Latest Far-Right News Round-Up - February 6th, 2024

It's been a fairly quiet time for the far-right in the UK, but history has always shown that whenever a snake is quiet it is usually because they are planning something - a point activists and researchers may wish to consider as we slide into election year.

Once again, Patriotic Alternative’s Sam Melia is in trouble. Melia, an ex-National Action member was found guilty of running an online archive of downloadable stickers he created that the prosecution argue were designed to stir up racial hatred. Naturally, Melia is screaming he is innocent and arguing that all he was trying to do was "start a conversation".

What should be made clear her is that Melia has confirmed he was the head of the Hundred Handers, an anonymous group of activists responsible for a spate of anti-immigration “stickering” incidents between 2019 and 2021. During its heyday the group organised into two sub-groups  –  the Heads and the Hands. The Heads design stickers and posters, using specific printers to ensure their material does not run in the rain. The Handers then receive the material at the beginning of every month to disperse over their designated area.

Sam Melia

As part of their campaign to supposedly “start a conversation”, in January 2020, fake Extinction Rebellion posters were reported in Brighton. These included: 'Stop white genocide', 'House the world, destroy the environment' and 'population control in the third world'. Then in March 2020, further such stickers appeared in Bedford and in September 2020, stickers with racist slogans and linked to the Hundred Handers appeared in the Crookes area of Sheffield. Stickers were also reported in Scotland.

 

In June 2020, it was reported the group had put up messages in Canada, such as: "Never apologise for being white," and "There is a war on whites" and "It's okay to be white.”Further incidents were recorded when in 2021, Hampshire Police increased patrols and examined CCTV footage in response to the Hundred-Handers posting anti-immigrant, pro-white stickers in the town of Romsey, including some that read "White Privilege Excellence."

He will be sentenced on March 1^st.

 

On the subject of Patriotic Alternative, it is worth mentioning that well-known Pro-Palestinian blogger, Muhammad Dilmar ‘Dilly’ Hussain, who is no stranger to distorting the truth for political gain was happy to invite PA’s ‘fuhrer’, Mark Collett to his home to be interviewed for his Islamist blog, ‘5 Pillars’.

 

Mark Collett

 

Hussain is no stranger to controversy and has accused Tell MAMA (an independent, non-governmental organisation that works on tackling anti-Muslim hatred) in a Tweet on X that they are, in his words, “run by Zionists who support murder of children” and that it supposedly has “militant Zionist patrons and trustees”. Separately, Hussain has written a longer Facebook post in which he attacked Tell MAMA because he believes “their board of trustees and patrons are infested with hardcore Zionists.”

 

Britain First may face a little unpleasant publicity in Northern Ireland when former Belfast councillor Jolene Bunting goes to the High Court in a bid to overturn her three-year ban on seeking re-election.

Apparently, an appeal against her disqualification is being mounted amid confirmation that she will not be prosecuted over any allegations of fraud by misrepresentation. From what we are able to gather, her challenge to the sanction imposed by the Northern Ireland Local Government Commissioner for Standards (NILGCS) will not be heard until later this year. Ms Bunting, a former independent unionist councillor, was disqualified in February 2023 for breaching the code of conduct when the watchdog found she had brought her position into disrepute by doctoring a payslip in a bid to obtain cash from far-right party Britain First following a complaint lodged by the group’s leader, Paul Golding.

 

While on the subject of Britain First, it appears they told their supporters that “jihadists” burnt the officers of Conservative MP, Mike Freer in north London, even though the police already ruled out any hate crime motive. Two non-Muslim homeless people were charged with arson last month over the attack on Freer’s office in Finchley, but that failed to stop Britain First inciting its supporters against Muslims by trying to pin the blame on “radical Islamists.”

 

In a newsletter distributed on the 3^rd February, with the title “Radical Islam on the Rise,” Britain First told their supporters: “It has emerged that a sitting Member of Parliament has been forced to step away from politics due to attacks and threats from Islamist extremists. Mike Freer, representing a seat in London, had his office burnt out by jihadists. Mr Freer said he – and his staff – would wear a stab vest, and carry a panic alarm, when meeting the public on the advice of police. Mr Freer has received endless death threats, going back as far as 2011, from groups including ‘Muslims Against Crusades’, which was later classified as a terrorist organisation by the government and banned.”

 

It seems voters at the next general election will have the dubious delight of being able to vote for candidates representing the Homeland Party. The white nationalist group applied to the Electoral Commission (EC) last May to become a political party. Its application has now been granted and the group is officially registered, allowing it to field candidates at elections across Britain.

 

Announcing its registration with the EC, Homeland Party claimed it is “returning politics to the bedrock foundations of nation and community” and would be calling for a “binding referendum on immigration”.

 

Anti-fascist critics raised serious concerns, including the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), who said it is “extremely concerning when a far-right group successfully obtains political party status”. The Scottish Greens said Homeland’s “worldview has no place in a modern or progressive Scotland” and that voters would reject it. We can but hope.

 

Steven Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) remains in the news. It seems the former leader of the English Defence League and ‘friend’ of Paul Golding is touring the north-west of England whipping up hate by weaponising child sexual exploitation. As part of this ‘tour’ he descended on Telford in the West Midlands on 27^th January and announced he will go on to Oldham in Greater Manchester on 23^rd March. The ‘tour’ will concern democrats from all political persuasions amid a by-election announced for 29^th February in nearby Rochdale, another town in the north-west scarred by a child sexual exploitation scandal. It seems almost certain Lennon will use the tragic experience of child sexual exploitation in the city to scapegoat migrants and refugees. It seems almost certain he may receive further support from candidates like Simon Danczuk, the ex-Labour MP, who is now standing for the Reform Party and Billy Howarth, founder of Parents Against Grooming UK.

 

Finally, many readers will be aware that several ex-members of National Action have now either been released or will be due for discharge in the coming months. Among those now able to roam the streets include Matthew Hankinson, who was 24 when jailed for membership of the banned terror group, National Action (NA) in 2018. He was one of eleven people arrested in late 2017 as part Operation Harplike, an investigation launched by counter-terror police. Hankinson has been released having served a full sentence during which time he made and received no telephone calls; nor did he receive visitors or write or accept any mail during his time. During his time languishing under His Majesty’s pleasure, Hankinson resolutely refused to cooperate with rehabilitation initiatives and as such, having served a full sentence, he is free to live wherever he chooses without having to report to the Probation and Aftercare Service – this is despite the fact that many would still describe him as a high-risk offender.

 

Other notable NA members to have been released include, Alice Cutter, the highly reported runner up in the group’s disturbing ‘Miss Hitler’ competition and Mark Jones, her previous boyfriend, though a condition of their release was that they were not allowed to contact each other. Like Hankinson, Jones was released despite refusing to undertake extra work to back up a number of jail programmes he completed to address his extremist views.

 

However, unlike these little cherubs, Darren Fletcher, (aka Darren Clifft and Christopher Phillips) who was jailed for three years and four months, with an extra 18 months added on for breaching an outstanding order against him was released into the community on strict license conditions (similar to those applied to former members or adherents of Islamic State), Fletcher worked as an HGV driver and continued to brag he was still spreading hatred and that nothing could stop him. He proved as much by attending a hardline anti-immigrant rally in Walsall several months ago where he was letting everyone know that he was back up to his old tricks.

 

Darren Fletcher

 

Thankfully, his antics were being monitored and he was returned to court for breaching a criminal anti-social order and as a consequence is now serving a further four years in prison.

 

Well that about completes this news round-up. If you want to keep up to date, please subscribe, and above all – stay safe

Why the Homeland Party is a fascist party

With the recent split in Patriotic Alternative we have seen the rise in a new political party, the Homeland Party. This rather nauseous group of anti-refugee nationalists pretends to be in support of the democratic parliamentary process. However, a little digging quickly reveals the extent of its fascist pedigree.

Let's take a look at some of its key values:

1. They say they believe the most important unit in society is the traditional family and that society should be geared towards the promotion of traditional values and creating a safe place to raise children.

2. They support the ideal of a monocultural, high trust community (ie anti-immigration) where people help their neighbours.

3. They believe in the principle of a nation-state that truly represents the interests of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish people - so no place for ethnic minorities or multiculturalism

4. They also believe the countryside should be managed and protected by those who best understand the land and have put down roots. A concept that could have easily been taken from Mosley's British Union of Fascists playbook.

5. The Homeland Party also argue that the economy and private industry should be run for the benefit of our people, not multinational corporations or international finance.  As part of this they believe we should become less reliant on foreign imports and more self-sufficient, to maintain a sustainable domestic market of local produce and meaningful work. Quite clearly this is only a very short step away from the notion of the Corporate State as defined by Gentile and in this country by Alexander Raven Thompson.

It is transparently obvious from this analysis that the Homeland Party is nothing more than another fascist party dedicated to the elimination of our hard-earned Liberal democracy.

This is a party that carries traditional racist and antisemitic values close to its heart. David Gardner, a senior activist in the Homeland Party, writing on the Telegram social media site stated:

"If the jew doesnt do it with their holocaust myth to protect them, then no one else really does. If we removed the jewish people in those power positions, there is no route for this evil power to seep in White people”

You don't get much clearer.

Homeland may not be a sizable force but their presence is a clear indicator that fascism has not gone away, it has simply sanitised its propaganda to make it look more attractive.

As always, the price of peace is eternal vigilance. 

Fascist and PA activist Kris ‘Charlie Big Potatoes’ Kearney imprisoned for nearly five years

In the last twenty-four hours, another far-right extremist has been jailed – this time because he thought it appropriate to distribute the manifestos of terrorist groups online.

Kristofer Kearney

Kristofer Thomas Kearney, 38, who is probably better known within the far-right community as “Charlie Big Potatoes” and, until yesterday had an active Telegram account, pleaded guilty in March to two offences of disseminating terrorist publications.

The media are reporting that he is believed to be the first member of far-right group Patriotic Alternative to be convicted of terrorist offences, although it must be mentioned the group are not averse to working alongside those who have, or are later convicted of criminal offences. Last month, James Allchurch — who allegedly suggested a politician’s daughter should be raped was convicted of 10 of 15 counts of distributing material intended to stir up racial hatred via his online radio station, Radio Albion. The material included references to hanging black and Jewish people. Following his conviction PA  offered him their full support and condemned “draconian restrictions on freedom of speech”. Additionally, PA Talk (their nasty ultra-nationalist podcast) previously were happy to broadcast an interview with the far-right extremist and convicted criminal, Blair Cottrell who, among his many ‘achievements’ can boast how he is the former leader of the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

As for Kearney, the offences relate to two Telegram posts that he distributed on January 23 and March 8, all in  2021. These posts disseminated dozens of documents encouraging extreme right-wing terror attacks, including the manifestos of Christchurch mosque killer Brenton Tarrant and Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 people in Norway. Alongside this, he unashamedly distributed two other far-right manifestos related to Texas Walmart mass killer Patrick Crusius and John Earnest, who killed a Jewish woman and injured three others attending a California synagogue in 2019.

The court heard previously that Kearney told fellow Telegram users Adolf Hitler “showed people the way” and “did nothing wrong” as he shared posts encouraging violence against Jews and Muslims. He also shared a “Punish a Muslim Day” letter, in which readers were encouraged to “butcher a Muslim” for 500 points, remove a woman’s headscarf for 25 points and bomb a mosque for 1,000 points, it has been said.

During 2021, Kearney also posted a numbered list and links to 89 extreme right-wing documents.

An image of Kearney with a National Action flag was also shown to the court, which the defendant said was taken at an anti-grooming gang rally in  Darlington. Although he denied membership, he is known to have been an active member of the neo-Nazi group until a week before it was proscribed.

Kearns seen saluting with members of National Action

In his lacklustre defence, the self-described British fascist said that he was “horrified” to have shared videos which encouraged violence and described some of the phrases used on his channel as little more than a “rallying cry” for people to get involved in community groups. Instead, he argued they were not aimed at promoting violence and denied that his intention was to prompt anyone who saw the material he posted to then go on to seriously injure people or damage property – this is despite that on one occasion alone, he called for people to ‘Butcher a Muslim’.

Kearney told the court the point of setting up his channel was to “spread the right-wing and the fascist world view”.

At the Old Bailey, the court heard how material on Kearney’s Telegram profile did, in fact, depict or encourage violence in the battle against “white genocide”. After a rather long and somewhat tedious trial, Judge Richard Marks KC jailed Kearney for four years and eight months with an extended licence period of two years after finding the defendant ‘legally dangerous’. A notification requirement for a period of 10 years was also ordered.

The judge determined at an earlier trial of issue that Kearney shared the posts both recklessly and with the intention of encouraging terrorism, accepting that he may not have familiarised himself with all of the postings but rejecting the claim that he was completely ignorant of any material involving violence. He told Kearney on Friday:

“In this country, we have lived for many years in a multicultural society which most people regard as being enriching … Right-thinking members of any society regard tolerance, kindness, understanding and inclusivity to everyone regardless of their background as being of absolutely fundamental importance … Much of the material that you posted entirely negates those values and is extreme, vile, inflammatory, divisive and deeply offensive … Whilst I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt that your entire agenda and intention was not throughout to encourage acts of terrorism, I conclude from the nature, extent and volume of the material posted that such was your fanaticism in achieving your state of objectives that you were prepared and intended at least in part for that to happen if that is what it took.”

The defendant, who was part of the Army’s parachute regiment for two years, regularly featured on right-wing podcasts called Patriotic Talk and The Absolute State of Britain, and had set up a channel called Fascist Fitness to hand out exercise and fitness tips.

As a result of his incarceration PA now have a vacancy for a new “Head of Fitness” – racists, hooligan and thugs are welcome to send their CV in to Mark Collett, but applicants are advised to use short sentences and single syllable words. Having said this, with the recent splintering of PA and the creation of the new Homeland Party, applicants may wish to consider whether it is worth taking a job with an organisation that will struggle to see out the rest of the year.

Welcome - I am back!!

First, and before I go any further, thanks for visiting my blog – I hope you’ll find it informative and interest you enough to make you want to come back. As I sued to 10 years ago, at the bottom of all my posts, I’ll leave space for you to comment, or ask questions on any of the topics, so feel free to participate in any way you feel appropriate. Most of my posts will be about fascism past and present as well as the far-right in the UK and some of my opinions won’t meet with everyone’s approval, particularly if you are, or have been a supporter of a British far-right, fascist or neo-Nazi group – so be warned. I’m not setting out to offend people, but equally, I think it would be dishonest if I tried to pretend that I have no opinion on the matter. I do (I would describe myself as anti-fascist) and with this in mind, you need to know that discussion and different views will always be welcomed, but any offensive comments directed directly towards me or any contributors will be deleted and repeat offenders will be blocked from making further comments.

Harsh I know, but I want this to be a safe space for moderate and liberal people to speak freely and without fear of being abused.

As for me, I first became “interested” in the far-right as a teenager and watched with interest and concern as groups like the National Front, National Party and British National Party grew and then faded away into near oblivion. It didn’t take very long for me to move from being a student sitting on the side-lines into becoming an activist and one of the early members of the Anti-Nazi League (ANL) in the South-West of England. As the years went by and the clashes between the far-right and ‘anti-fascist became fewer, I returned to being a student (albeit informally) as I was particularly interested in understanding their history and political ideology. In all this I was fired by a single question – ‘How could ultra-nationalist, anti-democratic ‘political soldiers’ attract support after all the misery and horror of the Second World War’?

I never really found an answer.

But what I did notice was that over the years, I heard liberals, left-wingers and ‘anti-fascists’ call their opponents “fascist”, “Nazi”, “far-right”, or “neo-Nazi” without regard for whether these labels were accurate. As I listened, it seemed most of the people were using these terms as abuse rather than with any concern for accurate political labelling. So, Margaret Thatcher became a “Nazi” with no evidence she was antisemitic (yes, that is how it should be spelt!) and Tony Blair was a ‘fascist’ because of his action against Saddam Hussein. Then, as this labelling became more common the power behind the words started to wane, until finally two mates drinking in a pub arguing about their local club football match might end up calling each other ‘fascist’, almost as an amiable (but with no offence meant) slur.

So, I decided to resurrect this blog, but this time I. I wanted to define these terms and see if others were also concerned about how we are watering down our language by using terms like ‘Nazi’. In all of this, I wanted to rediscover:

What is fascism?

What is Nazism?

What is neo-Nazism?

What do we really mean by the ‘far-right?’

With this as a foundation, I began to set about the task and as I did, I realised that it was impossible to discuss these terms without looking into the history of British and European fascism. So, it became clear that another aspect of this blog would be to go on to explore the nature and history of the far right in Britain tracing its roots from about the start of the twentieth century and following through to the present day. As part of this, it became clear to me that it was essential to look at the people behind these groups and how their views made them into some of the most hated people of their time.

I hope you agree it’s an exciting project and I look forward to sharing it with you.