Category Archives: English Defence League

Dewsbury EDL supporter convicted of racially aggravated threatening behaviour

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A man who had been drinking set fire to a woman’s hair and racially abused a passer-by, a court was told. David Lee Matthews, 23, of Windsor Road, Shaw Cross, Dewsbury, caused a disturbance outside Dewsbury Bus Station.

Matthews approached Charlotte Allison, who he knew, and singed her hair with a cigarette lighter. He then hurled racist abuse at an Asian man nearby, Kirklees magistrates were told. Miss Carole Lawford, prosecuting, told how Matthews approached Ms Allison near Heron Foods in South Street and began abusing her.

He then saw Mohammed Imran nearby and shouted racist abuse at him. He chanted the name of the English Defence League and yelled: “I am racist and proud of it.”

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EDL leader inadvertently starts comedy Twitter hash tag

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An attempt to whip up anti-Islamic sentiment by the leader of the English Defence League has spectacularly backfired on Twitter on Monday.

On Sunday night, EDL leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, tweeted a complaint about a picture of a “mosque” on the Twitter front page (it was actually the Taj Mahal), highlighting the image as another example of #creepingsharia.

However, rather than stoke far-right feeling, the Luton-based activist unintentionally started a comedy twitter trend.

Amid traffic about the start of Anders Breivik’s trial in Oslo, the Twitterati hijacked the tag, with #creepingsharia being blamed for everything from “algebra on the curriculum” to “no ham left in the fridge”.

Huffington Post, 16 April 2012

Update:  See also “How Twitter users turned the tables on the English Defence League”, Comment is Free, 16 April 2012

EDL supporter handed himself in to police over Kingston mosque attack

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kingston mosque attack suspect 2A man wanted by police in connection with a racist attack on Kingston Mosque has handed himself in to police after a Surrey Comet story.

The man surrendered at Kingston police station just days after this newspaper published a front page appeal for more information on the people police wanted to speak to about the mosque attack.

The man, photographed on a mobile phone holding a long stick in East Road, near the mosque, was bailed to return to the police station at a later date while investigations continue.

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Ex-EDL group proclaims white supremacist politics

Posted on by Bob Pitt

nwi oldham banner

The North West Infidels, a breakaway faction from the English Defence League, have proudly announced the adoption of a new banner by their Oldham branch. No doubt they will be hearing shortly from Iron Maiden‘s lawyers.

Note that this group of ex-EDL activists, unlike the leaders of the organisation from which they sprang, have no hesitation in openly declaring their real ideological inspiration.

Far-right anti-Muslim network on rise globally as Breivik trial opens

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Counter Jihad Movement coverThe international network of counter-jihadist groups that inspired Anders Behring Breivik is growing in reach and influence, according to a report released on the eve of the Norwegian’s trial.

Far-right organisations are becoming more cohesive as they forge alliances throughout Europe and the US, says the study, with 190 groups now identified as promoting an Islamophobic agenda.

The report, by anti-racism group Hope Not Hate, states that since the 33-year-old’s killing spree, the counter-jihad movement – a network of foundations, bloggers, political activists and street gangs – has continued to proliferate.

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Brighton: Anti-fascists organise against March for England

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Brighton demonstration against MfE
Demonstration against last year’s March for England

A “patriotic” march planned for Brighton has sparked calls for counter demonstrations. Right-wing group March for England is heading to the city next weekend, angering local anti-fascist organisations.

A new group calling themselves Stop the March for England wants city residents to disrupt the event on Sunday. Brighton Unite Against Fascism, the group that staged counter-demonstrations during previous March For England events, is planning a series of meetings this week to mobilise opposition.

Stop the March for England is calling for supporters to line the route of next Sunday’s march. Lou Kenton of Stop the March for England said: “We are calling for all locals to oppose the march and the racist, fascist ideals it promotes under the guise of patriotism. We want people to harangue and mock the march so that, together, we can drown out their racist message. We want people to line the route and tell the March for England exactly how welcome they are.”

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‘Breivik was cunning’, says EDL leader

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tommy Robinson, leader of the English Defence League, has spoken positively about Anders Behring Breivik’s approach to his twin attacks.

In an interview with Dagbladet he said justifying the attack on Utøya, which some conspiracy theory supporters allege was a place designed to support Fatah, would have been easier to justify if it was directed against Muslims. “Nevertheless, he would only then have been brushed off as the one that killed Muslims because he did not like Islam. Whether you like it or not, that person was quite shrewd. What he did is despicable, but he managed to make people curious.”

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‘Nazi salute’ EDL supporter banned from football matches

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A football hooligan who performed a Nazi salute and unveiled an English Defence League flag has been banned from football matches.

Lincoln City supporter Peter Briggs, 19, was associated with several violent flare-ups at football matches between 2009 and February this year. He appeared at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, April 5, where Lincolnshire Police applied for a civil banning order against him.

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Anti-racists unite to take on EDL threat in Luton

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL placards Luton February 2011
Placards at EDL demonstration in Luton in February 2011

Anti-fascist activists, Muslim groups, trade unionists and local councillors in Luton are banding together to see off the threat from the racist English Defence League (EDL).

The EDL is threatening to march through Luton town centre on Saturday 5 May. They have targeted the town several times in the past, notably in February last year.

But the groups behind the “We Are Luton” statement have vowed to oppose the EDL and mount a march to St George’s Square. That’s the place where the EDL assembled last time, with police help.

“The EDL is a racist group dedicated to promoting hatred and intolerance in society,” the statement reads. “Islamophobia – bigotry against Muslims – is as unacceptable as any other form of racism.”

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Vote for Boris, says English Defence League

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Casuals United Vote for Boris

You may remember that in the 2008 London mayoral election the British National Party called for a second preference vote for Boris Johnson. The EDL’s football hooligan section, Casuals United, has outdone the BNP by advocating a first preference for Johnson in this year’s election. Their call has been endorsed by the EDL Jewish Division.

The “shining beacon of Islam” quote and the reference to promising financial support to Muslims are of course taken from a piece by Andrew Gilligan, which misrepresented a speech given by Ken Livingstone at the North London Central Mosque.

Gilligan’s impact on the London mayoral election this year is far less than in 2008, when his witch-hunt of Ken’s then equalities advisor Lee Jasper produced screaming headlines on Evening Standard billboards across London. These days most of his “journalism” has been relegated to a blog on the Telegraph‘s website. Still, Gilligan must be gratified to know that he still has some influence somewhere, even if it’s among a gang of racist thugs.