A far right gang which allegedly posted racist abuse online, alongside pictures of them posing with guns, have been targeted by police raids.
Officers arrested a 30-year-old man yesterday in a series of raids in Shadsworth and Whitebirk in Blackburn. Two guns have also been seized.
The police operation came after a series of photos were published on Facebook. The investigation also centres on extremely offensive racist postings on the website.
The English Defence League has been branded a “disorganised rabble” after its Walsall protest descended into violence.
Police arrested 28 people as followers of the far-right group charged officers, who used shields and batons to thwart the attackers in Leicester Street.
Organisers of a rival protest set up outside the town’s New Art Gallery to highlight the borough’s proud multi-cultural heritage have attacked the EDL for failing to control its supporters.
The Scottish Defence League (SDL) held a static protest outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, while Unite Against Fascism organised its own counter-protest. Police said that around 60 people attended the SDL event, which lasted for around 45 minutes. The majority arrived by coach.
Meanwhile Unite Against Fascism said its march from the City Chambers on the Royal Mile to the Parliament attracted over 300 people. Police put the figure at around 250.
Police clashed with members of the English Defence League during protests in Walsall town centre today.
During speeches given by leaders of the EDL, the crowd surged towards police lines on Leicester Street. Officers with riot gear used batons and shields to hold back the demonstrators. Scores of missiles – including bricks, bottles and litter bins – were hurled at police.
At 3pm officers cleared Lichfield Street with a shields charge as members of the EDL were herded on to buses to transport them away from the town centre.
West Midlands Police said they have no power to ban a static protest and the right to protest peacefully was a sign of a healthy democracy.
A 21-year-old Rochdale man and a 16-year-old youth from Stockport have been locked up by a judge for their part in disturbances involving English Defence League supporters at the Eureka Museum in Halifax.
To accompany their coverage of the English Defence League’s harrassment of worshippers at Margate mosque, the Isle of Thanet Gazette reports on a recent EDL meeting in the Kent seaside town.
Police were called to keep the peace after English Defence League (EDL) demonstrators targeted Muslim worshippers outside Margate mosque.
Two men handed out anti-Islamic propaganda before Friday prayers last week, angering some members of the congregation who then reported the incident to police.
The English Defence League’s leader Stephen Lennon (“Tommy Robinson”) was due to speak at a meeting in London’s Conway Hall next week on the subject “Islam and Islamophobia: which is a threat to Britain?” Unfortunately for “Tommy”, he has been deprived of the opportunity to promote his hate-filled views about Muslims because the Conway Hall management cancelled the booking after complaints by Unite Against Fascism, Searchlight and other concerned parties.
An anti-fascist protest group is due to hold a public meeting ahead of a proposed march by the English Defence League (EDL) in Walthamstow.
We Are Waltham Forest (WAWF) will discuss plans to oppose the march planned for October 27 after 3,000 people successfully diverted a previous EDL march of up to 300 people earlier this month.
