Category Archives: Far right racists

EDL man’s home ‘targeted by shotgun-wielding attacker’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL at 9-11 protestThus the headline to a report in the Metro of an alleged attack on the house of Kevin Carroll, joint leader of the gang of racist hooligans known as the English Defence League.

You might have thought that the paper would have shown a bit more scepticism about the allegation, given that the only witness to the “shotgun-wielding attacker” was Carroll himself and that his account has been exploited by the EDL in order to whip up outrage among its sympathisers and mobilise support for its planned anti-Muslim protest in Luton on 5 February.

Yet the Metro happily gives credence to the claim by EDL members that the supposed attack “may have been an attempt to disrupt the Luton demonstration” and quotes EDL co-leader Stephen Lennon as declaring: “They won’t stop us, we will continue. We will defend ourselves. Luton demo would still go ahead… even if one of us was killed! As always, no surrender, not now not ever.”

See Nick Lowles’ comments at Hope not Hate.

Church leader condemns far-right opposition to Shotton Islam centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A church leader has criticised the British National Party’s leafleting campaign against the proposed Shotton Islamic centre.

St Ethelwold’s Church was pictured in the leaflet co-ordinated by BNP community councillor John Walker without authorisation. And vicar Rev Steven Green wants to make it clear the church does not support the far-right organisation’s opposition to the controversial plans.

Within the leaflet Cllr Walker said: “With declining church attendances and the local clergy falling over themselves to welcome other religions into the area, what future does Christianity have in Deeside?”

Mr Green said: “I would suggest the author of this letter should be better informed, as all the churches on Deeside work well together and are involved in many projects such as Fairtrade, community development and many other initiatives.

“The Christian communities are faithful and confident in their own faith, but that faith reflecting the love of Jesus seeks to welcome and offer hospitality. Church life on Deeside is in good heart, supported by loyal, faithful and generous Christians who stand for peace and tolerance on our streets and respect for all people of peace and goodwill.”

Mr Green also criticised the English Defence League’s town centre protest on Saturday. “I find it difficult to believe such a demonstration has anything to do with the people of Deeside,” he said. “Deeside people are warm, generous and tolerant people who have witnessed and adapted to many changes over the last 30 years.”

Flintshire Chronicle, 27 January 2011

Sweden Democrats leader says terrorism is ‘a form of Islamic tactic’ and calls for fight against ‘Islamism as a political ideology’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jimmie Akesson2Sweden’s far-right leader on Wednesday called for a fight against Islamic extremism at a parliamentary debate in connection with the December suicide attack in Stockholm.

“Terrorism is not an isolated threat. It is a form of Islamic tactic and it is Islamism as a political ideology that needs to be fought and mapped out,” Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson said.

Åkesson, whose anti-immigration party burst onto the Swedishpolitical scene after the September election, acknowledged that only an extremely small portion of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims committed terrorist acts, but said many more “sympathise with Islamism.”

Åkesson, whose Sweden Democrats’ requested Wednesday’s parliamentary debate following the country’s first-ever suicide attack, insisted an important debate had been stifled in Sweden by “a fear of being branded Islamophobic.”

Green Party parliamentarian Maria Ferm blasted Åkesson for “trying to connect the typical picture of a terrorist to the Muslim man,” insisting that only 0.34 percent of all terror attacks in Europe are committed by Islamic extremists. Most attacks, she said, were carried out by rightwing and leftwing extremists.

Swedish Wire, 26 January 2011

Two people sought by police over Portsmouth Jami Mosque protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Portsmouth mosque protestorsCCTV images have been released of two people sought by police over disorder outside a Portsmouth mosque.

A protest was held at the Jami Mosque on 13 November in response to the burning of poppies by Muslims Against Crusades in London on Armistice Day.

Hampshire Constabulary released pictures of a man and woman they wish to speak to in connection with allegations of bottles being thrown.

One man has already been charged with affray and assaulting a police officer.

BBC News, 26 January 2011

Men avoid Qur’an-burning charges

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Gateshead Quran burning

Seven men accused of burning a Koran in a Gateshead pub car park and posting the video online will not be prosecuted.

Wendy Williams of the Crown Prosecution Service said the majority of people would find the inflammatory incident “repugnant”. But she added there is not enough evidence to create a realistic chance the men would be convicted of any offence. Mrs Williams said: “If any further evidence comes to light and is sent to us, we will look at it.”

Police arrested seven men on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after a video recording was posted on YouTube last September. It showed a group of young men in hooded tops or wearing scarves over their faces pouring petrol on a book and setting it alight. They cheered as the book bursts into flames during the incident.

Those involved later told police they did not intend to offend anyone and very few people saw what happened at the time.

The men may have been copying Terry Jones who threatened to burn the holy book on September 11. The Florida-based Pastor sparked an international outcry but did not go ahead with the provocative plan.

Prosecutors said police could not identify who recorded the video and posted it online and there was not enough evidence those involved were threatening anyone. They added that the men could not be charged with a religiously aggravated public order offence because they could not prove anyone was there who was distressed.

Press Association, 26 January 2011

Temecula City Council unanimously approves plan for new mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

At the end of what city officials referred to as the longest meeting in city history, the City Council early Wednesday morning voted 4-0 to deny an appeal of the Planning Commission’s Dec. 1 approval of the Temecula mosque plans. The 3:34 a.m. vote means the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley can move forward with the first phase of its mosque project absent any legal challenge.

Before casting his vote, Councilman Jeff Comerchero said he received an e-mail recently from someone who asked him what he would tell his children and grandchildren if he voted to deny the appeal. “I’ll tell them I was proud to sit up here and uphold the Constitution,” he said, garnering applause from the folks who made it to the end of the eight-plus-hour hearing.

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North Wales Police out in force for tiny EDL protest against Shotton Islamic centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Shotton EDL protestAbout 100 members of far-right group the English Defence League descended on Shotton to protest against plans for a new Islamic cultural centre in the town.

Dozens of North Wales Police officers were out in force on Saturday (January 22) to ensure the protest passed peacefully.

EDL campaigners marched through the town centre to the site of the former Shotton Lane Social Club, where the proposed centre would be built if the Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society successfully raises the £150,000 needed to buy the venue.

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EDL racists fined over anti-Muslim abuse

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Three English Defence League supporters have been ordered to pay more than £350 each after being found guilty of subjecting rail passengers to serious racist abuse. Tracey Hurley (33), Stuart Parr (28) and a 17-year old youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Wigan Magistrates’ Court on 20 January for trial.

The court heard that, on Friday 25 June last year, the trio had attended an EDL march in Bradford and had been on their way home when they travelled from Manchester Victoria to Wigan on a Northern Rail service. During the journey they became abusive and intimidating, subjecting several passengers to a torrent of racist abuse.

The abuse began when the three sang songs relating to the EDL and Taliban. At Salford Crescent an Asian man boarded the train and was immediately targeted by the group who shouted derogatory remarks about Allah to the man.

PC Tony McGibbon, of British Transport Police, said: “The abuse continued for some time and was directed at anyone on board the train who the three perceived to be anything other than white British. The behaviour of the three was offensive in the extreme, completely unacceptable and made everyone on the train feel incredibly uncomfortable.”

Hurley, of Kingsley Avenue, Goose Green, was fined £150, ordered to pay £200 costs and a £15 victim surcharge after being found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence. Parr, of Golborne Place, Scholes, was fined £150, ordered to pay £200 costs and a £15 victim surcharge after being found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence. The youth, from Ashton-in-Makerfield, was fined £150, ordered to pay £200 costs and a £15 victim surcharge after being found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence.

British Transport Police media release, 21 January 2011

US pastor Terry Jones banned from entering UK

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Terry Jones

Controversial US pastor Terry Jones has been barred from entering the UK for the public good, the Home Office says. The pastor, who last year planned a Koran-burning protest in the US, had been invited to address right-wing group England Is Ours in Milton Keynes. Mr Jones told BBC Radio 5 live he would challenge the “unfair” decision and his visit could have been “beneficial”.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Numerous comments made by Pastor Jones are evidence of his unacceptable behaviour. Coming to the UK is a privilege not a right and we are not willing to allow entry to those whose presence is not conducive to the public good. The use of exclusion powers is very serious and no decision is taken lightly or as a method of stopping open debate.”

Mr Jones said he had not been planning to break any laws while in England. “I’m not against Muslims, we are not against their religion,” he said. “We have, here in the West, freedom of religion and limited freedom of speech which we don’t have in their countries. What I am against is the radical element. If I came to England we would expect Muslims to rally with us.”

BBC News, 20 January 2011

Barry Taylor, the spokesperson for England Is Ours quoted in the report, is presumably the Barry Taylor who was formerly a member of Milton Keynes BNP and stood for the far-right England First Party in the Milton Keynes Council elections in 2008. That same year Taylor was responsible for organising the annual John Tyndall Memorial Meeting, where a “gathering of white racial nationalists” celebrated the life of the late founder of the BNP. In 2009 Three Counties Unity named Taylor as part of a group of individuals who “straddle a variety of nationalist groupings, having dealings with the BNP, Nationalist Alliance, British People’s Party (BPP) and lately, the England First Party”. It was leaked documentswritten by Taylor which revealed links between Luton BNP and the football hooligans known as the MIGs some of whose members played a central role in launching the English Defence League. England Is Ours are currently involved in a campaign against the contruction of a new mosque in Bletchley which is headed by Milton Keynes BNP organiser and former NF supporter Kieren Trent. However, despite his readiness to work with fascists of all stripes, Taylor is not universally admired on the far right.

Birmingham is not a post-apocalyptic Islamic ghetto

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Writing in the Telegraph Andrew Knowles takes issue with an article by an anonymous vicar’s wife that appears in the current issue of Standpoint magazine, and was seized on by Torygraph blogger Ed West to bolster the myth of Muslim ghettos.

See also ENGAGE, 19 January 2011

Update:  Ed West will be pleased to hear that his piece has been reproduced by the English Defence League.