else is scared of being beaten up and attacked. They’re not scared of that.”

He expressed similar thoughts to Matthew Taylor of The Guardian in March 2010. “The EDL has a lot of support and is growing quickly and crucially. What it has done is deliver an activist movement on the streets,” said Lake. Pressed on the levels of violence at the demonstrations, he replied: “These people are not middle-class female teachers … if they continue to be suppressed it will turn nasty in one way or another … We have put bodies on the street, writing letters to The Times does not work … if we are going to have a mess that is so much grist to the mill.”

Taylor noted: “Lake says he is opposed to violence or confrontation but regularly returns to the importance of the EDL’s physical presence”.

Lake certainly supported the EDL and soon began to put money into the organisation, giving it access to an international network of anti-Muslim organisations and, perhaps more importantly, political and strategic advice.



It was Lake who suggested that Lennon use a false name to head the group. It was Lake who insisted that the EDL immediately and publicly dissociate itself from the British National Party and any other openly fascist organisation. This was despite the clear evidence that the political origin of the United People of Luton lay in Bedfordshire BNP.

Even today Lake travels regularly to Luton to confer with Lennon and Lennon’s cousin, Kevin Carroll, number two in the organisation.

One of Lake’s key roles is to furnish international links and speakers for the EDL. This gives the group an increased profile abroad and credibility at home. It was Lake who arranged for Rabbi Nachum Shifren and the Austrian Islamophobic lecturer Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff to address the EDL demonstration in Luton on 5 February. It was Lake who previously made contact with the hardline anti-Muslim preacher Pastor Terry Jones and it was Lake who built a relationship between the EDL and Pam Geller, the director of the Freedom Defense Initiative and Stop Islamization of America.

Last September Lake and a number of EDL members attended Geller’s protest against a planned Islamic Centre near Ground Zero on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Carroll was among those in New York with Lake, though Lennon was turned away at US immigration.

Geller has subsequently publicly aligned herself with the EDL and it is clear that she and a number of other right-wing Islamophobes like the combative approach of the British street gang.

“The middle-class intellectuals are coming forward and also American speakers – some of them quite famous, although I can’t give you names yet … they love the fact that we can have people that can go on the streets,” Lake boasted to The Guardian last year.

There are even stories circulating of videos of EDL demonstrations and statements being played at right-wing meetings in the US. Lake is also actively using the EDL profile to fundraise across the Atlantic.

Christian fundamentalism

Not much is known about Lake’s political background but his antipathy to Islam could well have been formed, or at least developed, when he attended the Kensington Temple in Notting Hill Gate, west London. The Temple belongs to the Elim Pentecostal Church, a Protestant evangelical church, elements of which have attracted controversy for their hardline views on Christianity, homosexuality and Islam.

The Temple’s pastor is Colin Dye, who has links with a number of Christian right organisations, including the Christian Congress for Traditional Values (CCTV), which ran a high-profile billboard campaign in 2007 titled: “Gay aim: Abolish the Family”, and is linked to the Brentwood-based Peniel Pentecostal Church.

The Peniel Church was run by Michael Reid and attracted media attention after claims that his followers were attempting to take over the local Conservative Association.

Dye eventually broke with Reid in 2008 after a sexual scandal beset the self-proclaimed Brentwood Bishop.

During his time at the Kensington Temple Lake might have also come across the anti-Islam speaker Sam Solomon. A former Muslim who trained in Sharia for 15 years before converting to Christianity, Solomon is now a hardline opponent of Islam. He even boasts of testifying before the US Congress and being “a consultant to the British parliament for matters regarding Islam”.

In December 2006 the UK Independence Party MEP Gerard Batten presented a “Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding”, written by Solomon, to the European Parliament. The Charter called on ”Muftis, Ulemas, Imams, community leaders, heads of Islamic madrassas, Muezzins, Mazuns and all other Islamic relevant offices including those of free thinkers and leaders of NGOs as well as NPOs (Non-Profit Organisations), youth leaders, women leaders at all levels of all Islamic institutions” to abide by a revised version of the Qur’an and collaborate fully with police and intelligence services.

Today Lake boasts of his links with Batten and in an interview with the Daily Star in the immediate aftermath of the Luton demonstration, Lennon called for a rewriting of the Qur’an.

Lennon’s political development has clearly been influenced by Lake. When the United People of Luton was formed, and indeed in the early days of the EDL itself, Lennon was at pains to stress that he opposed only “radical Islam” and not Muslims or even Islam as a religion. Today that has changed and the whole tenor of EDL rhetoric has become clearly anti-Islamic.

Pressed on this by a Newsnight reporter a few days before the Luton protest, Lennon claimed he had changed his views after learning more about Islam as a religion. Lake’s continued influence and importance to Lennon was clear to see.

Lake claims no longer to attend the Kensington Temple but it is clear that he continues to hold many of its religious views close to him. In a strange positing on his 4Freedoms website in April 2010 he linked the theory of evolution with totalitarianism.

In a chart of the political landscape, Lake put Stalin, Mao and Hitler on the extreme left of the political spectrum, all with a “Socialist Darwinist” label. He described Hitler as “left wing killer of 7 million Christians and 6 million Jews”.

He noted that “all of these dictators believed in the so-called ‘Master Race’ which stems from Darwin’s so-called higher level of Evolution”.

In his eyes Liberals Democrats are not too far away from “extreme left wing” and “totalitarianism”, while at the other end of spectrum the US Constitution is close to “extreme right wing”.

Political aspirations

The EDL is just one piece of Lake’s jigsaw and, notwithstanding the wishes of the Daily Star, he does not see it as a political project. It is simply part of his strategy of tension, of winding up tensions and forcing the issue of Islam into the media spotlight through provocative marches.

Last year Lake thought the political solution was in the UKIP, the mainly anti-EU party which however, under the leadership of Lord Pearson, was taking a more anti-Islamic stance. Pearson regularly spoke out against Islam and attempted to forge links with the Dutch Islamophobic politician Geert Wilders.

As already mentioned, Lake was close to Batten and also to Magnus Nielsen, a UKIP candidate in the general election who Lake claimed was prepared to speak at EDL rallies. Nielsen describes Muhammad as a “criminal psychopath”, “the first cult leader” and “psychiatrically deranged”. Lake told The Guardian that there “is ‘some synergy’ between the two groups”.

He boasts of connections with middle-ranking people in the UKIP though it seems that his plans came to nothing as the UKIP leadership publicly distanced itself from the EDL.

Lake has now turned his attention to the English Democrats (EDP). He has even claimed that he was recently offered a senior role in the party, which he declined, preferring to influence events in the background.

There is a clear crossover between the EDP and March for England, a group to which Lake was connected, and several EDP candidates in last year’s general election, particularly in north London, regularly attend EDL demonstrations.

Given the infighting that is currently engulfing the EDP, Lake might eventually have to look elsewhere but his project is clear. He recognises, as Searchlight’s Fear and Hope study clearly demonstrates, that there is a huge vacuum on the right of British politics, in the space between the Conservative Party and the BNP, for a new right-wing English nationalist party that has no links to the old far right and is cultural as well as political.

Lake looks enviously across the Atlantic at the growth of the Tea Party movement and has been heard advocating the need for a similar group over here. His Facebook site is linked to the Patriotic Caucus, a right-wing political action committee established in December by the Tea Party favourite and failed Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle.

Just to maintain his links with a wider movement, Lake is also involved in at least one British Army veterans organisation and promotes Armed Forces Day on his Facebook site.

While Lake waits for the party he desires to arrive he will continue to shuffle his papers and draw flow diagrams between the various organisations and campaigns with which he is involved.

Thanks to Nick Lowles at Searchlight

Fortnight of Turmoil Boils Over

The English Defence League (EDL) claims it has discharged with the services of the far-right English Nationalist Alliance. The ENA, a tiny but vocal group centred around Bill Baker and Roger Firth in London, has taken the lead in EDL demonstrations in the capital.

Antagonism between the two groups has been evident for some time and not just over Baker's lack of Stone Island attire. During last year's "poppy burning" clash in central London it was clear that with the arrival of EDL leaders Kevin Carroll and Stephen Yaxley Lennon, Baker and his smaller but equally vile entourage was somewhat put out when their demo was hijacked by Kevin & co.

Baker who occasionally has the appearance of a badly drawn comic book villain, was the organiser of the drunken demonstration in Dagenham a fortnight ago where a young EDL supporter tragically died after being hit by a train. Baker's excessive boasting about his links to British Nazis and his none too subtle proclamations on his Facebook page of things like "All Muslims Must Die" has left the under-fire EDL leadership, desperate to untangle itself from its myriad of Nazi and wannabe terrorist connections, to declare Baker as a "parasite of a man" who is "an embarrassment himself and his party, but also to those who don't see him for what he is: an opportunist."

Slightly more problematic for the EDL leadership is the war of words that has developed over their Jewish Division's links to terrorists. Roberta Moore who leads the Jewish Division has taken issue with public proclamations from the EDL distancing themselves from the link up with the Jewish Task Force (JTF).

The war of words now threatens to spill over with the Jewish Division claiming that there is a "witch hunt" against Moore on account of her being "a strong Jewish woman". Referring to the faceless administrators of the EDL's Facebook site and web admin's anti-JTF comments made to the Jewish Chronicle describing the Jewish Division as "too extreme" Moore apparently sees this as "one long attack" on herself. In response, the Jewish Division demand that Yaxley Lennon should "sack the Nazis from the admin and apologise to Roberta" who it warns, "has powerful allies in the US and in politics".

Perhaps the removal of Baker's ENA was one step in removing the Nazis that seem to upset the Jewish Division so much. In response to his own banning from the EDL, Baker has surfaced this morning to attack Yaxley-Lennon's PA, Hel Gower.

Gower could be about to earn her stripes as being the fall-gal for all that has happened in the EDL's rocky past fortnight. Gower responded herself to the Jewish Division's attacks on the EDL's admins' by asking "why is she (Moore) talking in the third person as though it isn't her making the comments, dozy tart."

Joint EDL leader Kevin Carroll denied there was any major problem within the organisation, describing it all as "internet talk" made up by "Bolsheviks and hard-line Socialists.

"Roberta is a good girl, she does her own thing. We just can't be tied up with a group like JTF. All this will blow over." If anything Kev, it looks like this is going to run and run.

By Matthew Collins HOPE not hate / Searchlight

It’s not all what it appears

A strange night in Luton last night. Not long after midnight word came that joint EDL leader Kevin Carroll had been the victim of a gun attack on his family home. According to the EDL's facebook administrator, Carroll had been shot at several times by Muslim gunmen and armed police were sealing off the area.

Twenty minutes later, "straight from the horses mouth" it was reported that Carroll's window had been broken and that Kevin Carroll had chased the assailant/assassin in his van and then on his return home was shot at by a man (no longer Asian?) and Kevin suffered a broken toe.

Not to be left out, and not for the first time, Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley Lennon) then reported that armed police were at his house (again) and that the Luton demo would still go ahead "even if one of us was killed." Indeed, as relayed by Wigan EDL, "it's Fucking on!"

By the time the BBC were reporting the event this morning, Carroll had merely gone to "investigate (his broken window) and saw a man who appeared to be holding a shotgun. No shots were fired."

Of course, the truth has come too late as for hours and hours now and as far away as America, it is being reported that Muslims have tried to assassinate an EDL leader. The vile outpouring of anger and threats from those who have swallowed the false story of an assassination attempt is a real cause for concern.

Still on the EDL facebook page they're reporting "that Kevin Carroll lead the gunman away from his family thru gardens & expected to die when landed poorly. His ok and said nothing has changed for Luton... A true soldier & joint leader to the cause!"

And of course, there is a reminder that there still remain a few tickets left for the trip to Luton. They write that "After the events of last night I hope the people that werent (sic)going to Luton are changing their mind." And for those unsure, the £20 they charge for the trip gets you there (Luton) "and back!"

Draw your own conclusions as to how and why things have gone bump in the night.

Hope not hate

Bradford, by ‘Malatesta’

This article (slightly amended for publication) was submitted by one of our anarchist readers, ‘Malatesta’, and does not necessarily reflect the views of Lancaster Unity or its contributors. We welcome any contributions from our supporters (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste). Please send your articles to us via email.

Bradford

In spite of their varied misfortunes, it appears that the English Defence League (EDL) are still set on turning up in Bradford on August 28th for the ‘bloodbath’ they have been blethering on about for the last couple of months, heralding their arrival by making provocative assaults on internet forums like the Bradford Telegraph & Argus, as well posting their usual misinformation and tedious posturings to Indymedia.

The EDL have recently been under pressure from the police, and despite their continued claims to be ‘non-racist’ recent revelations have not helped the EDL’s PR profile.

EDL/BNP

Fading Führer Nick Griffin of the BNP still denies any links with the EDL, but then again he denies the Holocaust, his alleged homosexual past, and the fact that the BNP are falling apart post-election and pre-leadership challenge. (Incidentally leading horse Eddie Butler is currently being smeared by Griffinites as ‘Bitler’). The EDL continue to deny any connection to the BNP and continue to claim they are not racist.

BNP members have often been filmed at EDL demos, but it is the recent exposure of now ex-leader ‘Tommy Robinson’ (a.k.a. Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) as a former BNP member that scuppers any of the usual claims. Following his exposure, Yaxley-Lennon has handed over the leadership of the ‘peaceful’ EDL to Kevin Carroll, who has just been convicted of violent disorder in Luton. Even Tommy has realised how untenable the ‘we ain’t BNP’ claims have become and has buried his membership card in the garden.

Admittedly, not all EDL are BNP but it is this broad right wing spectrum that is causing trouble for them. As we have seen, those at the demonstrations range from known neo-Nazis and football hooligans prevented from battling at matches to more moderate elements, many of whom have been put off by the violence and open racism displayed at EDL gatherings. Following the Stoke debacle there was considerable acrimony on the EDL’s own forum over the fighting and vandalism, and after the recent Dudley fiasco the Exeter division leader resigned in disgust. Despite their 'thousands' of paper members on Facebook, Dudley saw a decline in on-the-ground numbers. The last few EDL demos have all kicked off and the hardcore racists, hooligans and Nazis remain. Like most far right groups, the EDL rely on quantity not quality and this means all manner of scumbags have found their way into their ranks.

Opinion on the far right remains divided. On the various Nazi forums several contributors admit to attending the violent demonstrations despite much opposition from pro- and anti-Griffinites and dissident fascists. The EDL’s development of a gay division, their support of Israel and perceived ‘multi-culturalism’ has the mouldy old posters frothing at their toothbrush moustaches with righteous indignation.

The EDL constantly refer to their tiny handful of Sikh and mixed-race members, which actually clarifies their position considerably. In the same way that fascists use criticism of Israel as a smokescreen for vehement anti-Semitism, the EDL employ the same tactics using ‘Militant Islam’ as an excuse to attack any Asians they come across. This is borne out by their random attacks on shops, houses and cars without any idea of whether the victims are ‘militant’ let alone Muslim. Any person of Asian appearance will do, and this exposes the EDL as clueless ‘Paki bashers’. This is also bolstered by their chants of ‘I’d rather be a Paki than …’ etc, as well as the BNP links.

Heavy Manners

The EDL’s relationship with the Old Bill has resulted in a good deal of speculation. After the ‘leadership’ were nicked and taken to Sheffield police station (Malatesta postings, passim) during the ill-fated Scottish excursion, Plod was seen to get heavy with anti-fascists, especially in Bolton. Rumours flew that the EDL leadership had done a deal with the cops and were passing on information, but this remains unsubstantiated. What could have happened is that the EDL ‘leadership’ passed on info about the activities of hard-core hooligans before the World Cup, and also on neo-Nazis who the top nobs dislike anyway, following the hilarious Combat 18 fight in London last year. The stepping down of Yaxley-Lennon could be the result of heavy manners police pressure. The cops got heavy in Dudley and the EDL are aggrieved over the sudden turnaround of events.

Now that the World Cup is over the Nazis are being marginalised, and many on the EDL demos have been filmed and identified, so there is perhaps no longer a need for the cops to uphold their side of the bargain. The reaction of the police in Bradford on August 28th will shed further light on this.

The EDL are useful to the state in several ways. They help inflame the anti-Islamic sentiment which shores up the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both of these wars are deeply unpopular across the political spectrum but the end is not in sight. The EDL’s riotous conduct helps the state argue for tighter laws on public order, and conveniently brings together hooligans and political extremists who can be easily monitored by the state in exactly the same way as the radical Islamic groups opposed by the EDL. EDL? Naïve? Or state?

Conclusion

Concerned citizens of Bradford are calling for the scheduled EDL demo to be banned, and Hope Not Hate are backing this call on their website. If the demo does go ahead, the police - relations with the local community in mind - will no doubt be worried. Local Asian youth have proved they are more than capable of looking after themselves, and they will present a serious physical opposition to the EDL. As anarchists we cannot rely on the state to fight against fascism and there is an urgent need for a militant broad based organisation like Anti-Fascist Action to physically as well as ideologically oppose fascism in our communities, and to link up with militant local youth if they are up for it. The EDL think that we support Islam. We do not support any religion. We are against fascist bootboys being bussed into our communities to cause trouble and division. No Pasaran!

‘Malatesta’