Leaders of the English Defence League have begun a High Court fight for the right to demonstrate in an area of east London which they say is “subject to Sharia law”.
They told a judge at a hearing in London that they objected to police preventing an English Defence League (EDL) march – planned for Saturday – entering Tower Hamlets. Police have told Mr Justice King that they imposed restrictions on the route marchers could take because they feared an outbreak of “serious public disorder”.
Last Thursday night the English Defence League’s Bournemouth Division held a demonstration outside the Havana Winebar in the Charminster district of the Dorset town. They were protesting against an alleged assault on a woman customer that took place during a fracas outside the bar over a month ago, under circumstances that are unclear and which are still under investigation by the police.
Why should this incident be of particular interest to Bournemouth EDL? As they explained on their Facebook page, their overriding concern was that the bar owner is “of Muslim decent”. This soon expanded into the claim that the Havana Winebar is “notorious for abuse towards non Muslim females”, followed by the assertion that “Charminster is becoming a beach head for Muslims in Bournemouth. Only we can stop it”.
Police should stop the English Defence League from marching coachloads of supporters over Tower Bridge this weekend, the leader of Southwark Council has said.
Cllr Peter John said he was working to the wire to persuade senior officers at the Met to restrict the march to the north of the river. “We don’t want the EDL in Southwark, period, full stop,” he said. “What’s the EDL got to offer a diverse borough like ours? Nothing.”
Mass demonstration against EDL this Saturday!
Thousands of people are expected to turn out in Tower Hamlets this Saturday to oppose the racist English Defence League (EDL). The EDL intends to march upon the East London Mosque. Muslim organisations and trade unions have especially increased publicity in the borough this week, calling upon residents to rally against all forms of racism, but especially Islamophobia.
The calls follow an apparent arson attack upon Harlow Islamic Centre in Essex, last Monday, 26 August. There have also been other attacks, in June, a Muswell Hill mosque and community centre was burnt to the ground and ‘EDL’ was found painted on the walls. In July, three mosques in the West Midlands were subjected to bomb attacks shortly before the fascists mobilised several hundred on a Birmingham demo.
A man repeatedly punched an anti-fascist protester in front of children during an EDL march in Hull, a court has heard.
John Claydon, 46, was pictured by the Mail being dragged away by police officers seconds after the attack. He was one of four men who appeared before city magistrates yesterday in connection with trouble at the August 17 march. Claydon, of Dronfield, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
English Defence League demonstrators halted by police at Aldgate in September 2011
BBC News reports on the Metropolitan Police’s plan for the proposed English Defence League demonstration in Tower Hamlets this Saturday:
“The Met said it will allow the march to go ahead but only between 12:00-15:00 BST, and it must only take place on this route: Queen Elizabeth Street, Tower Bridge Road, Tower Bridge Approach, The Minories and then into Aldgate High Street. It must not to go beyond the junction with Mansell Street. The route prevents the EDL from entering the heart of Tower Hamlets, residential areas and religious premises.”
Shaun Tuck, scorer of a decisive goal for Witton Albion on his return to action at the weekend, will not be sacked after spending part of the summer in prison.
The striker left jail in Merseyside a fortnight ago after serving half of a three-month sentence as punishment for writing malicious messages on the Internet in the hours following Drummer Lee Rigby’s murder in London. He has written an apology published today, Monday, and addressed to “everybody at the club”.
“It has always been up to Shaun to demonstrate he is truly sorry for his actions earlier in the summer and the shame this brought on himself, his family and the football club,” said chairman Mark Harris. “Witton Albion are giving him the chance to demonstrate that he has learned a tough lesson in life.”
A planned march through Tower Hamlets by far right group the English Defence League looks set to go ahead this weekend – despite threats of legal action if no ban is enforced.
The borough’s mayor, Lutfur Rahman, was snubbed after requesting a meeting with home secretary Theresa May to call on her to ban the march or face a High Court battle. Sources at the Mayor’s office said a petition against the demonstration has been signed by 10,000 people, as opposition mounted this week.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said a decision on how to police the march will be taken as further intelligence is gathered – and refused to rule out a ban. “We will assess the available intelligence and develop the most proportionate and lawful response,” he said. “Given the dynamic nature of such events, decisions must be taken by the operational commands at the most appropriate time.”
The current issue of Searchlight magazine features an interesting study by Dr Paul Jackson of the “independent historian and writer” Bat Ye’or (Gisele Littman).
As the author of the Muslim-conspiracy “Eurabia” thesis, Littman has served as a major source of ideological inspiration to the “counterjihad” movement, not least to the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik.
You can subscribe to Searchlight here.
The English Defence League have announced their plans for a demonstration in Tower Hamlets next Saturday, 7 September. They propose to end the march with a rally at Altab Ali Park. Quite how they’re going to manage that is unclear, given that the Borough of Tower Hamlets has banned the EDL from using the park, as Mayor Lutfur Rahman made clear in a press release over a week ago.