The EDL and Anuj Bidve

Click on image for full-size

You probably don't want the EDL's opinions on the racially-motivated murder of Anuj Bidve, but here they are anyway.

Cheers to Everything EDL for the pic and Tweeta for the heads-up

Student murder charge man in court

A man calling himself "Psycho" is to appear before a Crown Court judge accused of the Boxing Day murder of Indian student Anuj Bidve.

Kiaran Stapleton, 20, from Ordsall, Salford, replied "Psycho Stapleton" when asked to give his name as he stood in the dock at City of Manchester Magistrates' Court on Monday. He was remanded in custody overnight to appear at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday. Stapleton was arrested last Thursday and charged with Mr Bidve's murder on Sunday.

Mr Bidve, 23, described as a "promising and clever" student, was shot once in the head at around 1.30am on December 26. He died a short time later in hospital. He was with a group of fellow Indian students visiting Manchester for Christmas when he was murdered as the group walked through the Ordsall district of Salford, heading for Manchester city centre.

The apparently motiveless killing has generated national and international shock, especially in the victim's home country.

Two officers from Greater Manchester Police have flown to India to meet Subhash Bidve, the victim's father. He found out about his son's death on Facebook at home in Pune, India, before police in the UK could contact him.

Mr Bidve was studying for a micro-electronics postgraduate qualification at Lancaster University, coming to the UK in September after completing an electronics degree at Pune University.

On Monday night, hundreds of people attended a candlelit memorial service for Mr Bidve at the scene where he was gunned down in Ordsall Lane, while a peace march was held for him in New Delhi, finishing outside the British Embassy.

Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2012, All Rights Reserved

Anuj Bidve shooting treated as hate crime by police

Anuj Bidve, a student at Lancaster University,
was shot dead in Salford on Boxing Day. Photograph: GMP/PA

Indian student shot dead on Boxing Day may have been victim of a racist hate crime, say detectives

The murder of an Indian student who was shot in the head at point-blank range on Boxing Day is being treated as a suspected racist hate crime, police have revealed. Micro-electronics postgraduate Anuj Bidve, was murdered in the early hours of 26 December as he made his way with nine friends from his hotel in Salford to central Manchester to queue up early for Christmas sales.

Investigators say that although there is no specific evidence of the crime being racially motivated they are responding to those affected by the crime who believe it to be a hate crime.

Five people aged between 16 and 20 remain in police custody on suspicion of murder, including a 17-year-old who handed himself in to police on Tuesday evening, in what police have described as a fast-moving investigation. Police have found no previous link between 23-year-old Bidve and those involved in the killing, believed to be two white males, which took place at 1.35am.

The "straight-A" student from Pune, India who was studying at Lancaster University, had a "very short conversation" with the two males before a gun was drawn and aimed at Bidve's head. The gunman and his associate are thought to have fled to towards the Ordsall estate near the scene of another fatal shooting in September and which has been described by locals as rough. A Home Office pathologist has confirmed that Bidve died after suffering gun trauma to the head.

Police also said they were working with the Indian high commission and other agencies to help fly the victim's family from India to Manchester in the next few days.

Chief Superintendent Kevin Mulligan, divisional commander for Salford, said: "We have not established a clear motive for the senseless murder of Anuj, and there is no definitive evidence pointing to it being racially motivated. However, we are treating this as a hate crime based on the growing perceptions within the community it was motivated by hate.

"What I want to stress is that regardless of the motive, it does not change the way detectives from our major incident team are investigating this murder and from day one we have pursued every possible line of inquiry to identify who is responsible for this despicable crime, including CCTV trawls, detailed forensic and ballistic investigations, witness statements and house-to-house inquiries.

"Thanks to the work of staff across the whole of Greater Manchester police, we have made five arrests and all five remain in custody. I cannot comment for obvious reasons about the progress of the investigation but I would like to again take this opportunity to thank people in our community who have come forward and given us information. "

Police said they were duty bound to investigate crimes as hate crimes if they are reported as such. A police source added that the classification also allowed officers to pursue other avenues and leads which would not otherwise be open to them later on in the investigation.

Mulligan confirmed that no murder weapon has been recovered. "We really need that support to continue and I want to urge anyone who knows something to call us. As yet, we have not recovered the murder weapon and I want to implore people to be brave and come forward if they know the whereabouts of that weapon."

Dr Bharati Kar, the general secretary of the Greater Manchester Bengali and Hindu cultural association, said racism was far less of a problem now that it was two decades ago and that her own children had not reported any racist incidents to her recently. Kar said that she was very pleased that Greater Manchester police were taking the reports that the crime was racially motivated seriously.

"I'll be glad if the actual cause is discovered [along with] the killer," she said.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, local resident Susan Wilson, 57, said: "This lovely young man has come here to further his education and people whose lives revolve around violence have killed him. For this to happen in our neighbourhood is devastating and we're all very upset about it. It's like the whole country is looking at Ordsall now because of this. The area doesn't have a great reputation but we want people to know what's happened doesn't represent this area or the people living here."

Guardian

Thanks to the many readers who have sent this in

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

Click here for tickets from ticketline

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The EDL - One Year On

One year older so what's going on with those cheeky monkeys in the EDL?

The English Defence League is now a year old. Happy birthday. And it has been a colourful (but mainly white) year of various embarrassments, schisms, riots, accusations and speculations. The EDL formed in May 2009 when the ‘United People of Luton’ counter demonstrated against ‘Islamic radicals’ at the homecoming parade of the Royal Anglian Regiment. Around the EDL circulate various grupuscules such as the SDL, WDL, Casuals United and the Stop Islamification Of Europe, all of whom are seemingly interchangeable and ‘anti-Islamic Extremism.’ The EDL also have clearly documented links with the BNP, BPP, RVF, ‘Aryan Strike Force’ and other far right fantasists despite their by now laughable claims be neither racist nor violent.

The Year So Far

The EDL have had some interesting demonstrations over the last year in various towns and cities. What they actually achieved, beyond ego-boosting publicity, has also been varied. To recap: the Luton incident galvanised the EDL and they followed this up with a series of small fiascos in London and Birmingham, the latter which the EDL admitted was poor. Result: 35 arrests. They followed this one up with another Brum protest in September. Result: 90 arrests. Their Manchester debut saw a massive police presence, large counter-demonstration and much publicity. The result: £800,000 policing bill, 10 injuries and 44 arrests. At Leeds, there was a huge police presence costing £375,000 and 8 arrests. At the same time their ‘southern divisions’ planned a counter-demonstration in London against a radical Islamic faction which ended in a pub fight with Combat 18. Result: serious schisms between the EDL and the porcine vanguard of the far right. In November, the Welsh Defence League (comprising mainly of Bolton Wanderers fans it seems) organised a 40 strong fiasco in Wrexham. Result: 4 arrests and many perplexed locals. Their previous Welsh adventure was similarly farcical and disrupted by Nazis. North of the border has proved equally maladroit. In Glasgow their “ big success” was actually only 120 lads. According to Casuals United many supporters from England were stopped by cops en route. To add to their woes, some of the ‘leadership’ were arrested and had their homes searched and computers seized. This is all very well but the EDL do not necessarily need them: the members can simply announce a date on the website and RV point and take it from there. The EDL is more autonomous and fragmented than the police think and many ignore the ‘leaderships’ pleas.

The Nottingham demonstration proved to be costly and eventful with the EDL kettled in a pub and then by the castle. Result: £1/2 million police bill, 11 arrests and many photographs of patriots urinating on a national monument. The Stoke demo showed the EDL in their true colours (sort of pasty, pale and lager flecked): it ended with supporters fighting the cops and then rampaging through an Asian area. This caused much consternation on the EDL forum with members slamming those who rioted and seig-heiled in a beer induced frenzy. In March the EDL caused a major disruption in Bolton with about 2,000 attending. Result: heavy policing and lots of anti-fascists nicked. Although 2,000 is a serious number, their successive demos have never increased beyond this. There was also a small EDL demo outside parliament which faced militant opposition. An April demo in Aylesbury – ‘the first of many’ – saw around 2,000 again, 12 arrests and not much else. 2 of the EDL also ‘occupied’ the proposed site of a mega-mosque which was almost completely ignored by the national media and proved to be a wash out. The EDL were to hold a demo in Walsall in June but they have apparently called it off. The recent demo in Newcastle saw about 600 EDL confronted by a much larger counter-demo and they were well contained. The EDL intend to demonstrate in Bradford soon which will no doubt cause trouble: Muslim youth are bound to react to this blatant provocation. Which is the intention. Why the cops are allowing this when Bradford youth have a proven track record of militancy is only 1 question.

The State & The EDL

Many are the claims on the various left and far-right websites that the EDL are ‘state’ designed to draw in and contain violent racists and discredit the far right in general. Wherever the EDL gather they are heavily monitored by the cops, often filmed individually during dispersals, and it is no surprise that the pubs they meet in for their ‘static protest’ are Wetherspoons which are all equipped with CCTV. It is not unlikely that the cops seize any footage taken. It also requires no stretch of the imagination to believe that the state have their informants and infiltrators, as they have had in the BNP for many years, and know what is going on. Bully for the state. There is also the Sheffield question. Although these are only unsubstantiated rumours several commentators are asking what happened in Sheffield between the cops and the EDL? The ‘leadership’ were arrested and taken to Sheffield police station no doubt by Special Branch/MI5 rather than uniform. Was there a deal? We’ll go easy on the ‘moderate’ EDL you if you give us info on the serious hooligans, or even better Nazis who the ‘leadership’ want shut of anyway. Any information gratefully received.

Nazis?

Are the EDL just another violent Nazi outfit like Combat 18? No. Despite the far-right’s usual antipathy to plurality and multi-culturalism, the EDL is quite a mixed bunch and not a unified organisation in the least. The EDL is a broad alliance of football hooligans who cannot fight at matches anymore, fascists and angry but directionless youths. Inter-firm rivalries have so far been contained, as they are at most England games, but whether this will continue we shall see. The presence of the EDL youth leader and the Sikh bloke is not unanimously approved of and not everyone who goes on the demos are ‘members’ but casual racists out simply to get pissed and have a ruck. It is these ‘fringe’ elements that ignore the EDL ‘leaderships’ protestations over non-violence and Plod co-operation: once the lager is in full flow they can’t help throwing out the Nazi salutes, having a confab with the cops and breaking out of the kettles and cordons to put a few windows in. The EDL ‘leadership’, media savvy as they are, get into a flap about this and keep reiterating that they are ‘not racist.’ Which we all believe.

The BNP have proscribed the EDL but there is firm evidence of BNP members attending demos. Combat 18, after the central London fracas are not speaking to the EDL until they say sorry. The microscopic BPP, who are centred round Yorkshire will no doubt be putting their gluebags down and hobbling along to the forthcoming Bradford venture. The Aryan Strike Force is still reeling from the prison sentences handed down to the Newcastle father and son terror-clown act and the likes of Wigan Mike, who has attended many of the EDL demos, is no doubt worried over his oncoming court case in connection with their website.

The EDL & The Nazis

Opinion on the various far right forums is divided. The eager ones, hankering after the ‘glory days’ of the BM and the NF, are up for street level confrontation; the older ones are either jealous of the EDL’s numbers, claim state interference or are horrified by the Israeli flag waving and the even more blatant demo at the Israeli embassy this week. The Israeli flag is used to wind up Muslims but some far-righters claim that there is a larger Zionist conspiracy afoot involving Alan Lake who bankrolls the EDL. But there again, they say that about everyone including Nick Griffin so we shall see.

The Opposition

The counter-demonstrations have met with various success. That there are schisms on the left is no surprise: we have the respectable and controllable UAF, community groups and the more militant anti-fascists amongst others. Due to the EDL’s political naivety they see all opposition groups as ‘commies’ and Muslim community leaders, Weyman Bennett, SWP and anarchists as one and the same. They do not see that there is as broad a spectrum on the left as there is in their own ranks. This often embarrassing naivety of the EDL also construes that those who oppose them are therefore pro-Muslim which is clearly not the case: what many anti-fascists object to are pissed up gangs of racists coming into their communities to cause trouble.

The Future?

The EDL love the ego-boosting publicity (and we are aware that this article will be read by them): many football hooligans keep scrapbooks of ‘victories’ and ‘taking liberties’ and they will no doubt be pleased by the recent BBC3 documentary painting them out to be a significant political force. Although we must not discount the threat, the demos for many are simply the chance to drink, fight and cause a bit of mayhem to enhance their reputations amongst peers. If Bradford goes ahead there will no doubt be serious violence as well as publicity, heavy manners policing and a large bill for the community to cover. Which is exactly what the EDL want. More little pictures for their scrapbooks, more coverage on TV and more war stories to boast about in the pub. Anti-fascists! Organise!

Malatesta at Indymedia

English Defence League protest leads to 12 arrests

Twelve people have been arrested during a protest which attracted more than 800 people organised by the English Defence League in Buckinghamshire. The EDL, which says it opposes "militant Islam", organised the protest in Aylesbury's Market Square earlier.

A police spokesman said that "on the whole" the protest had been peaceful but there had been "some disorder". Eight of the people arrested were being held on suspicion of carrying offensive weapons. Police said there were fewer protestors than the EDL had anticipated. The group has held demonstrations over recent months in Manchester, Bolton and Derby.

Supt Richard List, of Aylesbury police, said: "We made it very clear to the EDL at the outset that we would not tolerate any disorder on the day and that there would be a significant police presence. The police operation will continue until we are totally satisfied that there are no risks or threats to public safety."

A counter protest was held in Vale Park earlier, but had since dispersed.

BBC

‘Keep kids out of town’ plea in EDL demo alert

Thousands of parents will get letters warning them to consider keeping their children out of Bolton during a far-right demonstration. The letters will be sent by schools across the borough ahead of the planned rally by the English Defence League. Council bosses and police hope parents will encourage youngsters to stay out of the town centre on March 20.

The council is awaiting a response from the government to a legal plea to Home Secretary Alan Johnson calling for the march to be banned. Neither local authorities nor the police have powers to ban static protests. Town hall bosses are now seeking a face-to-face meeting with Mr Johnson. In the meantime the council has confirmed it is planning for the event to go ahead.

Pleas for people not to join counter-protests have been made after Unite Against Fascism confirmed it will meet the EDL rally in Victoria Square. Police also revealed officers who manned the EDL rally in Manchester last year have been spoken to as part of the planning process. Then there were 44 arrests and 10 injuries when violence flared in and around Piccadilly Gardens and Shudehill. Bolton council said it had also been liaising with Manchester council. Further details about the exact policing operation are expected to be revealed next week.

Sean Harriss, Bolton council’s chief executive, said: “People have a lawful right to protest. It is part of what living in a democracy is all about. We advise people to think very carefully because these events in the past have caused trouble. We are erring on the side of caution. Letters will go out to schools. There will be a letter home to parents. It will tell people about what is going on and tell parents to think carefully about the issue and young people coming into Bolton.”

Religious leaders from all faiths have joined forces to call for a boycott of the march, and the campaign will be highlighted at Saturday’s match between Bolton Wanderers and Wigan at the Reebok Stadium. Businesses and taxi drivers have been briefed and the council said the message would be that town would be open as usual. Shops and pubs are not being told to close.

Mr Harriss added: “We want to try to prevent this event on public safety grounds. Our big concern is the risk of violent disorder and public safety. We know there is always a counter demonstration and Bolton is no exception. The policing response is based on that scenario.”

Police, who will limit entry to Victoria Square, said officers would be at Bolton railway and bus stations. Chief Supt Steven Hartley said: “There will be a significant policing operation.”

Manchester Evening News

Government urged to ban EDL rally

Bolton Council last night unanimously backed the authority’s appeal to Home Secretary Alan Johnson to ban a planned English Defence League rally later this month.

A motion was tabled in the name of Labour council leader Cllr Cliff Morris, Conservative group leader Cllr John Walsh and Lib-Dem leader Cllr Roger Hayes. It said the council was “very concerned” about the planned EDL rally, which is due to take place in Victoria Square on March 20. Bolton Council is currently putting together a proposal to send to Mr Johnson.

Neither the council nor Greater Manchester Police has the power to ban a static demonstration under current legislation and the council is keen to stress that it does not want to suppress free speech. However, the council is concerned about the associated threat of public disorder on the day and the impact that could have on the town.

These points will be emphasised in the submission to the Home Secretary. Cllr Morris revealed that he is seeking a face-to-face meeting with Home Office ministers to put forward Bolton’s case for banning the rally The motion at last night’s meeting stated: “Bolton has a very strong track record on community cohesion. The council is confident that this will not be harmed by the EDL and urges local people not to be provoked by the prospect of the EDL event.”

Before last night’s council meeting, members of Bolton Against Racism (BAR) and the local Green Party held a demonstration outside, urging councillors to support the motion. BAR chairman Helen McHugh said: “We are united in Bolton and we want the Government to back the calls to ban the rally.”

Today, police and Town Hall chiefs are due to meet with town centre businesses, to update them. It is understood that shops, pubs and other businesses will be given up to date information and then given the chance to make an informed choice over whether to remain open on the day of the demonstration.

The EDL, which says it protests against Islamic extremism in the UK, originally planned to hold the rally this Saturday, March 6. However, it postponed the rally because a Hindu festival was taking place on the same day.

Previous demonstrations in Stoke and Manchester have seen violent clashes between EDL supporters and opponents. In October, 44 people were arrested during a protest by the EDL in Manchester city centre, when opponents held a counter rally.

Bolton Against Racism has already announced it plans to hold a “celebration of unity” event on the same day, although the organisers have said they would be willing to stage the event away from the EDL rally. According to websites, protesters against the rally plan to arrive in numbers, as part of a UAF counter-demonstration.

Bolton News

EDL yob fined for swearing at policeman

An English Defence League supporter has been fined for his role in the organisation's October protest in Manchester city centre.

Lee Howarth, 24, from Milnrow in Rochdale, was arrested at Piccadilly Station on October 10, after shouting abuse and swearing at police officers. Hundreds of EDL supporters gathered on the day to demonstrate. Manchester magistrates' court heard yesterday how Howarth, who is unemployed, persisted in swearing at police despite repeatedly being told to 'calm down'. With his fists raised, Howarth responded: 'Think you're a big man? Make me.'

Howarth was drunk at the time. Philip Lythgoe, defending, said Howarth accepts he swore but that it was in response to being 'pushed around by police'.

Chairman of the bench, Iain Simms, said: 'Police are there to do a job and you don't expect them to be shouted and sworn at.'

Howarth pleaded guilty to a public order offence of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour and was fined a total of £100. The EDL claims only to oppose radical Islam but supporters were seen at the October demonstrations making Nazi salutes. Around 1,500 people joined a counter protest by Unite Against Fascism and the two sides faced-off for five hours, separated by police in riot gear and on horseback.

A total of 48 people were arrested during the day and the demonstration left the city with an £800,000 bill.

Manchester Evening News

The police, the protesters and a public order problem

An old colleague of mine used to say "everyone knows how to control a runaway horse better than the poor devil holding the reins!" This was a home-spun metaphor to describe the propensity for the armchair critic to offer simple solutions to complex problems.

These easy critiques surround most professional activity. The Premiership football coach is just as likely to be offered lay "advice" as the police professional.

I recalled the observation this week when my postbag was inundated with letters advising me that I should simply ban a forthcoming demonstration proposed by the English Defence League in Leeds city centre. There has been a kind of chain-letter initiative whereby the recipient of the letter is asked to write to their friends imploring them to urge the Chief Constable and the Chief Executive of Leeds City Council to use "their powers" to stop the demonstration taking place. The "advice" is overwhelming. If only life were that simple.

The English Defence League is a protest group with "wings" in several major conurbations. They have only existed for six months or so. If people ignore them, they may disappear out of our consciousness just as quickly as their profile has risen. Their stated aim is to "stand up for Englishness against an Islamist assault".

After demonstrations in Luton, Birmingham, Manchester and Swansea, their apparent objective, which they have taken no steps to counter, is to provoke a reaction. The more violent the reaction, the more it plays to their apparent objective. The EDL is against Islamic extremism. The kind of Islamic extremism that is espoused by al-Qaida and other terrorist organisations is anathema to just about everyone.

But the EDL are less clear about where they draw the line in their objection. Turning up as they do, like a baying football crowd, they create a perception that some of their members, individually, might draw the line at a less extreme ideology. They imply intolerance.

Have they got the right, in Britain, to express their views in public? Of course they have, whatever we, personally, may think of those views. They would commit a criminal offence if they actively sought to incite violence or hatred on account of race or faith. The vast majority of their number usually avoid that threshold. There is absolutely no legal means to ban the proposed demonstration. The right to peaceful protest has been much in the news because of the reverberations from the G20 demonstrations in London earlier this year. Two inquiries followed, and have clarified the law on protest. They agreed that:

• Peaceful protest should be facilitated and protected.
• People who wish to protest peacefully should not have the impression that the police are attempting to stop protest going ahead.
• Public bodies are required to demonstrate a degree of tolerance, even if these protests cause a level of obstruction or disruption.
• Human rights law makes it clear that balance should always fall in favour of those seeking to assert their right to protest.

So far, so good. Except that when EDL come to Leeds at the end of the month, the United Against Fascism (UAF) crowd intend to demonstrate in opposition. They, too, have the same rights to carry out peaceful protest on public streets. In an ideal world, the two demonstrations could take place on the same day without causing alarm or concern to the public.

That is what my officers are attempting to negotiate with the organisers of the two groups involved. While consulting and negotiating with both groups, we are also putting in place a policing operation that is capable of responding to any attempt at public disorder and criminality.

The dilemma is that, while the law is clear that the police may not assume that protest will be other than peaceful and lawful, we also know that if a window gets broken or a stone is thrown there will be people who say: "I'll tell you what the police should have done..."

But would they put themselves in the position of the brave people in yellow fluorescent jackets and helmets who are there to ensure the rights of opposing protesters and who, when protesters cannot get at each other, become the unfair target for abuse and worse?

The police rely upon the "armchair observer" to support rather than criticise and I believe that we can count on that consent from what is often, these days, a silent majority.

In the meantime, I hope that two crowds of violently opposed ideologues come to Leeds, make their separate protests and go home without any reason for my officers to intervene. We don't always get what we hope for in life, hence why we are planning for every eventuality.

Note: Sir Norman Bettison is Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police.

Yorkshire Post

EDL goons on Newsnight

Men fined for EDL demo abuse

The EDL's Kevin Greaves, William Crangle and David Monks

Three men have been fined after a protest by the English Defence League in Manchester city centre.

William Crangle, Kevin Greaves and David Monks were all arrested on Saturday as hundreds of EDL members came to the city to demonstrate. The organisation claims to oppose only radical Islam but supporters were seen making Nazi salutes and singing patriotic songs during the demonstration in Piccadilly.

Around 1,500 people joined a counter protest by Unite Against Fascism. The two sides were in a face-off for five hours, separated by a police line including officers in riot gear and on horseback and 48 people were arrested during the day. The demonstration left the city with an £800,000 bill.

EDL supporters Crangle, 30, of North Croft, Oldham, Greaves, 30, of Springwood Hall Road, Oldham, and Monks, 33, of Manchester Road, Bolton, all admitted public order offences of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour when they appeared at Manchester magistrates' court yesterday.

Crangle and Greaves, who appeared in the dock together, were arrested at 11.45am, as they walked along London Road, near Piccadilly station. Police asked Crangle to remove a bandana that was covering his face, suspecting he might be trying to conceal his identity, the court heard. He swore at the officers and was arrested. Mr Greaves was also arrested after repeatedly swearing as officers tried to search him.

Crangle was fined £160 and Greaves, who is on benefits, £80, and both were ordered to pay another £100 in costs and victim surcharge. Both men apologised for wasting court time.

Monks was fined £80 plus £95 in costs and a victim surcharge after the court heard how he was arrested as EDL protesters were escorted away from Piccadilly Gardens and towards Victoria station by police at 4.30pm. Police were detaining another man when Monks grabbed him and tried to pull him from their grasp. He swore at officers before being arrested, magistrates heard.

Manchester Evening News

Death Threats Against Anti-Fascist Campaigner

The anti-fascist campaigner has been subjected to a torrent of hate on Facebook

Police are guarding an anti-fascist campaigner who has received dozens of death threats following a right-wing rally in Manchester

Julie Keller has been wrongly accused of disrupting a two-minute silence in honour of UK troops and is now receiving police protection. She is the target of a Facebook group entitled "Julie Keller UAF SCUM" which has published her home address and telephone number. Next to a picture of Mrs Keller, the website says: "For Those Of You Who Dont Know This Is The Bitch On The Megaphone During Our 2 Minute Silence To Honour Our Troops."

The webpage was set up by supporters of the English Defence League (EDL), a right-wing group that clashed with members of Unite Against Fascism (UAF) in the city's Piccadilly Gardens on Saturday. Greater Manchester Police officers are now watching Mrs Keller's home in Oldham.

"At the time of the EDL silence I was in a sushi bar having my lunch," she told Sky News. "I'm absolutely mortified. I'll stand up for the things I've done, but I've never been a member of the UAF. Enough is enough."

Unbowed by the onslaught, she has given Sky News permission to show the Facebook page.

Inspector Dave Stopford of Greater Manchester Police is investigating the postings which include threats to "set her on fire", "stab the slut" and the wish that she contracts cancer.

"We are aware that a number of threats have been made," he said. "These threats have been made via telephone, email and via Facebook. The victim has been spoken to by my officers and appropriate measures are in place to ensure her safety."

Mrs Keller, a mother of two and member of the anti-fascist group Searchlight, said she has had 96 death threats made against her online and has lost count of the phone calls she has received from right wing extremists.

"People have been shouting abuse down the phone and sending emails, some of them very, very nasty."

She said she asked Facebook to remove the offensive page, but had received no reply. When Sky News alerted Facebook to the group, a spokeswoman said it would be taken down "right away". She confirmed they had received Mrs Keller's email and said they aim to respond to concerns within 24 hours.

"We have received a report from Julie Keller," she said. "It is being dealt with by our dedicated user operations team."

EDL Spokesman Trevor Kelway said he did not recognise the usernames of any of the organisers of the Facebook page containing threats against Mrs Keller.

"The English Defence League is totally against death threats against anyone," he said.

Unite Against Fascism has confirmed that a UAF steward was chanting throughout the two minute silence and that Mrs Keller was not involved.

Sky News

Protests could cost city £800,000

Thank Odin that there were no nazis with the EDL at Manchester!

Erm...

Protests which brought more than 2,000 demonstrators to the streets of Manchester have cost the city as much as £800,000, the M.E.N. can reveal.

Piccadilly Gardens was locked down by police as English Defence League (EDL) protesters faced off against opposing Unite Against Fascism (UAF) demonstrators for five hours on Saturday afternoon. The M.E.N. has learned that town hall and police chiefs, faced with picking up the bill for looking after the demos, plan to ask the home secretary for a change in the law that would ban protests where violence is expected.

Forty-eight men were arrested, most on suspicion of public order offences, and 13 people injured, including one seriously and three suffering dog bites. At its worst, sticks and railings were thrown and police vans battered while officers clashed with troublemakers as they tried to pull them out of the demo.

EDL members, who claim to oppose 'radical Islam', have been responsible for violent protests elsewhere in the country. They made Nazi salutes and sang patriotic songs. UAF supporters, staging a counter protest, maintained a non-stop anti-fascist chant.

A tense atmosphere prevailed as the two factions were separated by a police line with officers on horseback and in riot gear. Both sides - around 500 EDL and 1,500 UAF - traded insults and there were regular surges against the police line. Pockets of trouble broke out but were quickly stopped by police before EDL supporters were moved away from Piccadilly Gardens and escorted to bus and train stations by officers shortly before 5pm - five hours after the protest began.

The police have been praised for the success of a huge operation understood to have involved 500 officers. But it has left the Greater Manchester Police Authority with a bill of over £200,000, in cluding around £21,000 on an extra 300 officers, the M.E.N. has learnt.

Senior insiders in the city estimate that the protest has cost Manchester as a whole up to £800,000 in planning, staffing and community liaison work which included police officers and council staff going into schools and speaking to the leaders of the region's mosques.

The figure also includes substantial losses to businesses around Piccadilly Gardens after many had to close. Others, including Debenhams and Primark, reported a 'considerable' drop in takings. Debenhams said they also had to bring in extra security to keep staff safe.

Both the ambulance service and police had to bring in relief from outside forces, including officers from Lancashire police to staff the rugby league final at Old Trafford which kicked off at 5.30pm.

Manchester council had unsuccessfully applied to get this weekend's demonstration banned after trouble during a previous demo in Birmingham. Legislation currently provides no scope to halt peaceful gath erings in a public place, although the police can step in where demonstrators are suspected of breaking the law.

Manchester's deputy leader Coun Jim Battle praised an 'outstanding' police operation, but said: "The police marshalled this demonstration extremely well, allowing people to go about their business, but the operation was very expensive in terms of resources.

"While we recognise the right to demonstrate, what we saw with the EDL yesterday was, in effect, a gathering of football hooligans who had to be marshalled in that way in order to keep the peace. We will raise this with the home secretary and ask him to explore whether there are ways he can intervene.

"We paid a high price but fortunately we didn't pay the price paid in Birmingham of violence spilling out on to our streets."

Greater Manchester Police Authority chairman Coun Paul Murphy added: "This was a quite brilliantly executed operation but the law needs to be reassessed. I am left with a bill I didn't budget for and the dilemma of whether, if this group ask to protest again, we have to let them.

"There's a difference between peaceful and violent protest and I think that's where the law has lost its way. It is prepared to support people who have a record of violence against the interests of those go ing about their business.

"It's probably the price we pay for democracy but it's a hell of a price when you look at the bill. I want to be able to refuse a group if there is a fair and reasonable assumption of violence."

Chief Supt Gerry Donnellan, in charge of Saturday's operation for GMP, commended the wider community for taking heed of advice to stay away from the protest.

He said: "The day was a culmination of a lot of hard work and detailed planning by a large number of people. It was a tremendous example of police working in partnership with other agencies and event organisers for a successful outcome.

"I've got a responsibility to try and facilitate a peaceful protest and a lot of time and thought went into doing that. There was potential for it to be come more volatile than it did. It presented us with a big challenge and some big decisions were made and we were able to handle it in a controlled manner.

"I think there were some minor issues with the protesters but they were dealt with in a timely and appropriate manner and we were able to remove troublemakers quickly."

Manchester Evening News

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up.

Manchester demonstration updates

Mobile phone footage of EDL 'march'

There are no nazis involved with the EDL, oh no. See comments for details...

Manchester protest Twitter updates
"A wooden plank spins up from the EDL and towards the police line. Narrowly misses."
"Some EDL "sieg heil", others wave Israeli flags. <- Illogical alliances" "On the corner of Miller St by Victoria Station, a teenage bystander was just hit by a coin apparently thrown from the EDL crowd"

Live from MEN - Demo in Manchester
"An EDL supporter just hurled a lucozade bottle into the crowd of UAF supporters."

Text from the troops
"We seem to have the EDL boxed in..."

BBC - Protesters in city demonstrations

At least 2,000 of people are protesting in two political demonstrations in Manchester city centre.

The English Defence League (EDL) has arrived in the city to stage a protest in Piccadilly Gardens to campaign against Islamic extremists. This has prompted a planned counter-protest by Unite Against Fascism (UAF).

Police said 18 people had been arrested in Manchester on suspicion of public order offences. One arrest was on suspicion of carrying a weapon.

Both sides are facing each other in Piccadilly Gardens and are separated by a line of police officers, dogs and mounted police. Matt Trewern, from BBC Radio Manchester, said the atmosphere was "quite tense" and there had been a series of confrontations between opposing protesters.

He said: "The police are trying to keep the two groups separate and they have managed to confine some of the EDL protesters to the narrow streets in the Northern Quarter. Trouble started when 100 members of EDL arrived at Piccadilly Gardens and they were immediately met with shouts of 'racists' and 'off our streets' by members of the UAF, who had already congregated at Piccadilly. The atmosphere is tense, but it is not yet out of control."

He said the number of protesters from the UAF outnumber those from the EDL by about three to one.

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: "The presence of so many protesters in the city has proved a challenge and while many have turned out to protest peacefully the police reaction has been necessary in order to prevent the few hell-bent on violent confrontation. Today we've made 18 arrests, many of whom were thought to be agitators and trouble-makers."

Greater Manchester Police confirmed one man, believed to be heading to the protest, had been arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of distributing racially aggravated material.

Muslim leaders have renewed appeals for people to avoid the demonstrations. A recent EDL event in Birmingham led to counter-demonstrations and bricks being hurled at riot police. Up to 90 people were arrested.

Nanu Miah, a community leader from Oldham, said: "We are not encouraging people to go, we don't know who EDL is and what could happen."

BBC

HnH - EDL leader arrested

I've just heard that one of the leaders of the English Defence League was arrested this morning in Birmingham on suspicion of distributing racially aggravated material.

Meanwhile EDL supporters are beginning to descend on Manchester. I understand that football hooligans from 20-25 gangs are making the trip, mainly from across the North West and West Midlands. A few are coming down from the North East and up from the South Coast.

Hope not hate

The English Defence League: will the flames of hatred spread?

Tommy, spokesman for the English Defence League (EDL), was adamant: there were to be no pictures of him or the other masked men holding the makeshift swastika flag before it was set alight. Otherwise, it might look as though they were supporting Nazism – which, we were assured, they abhorred.

It was both sinister and comic, this nocturnal gathering in a disused office block near the centre of Luton. There were 16 of them, mostly big men in black balaclavas sewn up into masks, wearing black T-shirts sporting the Cross of St George. The location had been kept secret until the last minute to preserve “security”

The boys of the EDL “Luton Division” were milling about in the half darkness as The Daily Telegraph was shown in. Most appeared a little jumpy, unsure of their role in the coming stunt, but not the man going by the name of Tommy Robinson. He was smaller than most of them, but clearly in charge. Articulate, too. Look around, he said, couldn’t we see there were black men here, as well as whites. This was not a racist organisation.

“We are doing this to challenge Islamic extremists who have been unchallenged in our country for 10 to 15 years. They are recruiting on our streets and colleges and the government is doing nothing.”

While many far-Right groups should not be allowed the oxygen of publicity, the potential menace of the EDL appears to make it an exception.

If you don’t know about the EDL, the chances are you soon will.

The group is due to demonstrate in Manchester today, the latest of a series of outings that have resulted in running street battles with young Muslims and anti-fascist protesters. Another gathering is planned for Leeds, promising more trouble in northern England, following incidents in Luton and Birmingham.

The organisation, if such it can be called, is a child of the internet. Its immediate origin can be traced to March when a small group of Muslim anti-war protesters heckled members of the Royal Anglian Regiment parading through Luton following their return from Iraq. They carried placards, one of which accused the Anglians of being the “Butchers of Basra”.

The protesters were drawn from a small group of Muslim extremists in Luton – Bedfordshire Police say there are just 20 or so in a town that is home to 27,000 Muslims. But their actions were enough to trigger the creation of the EDL, which since then has been a main ingredient in violent confrontations with Muslims and anti-fascists across the country, despite its stated aim of peaceful opposition to Islamist extremism and the imposition in Britain of Sharia.

Incidents include a running battle in Luton in May during which EDL supporters and others attacked property and passers-by in a predominantly Asian area, resulting in 35 arrests. There have also been outbreaks of violence in Birmingham, most recently on September 5 when a collection of overt EDL supporters and hooligans poured into the city centre for a “peaceful” demonstration, before clashing with Muslim youths and anti-fascist campaigners. Penned into a pub by police, the demonstrators chanted “Allah, allah, who the —- is allah?” They were eventually removed from Birmingham in two double-decker buses, but not before 90 arrests were made.

“There was no intent to protest,” said Sharon Rowe, assistant chief constable of West Midlands Police. “Once there was fighting on streets the EDL just wanted to get out of city.”

The organisation, she said, had been offered the opportunity to demonstrate peacefully in a less sensitive location in the city, and had deliberately ignored it.

The Birmingham incident was followed by more violence in Harrow, north London, when a group of EDL and other anti-Islamic activists attempted to demonstrate outside a mosque, provoking a mass counter-demonstration by Muslims. Ten people were arrested. As a result, a planned EDL rally in Luton on September 19 was banned under an order which prohibits any political marches in the town for three months.

But who are the people who constitute the English Defence League?

The answer lies in a combination of anti-Islamic internet bloggers, who constitute the EDL’s intellectual ‘elite’, organised football hooligan ‘firms’, who provide the street-fighting muscle, and agitators from the Far Right who spy an opportunity to enflame racial tensions which have grown up around the Muslim community following the bombings in London on July 7 2005.

The EDL claims “thousands” of members in scores of branches, but it is in reality a far more defuse entity, its website serving as a rallying point for a loose network of followers. Its foot soldiers are the ‘casuals’ hooligan groups – in Luton it is the MIGS (Men in Gear), supposed supporters of Luton Town FC. Associates include David Cooling, a 26-year-old driver from Luton who is believed to administer the Luton EDL page on the Facebook website.

One of the organization’s principle strategists is a man calling himself Alan Lake, who works as an IT consultant in the City and has helped create the organisation’s intranet. Mr Lake, who is 45, single and originally from the north of England, has advised the Far Right Swedish Democrats on tactics. He told the Daily Telegraph that he became interested in Islamic writings some four years ago through a love of Arabic music and became alarmed by the religion’s “supremacist” aspect.

“I learned that you can’t afford to stay asleep and there is a problem that is not going to go away. The texts are an ideology preaching racism and fascism.”

Mr Lake admits to having met Robinson and some 10 other EDL supporters, but denies any connection to the Far Right. The political class, he says, has caved in to Muslim pressure at the expense of basic freedoms.

“We are worn out with words, you need to have people on the streets. You have to get the message out.”

Lake is seeking to harness football hooligan ‘firms’ by timing demonstrations to coincide with matches, yet denies an intent to cause violence.

“These guys are prepared to demonstrate, and they are already there because there is a match. This is a dirty, nasty, difficult struggle and you have to work with what is available.”

And the racist, anti-Muslim chanting?

“If a dog got kicked, would you expect it bark or lodge an official complaint? You can’t expect everybody to be an articulate, middle-class intellectual. You have a bunch of people here who are no longer represented by the Government. They are ignored and used and abused, and relegated to second class status by an ideology which is racist.”

The BNP has designated the EDL a “proscribed organisation” but, according to the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, that is standard practice for the party when attempting to establish ‘deniability’.

“There should be no underestimating the potential damage this disorder can cause,” says Nick Lowles, the magazine’s editor. “We only have to remember the events of 2001 to see how the actions of small groups of white racists triggered three riots which ripped apart communities and catapulted the British National Party into national prominence.”

Back in the clandestine EDL gathering in Luton, they had brought along a black shirt to burn as well – in response to an attack by John Denham, the communities secretary, who had likened the League to Oswald Moseley’s Blackshirts.

The rule, though, is: never perform with children, animals or Nazi flags. Try as the man with cigarette lighter might, the flag stubbornly refused to ignite, hanging down in its embarrassing entirety, barely smouldering at the edge. Even the boys of the EDL couldn’t resist a laugh at this public relations cock-up. Eventually, one of their number seized a can of petrol and – whoosh! – up it went.

“There are no racists or fascists in the English Defence League,” said one. “We are black and white, united. The proof is in the pudding.”

The ‘pudding’ being the black members present, none of whom appeared entirely clear why they were here. Questions about their reasons for affiliating with the EDL raised only mumbled answers. The statements read out by the ringleaders were a shade more eloquent.

“The word fascist has been bandied about without any evidence of us being so,” said one. “This we see as an irresponsible act. Leave us to peaceful protest – our democratic right.”

Tommy continued: “We have been labelled as Nazis and racists, but we are not. The easiest way for the Government and the Islamic community to deal with this problem is to label us as Nazis.”

Why the intimidating paramilitary-style balaclavas?

“Every town that has an Islamic community has a group of mad-mullah extremists.”

Another leading member, who uses the name Howard, has said that the “main focus” of his job in the group is to remove racist comments from its message board, such is the number of offensive views it attracts.

This week dozens of group members were also told by the leadership to remove themselves from an anti-Muslim internet group which had as its logo a montage of Osama bin Laden and a monkey.

The EDL, according to Tommy, had 3,700 members. Membership cards would soon be issued and yearly subs charged. The aim was to force people like Anjem Choudary, founder of two banned Islamist groups, from campaigning on the streets of Britain. Faced with the possibility of violence during his appearances, the Government would eventually be forced to act.

The threat posed to public order by groups such as the EDL is not yet clear, but it is not only ad hoc, internet-generated groups that pose a risk. In the last 18 months, two Far Right extremists have been have been convicted of planning bomb attacks against Muslim targets. Both were ‘lone wolves’ – men who had built crude explosive devices alone in their homes – and who were caught purely by chance by officers investigating other offences. Others may be out there, their views fed by Far Right propaganda on the web.

Luton has already had a taste of such amateurish, yet potentially lethal, terrorism. In May, the Islamic centre in Bury Park Road, one of the more liberal Muslim institutions in Luton, was fire-bombed.

Farasat Latif, secretary of the centre, said a number of threats from extremists had been received. “People say for the first time that they feel vulnerable,” he said.

Robinson sees it differently. “Everybody is treading on eggshells all the time, trying not to offend the Islamic community,” he said, as his boys headed into the darkness.

“How do you think it went?” he asked later, in a text message, about the flag burning. It seemed better not to answer.

The EDL had eventually managed to get its Nazi flag to go up in flames. The question is whether it can ignite racial and religious tensions in Britain’s Muslim enclaves.

Daily Telegraph

Demonstrate in Manchester against the racist hooligans of the EDL

Sat October 10th, 12 noon, Piccadilly Gardens

The racist hooligans of the English Defence League are planning a series of anti-Muslim demonstrations at towns and cities across the country in coming weeks. Previous EDL demonstrations have seen their thugs attack Asian people, chant "Muslims out" and worse at passers-by and make "seig heil" Nazi salutes.

It is vital that we do not sit back and allow a small minority of racist thugs with links to the fascist BNP to terrorise and intimidate Muslims in Britain. All communities need to stand up and link arms with Muslims against the EDL. That's why there was a counter demonstration against the EDL in Birmingham in August. That's why thousands of people were mobilised in Harrow last month to defend the local mosque against the EDL and its affiliates.

We need to turn out and tell the EDL that they are not wanted in Manchester or anywhere else. We must not let these thugs turn the clock back to the 1970s when they ran round the streets terrorising black and Asian people -- or back to the 1930s when Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts targeted Jews in the East End of London.

Saturday 10 October: say NO to the racist EDL in Manchester!

The Archbishop of York backs the campaign

The Archbishop of York has thrown his support behind our campaign against the English Defence League in Manchester. His statement backed our Manchester HOPE not hate pledge which we launched in the city on Monday with the backing of faith and community leaders and representatives from all three main political parties.This is his statement: Hope Not Hate, Message from the Archbishop of York.

'I hope that the whole of this community in Manchester will unite behind the Hope Not Hate pledge. It is an important campaign that what matters in this life is turning enemies into friends – not friends into enemies.

1 Corinthians 13 tells us we should show faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these things is love. You cannot love through hate, hate is driven by fear. Love banishes all hate. If you do not respect other people, you cannot fully respect yourself. We are made in the image of God, no matter our colour, culture or ethnicity. I hope that the people of this great city will banish hate and embrace hope.'

Hope not hate

Stop this racist charade

Some idiots in the Home Office might be fooled by the English Defence League but the racist agenda of the hooligan gang is becoming more obvious by the day.

At the end of last week the EDL got hold of an email that had been widely circulated by the North West TUC advertising a meeting of trade unions to discuss the planned EDL protest for Manchester City Centre next Saturday. The EDL response was illuminating. The EDL administrator – who publicly claims not to be racist – riled against “building mosques”, “uncontrolled immigration” and the “multicultural hell hole of a country” Britain had become.

The racist sentiments were also evident in the latest EDL posting to their members, where the woman who has been liaising with police, said that many of their followers were planning to wear masks during the protest in opposition to the burka.

Despite the glaring racist agenda of the EDL the Home Office continue to bury its head in the sand. It refuses to even classify the group as right wing and says that they are not linked to hooligans. If trouble erupts on Saturday the EDL, media and the police may be quick to blame anti-fascists and others. However, the Home Office’s refusal to accept that the EDL is nothing more than a crude racist attempt to whip up hatred and violence should make them at least culpable.

Hope not hate

Muslim graves smashed by vandals

Up to 20 Muslim graves have been targeted and vandalised at a cemetery in south Manchester.

The vandals struck at the Southern Cemetery on Barlow Moor Road overnight on Thursday. Staff found the Muslim section of the cemetery littered with broken headstones on Friday morning.

Det Con Rob Southern said: "Sadly, we are treating this as a hate crime. This sort of mindless, racist behaviour must be utterly condemned."

Police appealed to anyone who has information to come forward. Det Con Southern added: "This is the worst sort of vandalism imaginable. The graves of your loved ones should be a place where they can rest peacefully and that is absolutely sacrosanct. I'm sure the whole community will be outraged.

"The families of those whose graves have been vandalised will be rightly traumatised and deeply upset. If we do catch the people who committed these atrocious acts, then they should be made to see the grief and pain they have caused."

BBC