Far-right activist Tommy Robinson has been found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of harassing two Daily Mail journalists, causing them to fear violence. The jury deliberated for 11 hours and 25 minutes.

Robinson, 43, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and who gave his name to the court as Stephen Lennon, was convicted on both counts by a majority of 10 to 2. He had denied the charges. He was granted bail and will be sentenced on 16 December.

The verdicts follow our report yesterday that the jury had retired to consider its verdicts.

The victims were freelance reporter Andrew Young and Daily Mail editor Jacob Dirnhuber. Robinson was charged with two counts of harassment causing fear of violence and pleaded not guilty in July 2025.

The case arose from the disorder of August 2024 that followed the Southport murders. MailOnline published a story claiming Robinson was stoking the riots “from his sunbed” while on holiday in Cyprus. Robinson responded by attacking Young and Dirnhuber on X.

Prosecutor Ben Holt told the court Robinson hired private investigators to find the journalists’ home addresses, and those of Daily Mail editor-in-chief Ted Verity. He posted a photograph of Dirnhuber outside his home and cropped images of Young’s family members on X. Holt described him as a “bully”.

The jury heard that in a phone call on 5 August 2024, Robinson told Young: “I’m coming to get you.” He messaged Dirnhuber that he would be knocking at his door, and left Verity a voicemail saying he had located everyone at the paper.

The harassment had a lasting impact. The Daily Mail provided Young with a close protection officer. Dirnhuber moved house, and Daily Mail correspondent George Odling also left his family home.

Giving evidence, Robinson said he wanted to put “pressure” on the journalists. He denied that hiring private investigators was meant to intimidate them, and claimed the Daily Mail had put his own family in danger by publishing its story. The jury rejected his account.

Harassment causing fear of violence carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. Robinson was granted bail and will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 16 December.

The conduct proven in court, tracking down home addresses, posting images of family members, and telling a journalist “I’m coming to get you” shows how online campaigns can spill into real-world intimidation. The case grew out of the August 2024 disorder, during which mosques, Muslim-owned businesses and asylum accommodation were targeted.

A Tell MAMA spokesperson said: “Journalists must be free to report without being hunted down at their homes or seeing their families’ images used to intimidate them. Today’s verdict sends a clear message that threats and harassment, whether delivered online or by phone, have real consequences.

“The summer of 2024 showed how quickly online agitation can turn into violence on our streets, and Muslim communities felt that fear directly as mosques and homes were targeted. We thank the journalists for giving evidence and the jury for its careful work, and we will continue to support anyone who is targeted by hate, intimidation or abuse.”

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The jury convicted him by a majority of 10 to 2 on both charges (harassment causing fear of violence), having deliberated at Southwark Crown Court for 11 hours and twenty-five minutes.

Mr Justice Cavanagh will consider all options when Yaxley-Lennon returns for sentencing on 16 December, including a custodial sentence – be it in prison or suspended. Harassment causing fear of violence can carry a maximum custodial sentence of ten years in prison.

Yaxley-Lennon’s posts about Jacob Dirnhuber and Andrew Young gained millions of views on X (formerly Twitter) after the newspaper’s high-profile coverage in print and online included the headline “stoking riots from his sunbed”  following the far-right violence and rioting after the horrific murders and stabbings in Southport in August 2024.

One of the journalists who worked on identifying Yaxley-Lennon in Cyprus, Andrew Young, had described in court an “increasingly menacing” tone in their phone call, which the prosecution had argued sat within a wider pattern of “intimidatory tactics”. And that “Mr Young believes Mr Lennon said, ‘I’m coming to get you’.” Further describing publishing photographs and the address of his family.

Yaxley-Lennon had contacted Dirnhuber again over direct message on X, stating, “Okay got your address. We need to talk,” having made a public post on 5 August 2024. A day later, Yaxley-Lennon claimed, “Don’t worry I’ve already tracked each one of them”, in a post that gained over three million views on X and remained online throughout the trial. Hours later, he went further, sharing a photo of one of the journalists and then family members outside of their home.

A witness statement from Dirnhuber made clear: “I was concerned about the risk of being intercepted on my way to work, either by Robinson for a livestreamed interview or by an unpredictable supporter of his hoping to cause me or my partner physical harm.”

A third Daily Mail journalist, George Odling, detailed in his witness statement that he, his wife, and young child left their home, fearing that supporters of Yaxley-Lennon would follow them.

By 7 August 2024, Yaxley-Lennon had left a voicemail to the Daily Mail’s editor-in-chief, Ted Verity, informing him that he would “make you famous and your families”, as Verity passed to the police a voicemail that also included the claim: “I’ve already located every f****** one of you.”

During the trial, jurors heard that the newspaper had hired a close protection officer for  Young, as Dirnhuber moved house, fearing a vigilante-style attack.

Yaxley-Lennon had failed to convince the jury that the Daily Mail and MailOnline coverage had “endangered his family”.

Frank Ferguson, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, in a statement published following the verdict: “Stephen Lennon weaponised social media and subjected two journalists to a campaign of harassment which caused them serious fear of violence.

“The evidence in this case showed that he targeted the victims directly and indirectly through social media and by telephone. He also published images relating not only to them, but also their families.

“The jury heard from the victims and witnesses in this case, ultimately deciding that this behaviour crossed the line into criminality.

“Nobody should be made to fear violence because of the work they do. Journalists play an important role in a democratic society and should be able to carry out their professional duties without being subjected to harassment.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police detailed the timeline of the case, as a spokesperson said: “There are legitimate and established routes that can be pursued by people who have concerns or complaints about their treatment by the media.

“In this case, Lennon chose not to follow any of these and, instead, issued various threatening online posts in the knowledge that they would almost certainly lead to his followers to target and intimidate those journalists, which is exactly what happened. This left them fearing for their own safety and that of their families – so much so that they felt compelled to take significant safety precautions including leaving their homes and hiring private security personnel.

“This kind of intimidatory behaviour is not acceptable, and anyone behaving in such a way to intimidate, harass and threaten others either online or in the real world can expect to be investigated and brought before the courts as was the case here.”

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Tommy Robinson could face jail after a judge warned he would consider “all options” following the far-right activist’s conviction for harassing two journalists and causing them to fear violence.

The 43-year-old, who told his trial his full name is Stephen Lennon, was labelled a “bully” by prosecutors after freelance reporter Andrew Young and Daily Mail editor Jacob Dirnhuber felt forced to either leave their homes or employ extra security for fear of a “vigilante” attack.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court took 11 hours and 25 minutes to find Robinson guilty by a majority of 10 jurors to two of both charges of harassment causing fear of violence.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Robinson’s trial heard how the anti-migrant activist “retaliated” after the Daily Mail and its sister publication the MailOnline published a story about him “stoking riots from his sunbed” during unrest in the UK in August 2024 following the murders of three girls in Southport.

Robinson made a series of posts on social media about the unfolding situation while on holiday in Cyprus, prompting the newspaper to send Mr Young and a photographer to the island.

After the MailOnline published its story about him, Robinson posted criticisms on his X account of Mr Young and Mr Dirnhuber because of their involvement in the article.

Robinson went on to hire private investigators to find the home addresses of his victims, as well as the editor-in-chief of the Daily Mail Ted Verity.

The jury panel accepted the prosecution’s case that the decision to hire detectives was designed to “intimidate” his victims, with photographs of Mr Dirnhuber outside his home and cropped images of Mr Young’s family posted online by Robinson.

As well as social media posts and direct messages to Mr Dirnhuber, the defendant also became “increasingly menacing” on a telephone call with Mr Young on August 5, 2024 – telling the freelance journalist: “I’m coming to get you.”

Jurors rejected claims from the activist that the Daily Mail had put his family in danger by publishing the story, with the defendant weeping in the witness box on Thursday as he spoke about the relationship he had with his children.

Prosecutor Ben Holt previously told the court Mr Young was given a close protection officer by the Daily Mail after photographs of his wife and children were posted on Robinson’s X account.

Mr Dirnhuber had to move house because of the harassment and Daily Mail correspondent George Odling also felt the need to leave his family home after becoming concerned with the publicity surrounding his colleagues.

Mr Verity also provided evidence to police of a voicemail he received from Robinson, who told him: “I’ve already located every f****** one of you.”

The activist posted on X before the trial began to thank Tesla owner Elon Musk for funding his legal fees.

Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s special crime and counter-terrorism division, said Robinson had “weaponised social media” in his campaign of harassment.

He said: “The evidence in this case showed that he targeted the victims directly and indirectly through social media and by telephone. He also published images relating not only to them, but also their families.

“The jury heard from the victims and witnesses in this case, ultimately deciding that this behaviour crossed the line into criminality.

“Nobody should be made to fear violence because of the work they do.

“Journalists play an important role in a democratic society and should be able to carry out their professional duties without being subjected to harassment.”

Robinson could face jail after a judge warned he would consider “all options” following the far-right activist’s conviction for harassing two journalists and causing them to fear violence.

The 43-year-old, who told his trial his full name is Stephen Lennon, was labelled a “bully” by prosecutors after freelance reporter Andrew Young and Daily Mail editor Jacob Dirnhuber felt forced to either leave their homes or employ extra security for fear of a “vigilante” attack.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court took 11 hours and 25 minutes to find Robinson guilty by a majority of 10 jurors to two of both charges of harassment causing fear of violence.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Robinson’s trial heard how the anti-migrant activist “retaliated” after the Daily Mail and its sister publication the MailOnline published a story about him “stoking riots from his sunbed” during unrest in the UK in August 2024 following the murders of three girls in Southport.

Robinson made a series of posts on social media about the unfolding situation while on holiday in Cyprus, prompting the newspaper to send Mr Young and a photographer to the island.

After the MailOnline published its story about him, Robinson posted criticisms on his X account of Mr Young and Mr Dirnhuber because of their involvement in the article.

Robinson went on to hire private investigators to find the home addresses of his victims, as well as the editor-in-chief of the Daily Mail Ted Verity.

The jury panel accepted the prosecution’s case that the decision to hire detectives was designed to “intimidate” his victims, with photographs of Mr Dirnhuber outside his home and cropped images of Mr Young’s family posted online by Robinson.

As well as social media posts and direct messages to Mr Dirnhuber, the defendant also became “increasingly menacing” on a telephone call with Mr Young on August 5, 2024 – telling the freelance journalist: “I’m coming to get you.”

Jurors rejected claims from the activist that the Daily Mail had put his family in danger by publishing the story, with the defendant weeping in the witness box on Thursday as he spoke about the relationship he had with his children.

Prosecutor Ben Holt previously told the court Mr Young was given a close protection officer by the Daily Mail after photographs of his wife and children were posted on Robinson’s X account.

Mr Dirnhuber had to move house because of the harassment and Daily Mail correspondent George Odling also felt the need to leave his family home after becoming concerned with the publicity surrounding his colleagues.

Mr Verity also provided evidence to police of a voicemail he received from Robinson, who told him: “I’ve already located every f****** one of you.”

The activist posted on X before the trial began to thank Tesla owner Elon Musk for funding his legal fees.

Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s special crime and counter-terrorism division, said Robinson had “weaponised social media” in his campaign of harassment.

He said: “The evidence in this case showed that he targeted the victims directly and indirectly through social media and by telephone. He also published images relating not only to them, but also their families.

“The jury heard from the victims and witnesses in this case, ultimately deciding that this behaviour crossed the line into criminality.

“Nobody should be made to fear violence because of the work they do.

“Journalists play an important role in a democratic society and should be able to carry out their professional duties without being subjected to harassment.”

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The 43-year-old, who told his trial his full name is Stephen Lennon, was labelled a “bully” by prosecutors after freelance reporter Andrew Young and Daily Mail editor Jacob Dirnhuber felt forced to either leave their homes or employ extra security for fear of a “vigilante” attack.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court took 11 hours and 25 minutes to find Robinson guilty by a majority of 10 jurors to two of both charges of harassment causing fear of violence.

His trial heard how the anti-migrant activist “retaliated” after the Daily Mail and its sister publication the MailOnline published a story about him “stoking riots from his sunbed” during unrest in the UK in August 2024 following the murders of three girls in Southport.

Robinson made a series of posts on social media about the unfolding situation while on holiday in Cyprus, prompting the newspaper to send Mr Young and a photographer to the island.

After the MailOnline published its story about him, Robinson posted criticisms on his X account of Mr Young and Mr Dirnhuber because of their involvement in the article.

Robinson went on to hire private investigators to find the home addresses of his victims, as well as the editor-in-chief of the Daily Mail Ted Verity.

The jury panel accepted the prosecution’s case that the decision to hire detectives was designed to “intimidate” his victims, with photographs of Mr Dirnhuber outside his home and cropped images of Mr Young’s family posted online by Robinson.

As well as social media posts and direct messages to Mr Dirnhuber, the defendant also became “increasingly menacing” on a telephone call with Mr Young on August 5, 2024 – telling the freelance journalist: “I’m coming to get you.”

Jurors rejected claims from the activist that the Daily Mail had put his family in danger by publishing the story, with the defendant weeping in the witness box on Thursday as he spoke about the relationship he had with his children.

Prosecutor Ben Holt previously told the court Mr Young was given a close protection officer by the Daily Mail after photographs of his wife and children were posted on Robinson’s X account.

Mr Dirnhuber had to move house because of the harassment and Daily Mail correspondent George Odling also felt the need to leave his family home after becoming concerned with the publicity surrounding his colleagues.

Mr Verity also provided evidence to police of a voicemail he received from Robinson, who told him: “I’ve already located every f****** one of you.”

The activist posted on X before the trial began to thank Tesla owner Elon Musk for funding his legal fees.

He was granted bail ahead of his sentencing on December 16.

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The 43-year-old, who gave his full name to Southwark Crown Court as Stephen Lennon, is alleged to have harassed freelance journalist Andrew Young and Daily Mail editor Jacob Dirnhuber in August 2024.

Robinson is alleged to have acted as a “bully” by hiring private investigators to find the addresses of the complainants, before posting pictures of Mr Dirnhuber outside his home and cropped images of Mr Young’s family members on his X account.

Prosecutor Ben Holt previously told the court the defendant “threatened” the journalists after what he perceived to be “an unnecessary intrusion into his holiday”.

He is accused of telling Mr Young “I’m coming to get you” during a phone call on August 5 2024, and sending a direct message to Mr Dirnhuber saying: “I’ll be knocking at your door.”

Jurors heard Mr Young was provided with a close protection officer by the Daily Mail, while Mr Dirnhuber had to move house because of the alleged harassment.

Speaking from the witness box during his trial, Robinson said he wanted to put “pressure” on the journalists but denied that hiring the detectives was designed to “intimidate” them.

Robinson, who founded the English Defence League, entered not guilty pleas in July last year to two charges of harassment causing fear of violence.

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An associate of right-wing activist Tommy Robinson has appeared to claim credit for demonstrations which saw hundreds of masked protesters cause traffic chaos in Dover.

Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo, shared footage from the anti-illegal migrant protest in a post on social media, saying: “This is our warning.”

The protests saw hundreds of demonstrators dressed all in black and with balaclavas block road access to the Kent port on Saturday morning.

A group was seen marching through the town and chanting “Whose streets? Our streets” and “Stop the boats” as dozens of police officers followed.

Campaign group Hope Not Hate linked the action to the Patriot Platform, which Tommo recently launched.

Sharing a video of protesters marching on Instagram, Tommo wrote: “It’s time! Protect our country! And more importantly our women and children! This is our warning!”

Another video shared by Tommo showed the words “blood is on your hands” spray-painted on the ground outside Western Jet Foil, a short-term holding facility for migrants arriving into the UK on small boats.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, weighed in on the protests himself on social media, suggesting they were part of a co-ordinated plan.

He wrote on X: “Simultaneously at different locations across Dover patriots have mobilised to close down the port.”

Tommo and Robinson have frequently appeared together at political rallies and events, with Tommo described by some media outlets and Hope Not Hate as Robinson’s “right-hand-man”.

Tommo attended Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally in May, lauding it as an “incredible” achievement in a video on social media.

Hope Not Hate said the demonstrations show a growing trend of “anti-migrant vigilantism coming to a head in the public eye”.

The group wrote: “Today, we could see Patriot Platform for what it is: a far-right network of men happy to intimidate and inconvenience an entire town for what was effectively a publicity stunt.”

Tommo has described the Patriot Platform as “the resistance standing against the downfall of the United Kingdom”, with contingents across the country.

Saturday’s demonstrations brought traffic on roads leading to UK’s busiest international ferry and passenger port to a halt, delaying some ferry services and blocking major roads.

A Government spokesperson said it condemned protesters’ behaviour “and the travel disruption it has caused”.

Kent Police said no arrests were made during the “spontaneous protest”, adding demonstrators had dispersed by midday.

Read More: Neo-Nazi Alex Davies Guilty of Belonging to Banned Terror Group National Action.

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Rowan Williams, who was the Church of England’s leading bishop for 10 years until 2012, also said he would like to ask “some awkward questions” of activist Tommy Robinson, who declares himself a Christian. In an interview for the New Humanist magazine, Mr Williams acknowledged there is an “inevitable scepticism these days about some claims to religious conviction”.

The former archbishop said: “I suspect really that (Nigel) Farage and others want to channel anti-Muslim feeling, and it helps to have ‘we’re a Christian society’ to fling back. It gives a sort of ballast.”

At Easter, Reform UK leader Mr Farage made a post online stating: “The Christian values on which our country is built are something to be proud of.” He had, in 2024, prompted criticism after suggesting there were “a growing number of young people in this country who do not subscribe to British values, in fact loathe much of what we stand for”, confirming when asked that he was referring to Muslims.

Earlier this year, Mr Farage criticised an Iftar in Trafalgar Square, saying the religious fast-breaking event in London was an “attempt to overtake, intimidate and dominate our way of life”.

In the magazine interview, published this week, Mr Williams was asked what he thought was driving Christian nationalism in the UK. He said: “There are lots of possible causes. Anxiety about migration; anti-Islamism.

“In France that anxiety has a secular aspect, but the St George’s Cross still means something in the English imagination, which still has a Christian aspect.

“The second thing is the globalising of all political discourse. The message given at international Christian conservative gatherings is that self-respecting nationalist movements need a bit of theology injected into them.

“Ironically, for someone like Nigel Farage, it’s about trying to find a presentational strategy that allows him to be taken seriously outside England. He’s often not here, after all.”

Last year, Reform UK announced the appointment of theologian James Orr – an academic who has influenced Donald Trump’s US administration – as a senior adviser to Mr Farage.

Mr Williams: “Although Nigel Farage thought it was worth getting a theologian on board for Reform UK, I don’t think he lies awake at night thinking about his soul.

“I may be doing the man an injustice, but I don’t believe he cares about profound theological questions.”

Reform UK has been contacted in relation to the comments.

Mr Williams also suggested that while he would be “very glad” if “Tommy Robinson is doing his best to lead a life of Christian discipleship”, he would want to pose “some awkward questions” to him. He said: “I would ask him how attempting to lead a life of Christian discipleship squares with public rhetoric designed to produce hostility and violence.”

Mr Robinson has spoken about doing Bible studies while in jail and has said he is now a Christian, having grown up Catholic but not practised.

In December he led a carol concert to “put the Christ back into Christmas” and his Unite the Kingdom march in London earlier this year saw some participants carry wooden crosses and chant “Christ is king”.

Read More: How misinformation and disinformation about the Southport stabbings went viral.

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Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, shared a video of an anti-immigration protest which took place in the city on Sunday.

It showed 43-year-old Quroum Beg being shouted at by protesters in the Gorbals area and being led away from a playpark by police.

Mr Robinson wrote on X: “Another invader hanging around a park filming children. Glasgow again too!”

Mr Beg, 43, had challenged the protesters and filmed his own video of the incident after taking his children away from the park.

He told the protesters: “I’m not afraid of you, keep on walking.”

Following Mr Robinson’s post, Mr Beg said he had been left “fearing for his life”.

However Mr Robinson, who has two million followers on X, made a further post on Tuesday saying he wished to correct the record.

It said: “In this instance I got it wrong, as did many others, so for that I apologise and I have deleted that post.

“However… That does not negate all the other many instances of freshie migrants taking over parks and filming children. It happens, It happens a lot.

“One incorrect example does not mean this issue should be ignored, in fact it should chased down relentlessly.

“People may need to be a little more careful about how they approach these situations from a factual point of view but we should never apologise for protecting children.”

Mr Beg had earlier told STV News he had been concerned for himself and his children at the protest.

He said: “I told them ‘we see you, we all see who you are and what you are doing’.

“They came to our doorstep, and I felt that I had to take a stand because I saw all my neighbours being fearful and leaving the park.

“I’m the fourth generation in this country, my children will be the fifth generation here.

“If I don’t make a stand, then who else is going to do that?”

Following Mr Robinson’s apology, Mr Beg said he is seeking legal advice.

He told STV: “I’ve been alerted that he’s apologised to his followers.

“Has he apologised to me? And the harm this caused to my reputation and my family?

“Being falsely accused of something like this, and the abuse that followed, has been deeply distressing.

“I am taking legal advice and considering my options.”

Read more: Syrian teenager suing Tommy Robinson ‘seeking at least £150,000 damages’

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The debating society sparked controversy when it announced it would be hosting a debate entitled The West Is Right To Be Suspicious Of Islam, featuring Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – alongside former actor Laurence Fox.

Protesters took to New Inn Hall Street and Cornmarket Street on Wednesday night, occupying either side of St Michael Street where the event is taking place.

Chanting slogans such as “Oxford Union, shame, shame”, they far outnumber the handful of counter-protesters, carrying Union flags, who gathered on Cornmarket Street in support of Robinson.

The two groups were separated by a police cordon, and numerous officers were present across the area to monitor the protest.

A minor incident took place on Cornmarket Street in which protesters booed police officers, and a couple of demonstrators appeared to throw water at them.

Oxford City Council previously said St Michael Street would be closed while the event is ongoing.

“St Michael’s Street will be closed to vehicles and pedestrians between 4pm and 11pm on Wednesday June 17 due to an event at the Oxford Union,” the council said.

“A small number of bus routes will operate slight diversions, but no bus stops are affected.

“No other road closures are planned.”

Shops and some pubs in the area have also reportedly closed early because of the event and protests.

Thames Valley Police said in a statement on Wednesday night: “We work closely with a range of partners through well-established, safety advisory structures to ensure events take place safely and smoothly, while minimising disruption to our communities.

“We support freedom of speech and are working with the Oxford Union and other local stakeholders to facilitate this event and any associated peaceful protest.”

Participants in the debate who will oppose Robinson include former Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg and activist Abdullah al Andalusi.

Rees-Mogg released a YouTube video on Wednesday afternoon explaining why he believes the union is “right” to host Robinson for a debate.

He said: “I think the best way to answer him is to debate with him. You see, if I just ignore him he won’t go away, he won’t lose his following and people will just say people like me are scared.”

He added that the Oxford Union would be a “pointless society” without free speech and that it “exists to argue”.

It was reported last month that the debate had been delayed after significant outcry about Yaxley-Lennon’s attendance.

The most significant opposition came from faith leaders including the Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, and founder of the Oxford Foundation, Imam Monawar Hussain, who said they were “disturbed and saddened” when he was invited to speak.

Ian McKendrick, vice chairman of Oxford Stand Up To Racism, has previously accused Yaxley-Lennon of inciting “violent race riots” in Southampton, Belfast and Glasgow over the past weeks.

Read More; Belfast Attack & Unrest is Having an Impact on Anti-Muslim Hate in England

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Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has long been a supporter of Mr Robinson, with both men calling for people to take to the streets in response to the knife attack in Belfast.

Mr Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, shared a list of places where protests were said to be taking place at 7pm on Tuesday following the Belfast attack, saying: “The whole of the United Kingdom is hitting the streets tonight at 7pm following yet another invader attack on our people. ”

Mr Robinson posted a video of himself and Errol Musk, apparently filmed in a Moscow hotel, on Monday in which he says: “We are going to go and cause some trouble.”

Errol Musk reportedly attended the annual Kremlin-backed economic forum last week.

Asked by the Guardian why he had travelled to Moscow, Mr Robinson said: “I’ve come to see how this country got itself so well on to the straight and narrow and see the beauty of a civilised society here.”

He added: “Russia is not the enemy of Britain. That narrative has long since died a natural death.

“There are those who benefit from pushing Russia as an enemy but everyone laughs at those people now.”

Last week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Musk of “interfering in our politics” and “trying to whip up division” in the wake of the sentencing of the murderer of Henry Nowak.

Read More: Tommy Robinson ordered to pay £100,000 to Syrian schoolboy after libel case loss.

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Stuart Adams, 49, pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence after shouting racially abusive remarks at Metropolitan Police officer Harjot Sehmi, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday.

Adams, who attended the protest in central London on Saturday, hurled “you’re a c***”, “f*** Keir Starmer” and “let’s have a fight” at police officers standing around a cordon outside Downing Street on Saturday, the court heard.

He then looked at Mr Sehmi and shouted “what are you looking at”, “p****” and “go back to your homeland”, the court was told.

Suleman Hussain, prosecuting, said the police officer told him Adams’ s face was “contorted in anger” and he kept “agitating” his arms as he shouted at him.

Mr Hussain added the police officer felt “upset” and “sad” when he heard Adams, and did not want to continue policing the rally, which was organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

Adams appeared in court on Monday wearing a grey sweatshirt and blue jeans, and spoke to confirm his identity and indicate his plea.

Fadi Daoud, defending, said Adams, who was arrested and taken to a police station after making the remarks, “regrets totally his actions”.

Mr Daoud said: “He regrets totally his actions. He regrets and apologised. He apologised at the police station.

“He understands he shouldn’t have done it. He won’t do it again.”

Adams, of Aberconway Road, Merton, south London, will next appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on June 16.

Some 43 arrests were made during protests in central London at the weekend, including 20 linked to the Unite the Kingdom rally, the Metropolitan Police said.

About 60,000 people are estimated to have joined Tommy Robinson’s march on Saturday, the force added.

Another person was charged following a pro-Palestine Nakba Day demonstration, which was also in central London but kept separate by police from Tommy Robinson’s rally.

Dara Harbison, 26, from Brighton, East Sussex, was charged with assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage and possession of cannabis, and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on July 6.

Read more: Neo-Nazi student sentenced for terrorism and hate offences

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Callum Ulysses Parslow, 31, stabbed 25-year-old Nahom Hagos from Eritrea in the back and hand, resulting in serious injuries that required extensive medical treatment on April 2.

“I still look at it as a miracle. God saved me,” Mr Hagos told the media.

News of Parslow’s conviction emerged after he switched to a guilty verdict concerning an unrelated trial that imposed reporting restrictions – to sending racist and sexual messages to a Black woman online, the journalist Lizzie Dearden revealed on X (formerly Twitter).

Parslow had appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court days after the terror attack, charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article to which he pleaded not guilty.

That prosecution outlined his use of social media to express his neo-Nazi views and the ideological motivations of the terror attack and to intimidate “asylum seekers and those providing accommodation to asylum seekers.”

Following the terror attack, he attempted to upload his terrorist screed to X, describing that he “just did my duty to England” and tried to “exterminate” his victim.

He was, however, unable to publish his terrorist screed as he tagged in too many accounts – ranging from news sources to the likes of Nigel Farage, Richard Tice, Suella Braverman, Keir Starmer, Laurence Fox, Michael Gove, David Cameron Lee Anderson, Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and others. He also attempted to tag those on the far-right spectrum – including Tommy Robinson (aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon), Paul Golding, and Nick Griffin.

Online search results pulled from Parslow’s phone included the far-right, anti-Muslim terror attacks in Finsbury Park and Christchurch, New Zealand, respectively.

On X, Callum Parslow glorified the Christchurch terrorist, promoted white supremacist conspiracy theories about demographic changes and routinely used anti-Black racist slurs.

Parslow used two X accounts, Cyberpunknazi and iambutagardener, and the latter might have benefited from paid-for blue tick verification, according to screenshots posted on the platform from other users.

Credit: X/deletedacc0982

Some online mentions to iambutagardener redirect to deletedaccount0982, which boasts a paid-for verified status since February 2024. Some replies to the previous username criticised the platform for not removing their racist content.

Extracts of the racist and terrorist screed included antisemitic tropes that blamed them for “demonising Christianity, White people and all European culture” before blaming “Muslims and Africans” for rape and criminality, the Daily Mail reported.

West Mercia Police uncovered various Nazi-era paraphernalia at Parslow’s bedsit in Worcester, as well as a second knife, an axe, and a metal bat.

The post Neo-Nazi guilty of attempted murder after terror attack on asylum seeker appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Tell MAMA has been assessing the numbers of mosques attacked since the 29th of July and we have received a deluge of reports from British Muslims around the anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia that they have been receiving.

What has been particularly distressing has been the speed with which the far right mobilised and the manner in which they immediately targeted mosques and Islamic institutions. Such has been the fear that they generated within large sections of British Muslims, that it will take months for levels of safety, security and confidence to build within British Muslim women, particularly, those who are visible and who wear the Hijab.

We are at a nexus point where it is clear that anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia needs coordinated and concerted action by Her Majesty’s Government. For far too long some politicians have played with fire with the language that they have used about Muslims, migrants and asylum seekers. They must now, going forward, be held to account. Those who instigated and who left a question mark on social media platforms that a ‘Muslim’ may have been responsible for the murders of the innocent young girls, must be asked serious questions about their conduct in public life. They must also be assessed as to whether they have broken any criminal laws.

Tell MAMA continues to work with British Muslims at this time, and in supporting their needs and their desire for access to justice. We will not tire in supporting them going forward.

The post Anti-Muslim Hate or Islamophobia Needs Serious Action Now appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The racist tweet shared on the evening of October 16 takes a video from a Mawlid (Milad un Nabi) celebration in Rotherham’s town centre in 2010 out of context to push harmful and racialised falsehoods that risk real-world violence to Muslims in Rotherham and beyond.

Circled is the old Alliance & Leicester bank which ceased to exist from 2011 onwards. The former Santander building has been vacant since 2014 in this part of Rotherham.

Another way to verify this falsehood is in its background – namely, the old Alliance & Leicester, which ceased to exist in 2011 after merging with Santander – the storefront has been vacant since 2014.

As of writing, the video accrued over forty-five thousand views, as some tweets in reply called for violence – including statements calling for the army to shoot them, racist conspiracies about ‘trojan horses’, to calls for mass deportations.

The investigation also unearthed a second racialised falsehood posted in reply to the above video and falsely claims to show the “changing face of Rotherham” over forty years, with the second image showing Muslims praying on the street in front of various police officers.

The origin of the historical photo is partly explained once again by YouTube. We traced its origins to a video montage of Rotherham in the 1950s and 1960s, first uploaded in 2014, where the image itself appears at the 2:58 timestamp.

Credit: YouTube/Billy244.

The image would later appear in a 2018 Rotherham Advertiser article about local history from Melvyn Jones and Michael Bentley.

Regarding the second image, that photo, taken on September 5, 2015, by local photographer Luis Arroyo, had captioned it, “Prayer time during the Rotherham Unite Against Fascism’s demo today.” As with 2021, in 2015 also, the image removed from its context became a lightning rod for anti-Muslim and Islamophobic agitators. Arroyo wrote on September 10, 2015, “It is a real shame all those negative comments flying about too.”

The men photographed were part of a broader anti-fascist protest in the town, one month after the racist murder of Muslim pensioner Mushin Ahmed.

That same day, Britain First, the far-right street defence movement arrived in the town, resulting in 800 police officers from forces nationwide attending.

The events of that day also drew attention to injustice and the subsequent acquittal of the Rotherham 12 – Asian men cleared of violent disorder charges for protecting their communities from the far-right in 2016 and 2018, with articles providing further context appearing that year, addressing issues with policing and communities mobilising to support the twelve men.

Its false caption, “College Street, Rotherham, 40 years apart,” appeared on Twitter on the afternoon of October 17, before a day later, appearing with identical language on the social media channels of the far-right agitator Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson).

Tell MAMA has debunked various falsehoods that gained traction on Twitter, notably during the first national lockdown last year.

Update (19/10/2021): Following our investigation, Twitter has since suspended the far-right account holder who published the disinformation and removed a tweet that called on the army to shoot Muslims. It further demonstrates the importance of reporting such violent and harmful content, and we thank those who did.

We will continue to provide updates to this investigation where possible.

The post Debunked: far-right Twitter falsehoods about Muslims in Rotherham appeared first on TELL MAMA.

A video of an assault on Jamal Hijazi in the playground of Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield in October 2018 went viral.

Before Facebook’s long-overdue ban, Yaxley-Lennon posted two videos, “not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school”, attracting almost one million views and twenty-four-thousand shares.

What Yaxley-Lennon said in those videos, including the fabrications that Jamal had “beat a girl black and blue” and “threatened to stab” another boy at the school, were the subject of the libel claims.

However, the judgment from Mr Justice Nicklin made clear that Yaxley-Lennon’s evidence “had fallen woefully short” and granted Jamal £100,000 in damages.

Yaxley Lennon’s choice of language in both videos, the judgment states, were a calculated effort to “inflame the situation” and portray Jamal as the perpetrator. Moreover, as the judgment clarifies, Yaxley-Lennon persisted with the allegations, even adding to them during the proceedings.

Jamal soon became the target of abuse and threats, leading to his family leaving their home and Jamal abandoning his education at a critical juncture. Yaxley-Lennon, the judge said, “is responsible for this harm, some of the scars of which, particularly the impact on the Claimant’s education, are likely last for many years, if not a lifetime.”

Catrin Evans QC, representing Jamal, had described how the comments had resulted in “death threats and extremist agitation” and, therefore, damages should total between £150,000 and £190,000.

Evans characterised Yaxley-Lennon as “a well-known extreme-right advocate” with an “anti-Muslim agenda” who used social media to spread his views.

Jamal described how some bullying referenced the EDL and the far-right. “I remember them saying: ‘The EDL’s talking about you.’ At the time when these incidents happened at school, I did not know what the EDL was, and I did not know what they were referring to when they talked about it,” he said.

Bailey McLaren, filmed pushing Jamal to the ground, denied being a racist or bully in evidence, adding that he had mixed-race sisters, lived in a mixed-race community, and had friends who were Black and Asian. However, records highlighted in the judgment show that staff at Almondbury School had concerns about his support for the EDL, including making a Prevent referral on November 28, 2018. Further questioning revealed from Evans QC that Bailey had stayed in a “safe house” owned by Yaxley-Lennon for four months.

On balance, the judge said, “I consider that the claim to have been told that the Claimant had threatened to stab him – by “Ahmed” or anyone else – was manufactured by Bailey.” Furthermore, he added that Bailey was also a victim and punished for his bullying, which he concluded was not racist in nature, and like Jamal also had to move homes. Mr Justice Nicklin said: “Both were schoolboys when they were catapulted into the maelstrom of a media storm. Neither was remotely equipped to deal with what then happened.” And concluded, “Bailey may yet come to reflect on whether he has actually been helped by the Defendant.”

On other allegations, including the alleged use of a hockey stick, one child identified in the judgment as OTP (to protect their identity) amounted to a “dishonest fabrication that fell apart when he was cross-examined on the details.” Evidence from Charly Matthews (who claimed that Jamal had hit her in the back with a hockey stick resulting in long-term injuries, which she could not prove medically) was also satisfactorily proven false in the eyes of Mr Justice Nicklin.

The judgment also drew attention to Yaxley-Lennon’s use of covert recordings in his evidence submissions. In one such example, the judge declined to name the former teacher, who, before speaking with Yaxley-Lennon, informed him that he was in no position to comment on the matter and it would, therefore, be “highly unlikely” that he would knowingly consent to record such an interview.  Having reviewed, the judge said that it is “quite apparent from the recordings that none of the individuals [including EYW’s mother and MVW] was aware that s/he was being recorded.”

Moreover, the judgment states that Yaxley-Lennon appeared to wear a concealed microphone and camera on the two occasions he attempted to speak with EYW’s mother over the alleged assault, and crucially, such footage had been edited, and therefore, Yaxley-Lennon had failed to substantiate that the group attack had occurred. Nor could the judge give weight to the evidence submitted “in respect of allegations that she has publicly disavowed.” Indeed, one of the answers provided by EYW’s mother in the second interview drips in ambiguity as Yaxley-Lennon combines two leading questions (“Was he there? Was he involved?”)  as their response of “Yeah” gives no clarity to which questions they are addressing.

Francesca Flood from Burlingtons Legal, representing Jamal, said in a statement: “Jamal and his family now wish to put this matter behind them in order that they can get on with their lives.

“They do however wish to extend their gratitude to the Great British public for their support and generosity, without which this legal action would not have been possible.”

A subsequent hearing will follow this judgment to consider the consequences of the ruling, as Mr Justice Nicklin granted Jamal an injunction that prevents Yaxley-Lennon from repeating the allegations.

The search for Yaxley-Lennon’s assets made headlines earlier this year following his bankruptcy declaration on March 2, 2021, and he subsequently represented himself in court.

Mr Justice Nicklin acknowledged that, due to the bankruptcy, “there are limits on what can be enforced against him” but stressed that Yaxley-Lennon must cover Jamal’s legal costs.

As pointed out by the BBC’s Dominic Casciani, total costs may go upwards of £500,000.

The post Analysis: Why Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) lost the libel case appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – was sued by Jamal Hijazi, 18, who was assaulted in the playground at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield in October 2018.

Robinson was also ordered to pay Jamal’s costs of bringing the libel claim.

Robinson said he was “gobsmacked” by the costs Jamal’s lawyers were claiming, which he said included £70,000 for taking witness statements.

He added: “I’ve not got any money. I’m bankrupt. I’ve struggled hugely with my own issues these last 12 months… I ain’t got it.”

Mr Justice Nicklin acknowledged that “there are limits on what can be enforced against him” as a result of Robinson’s bankruptcy, but ruled that Robinson should pay Jamal’s legal costs, which were not stated in court.

The post Tommy Robinson ordered to pay £100,000 to Syrian schoolboy after libel case loss appeared first on TELL MAMA.

A Syrian teenager suing Tommy Robinson for libel is seeking at least £150,000 in damages, the High Court has heard at the conclusion of the trial.

The English Defence League founder, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is being sued by Jamal Hijazi, 17, who was filmed being attacked at his Huddersfield school in October 2018.

Shortly after the video went viral in November 2018, Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that Jamal was “not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school”.

Robinson, who represented himself at the trial, has defended his comments on the basis they are substantially true.

In her written closing argument, Catrin Evans QC, representing Jamal, called for “substantial damages” between £150,000 and £190,000 for the teenager if he wins the claim.

At the end of the four-day trial on Monday, she told the court: “In relation to the allegations which the defendant has sought to prove as substantially true, we suggest that he has not proved either of them.”

Throughout the trial, Robinson, 38, maintained he was an independent journalist, telling the court: “The media simply had zero interest in the other side of this story, the uncomfortable truth.”

In his closing argument, he continued: “I am far from perfect, however this case is not about me, as much as the claimant’s representatives would like to make me, my history or my views a focus of their attention.

“My political beliefs are not on trial, it’s whether my reporting on publicly available information was a matter of truth or not.”

Charly Matthews, 18, a former student of Almondbury Community School with Jamal, gave evidence as part of Robinson’s case, claiming Jamal had hit her in the back with a hockey stick, leaving her with long-term injuries.

Addressing the court on Monday, Robinson said: “In order for the claimant to win this case, the court has to believe this young girl is a brazen liar.”

In the Facebook videos, with one seen about 870,000 times, Robinson also claimed that Jamal “beat a girl black and blue” in a gang, and bit a student, which the teenager denies.

The trial previously heard evidence from Bailey McLaren, the boy shown pushing Jamal to the ground and pouring water over him in the widely-shared video.

Mr McLaren denied being racist or a bully.

Robinson continued: “Almondbury Community School has its failings for sure, but racism and racist bullying was not one of them.”

He added: “Just because (Jamal) might have been a victim does not automatically mean he himself couldn’t be a nasty, foul-mouthed and often violent young person, particularly against girls and smaller, younger boys.”

In her own closing statement, Ms Evans argued that Robinson suggested “that this is somehow a travesty of justice and that a white schoolboy has been scapegoated”.

Ms Evans pointed out there was a lack of evidence for Robinson’s claims, and that Jamal had himself given “clear and consistent” evidence.

The barrister continued: “We do rely on the defendant’s agenda, which we say is an anti-Muslim one, which is why he waded into this … Jamal was the victim of that.”

She told the court: “Not only has the defendant sought to try and prove a case that he was never going to be able to do, but he has even, in his closing submissions, he has continued to exacerbate the hurt and distress the claimant has experienced.”

She continued: “These are allegations of criminal offences or tantamount to criminal offences and it is quite clear that Jamal is the victim here.”

The barrister also argued that the allegations against Jamal were aggravated by the fact that they were made “against someone who had come to this country with his family for sanctuary, seeking a better life and in particular the chance for an education and prospects for a good career”, which he said in evidence was “badly damaged” by Robinson’s publication.

Mr Justice Nicklin told the court he will give his judgment at a later date.

Addressing Robinson, he added: “I commend you in the way that you have presented the case as a litigant in person.

“You have done so in a way that has been, to my mind, quite proper and you have done your best to assist the court.”

Credit: PA News

Read more: Tommy Robinson’s ‘anti-Muslim message’ saw boy facing death threats, court hears

The post Syrian teenager suing Tommy Robinson ‘seeking at least £150,000 damages’ appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) has told the High Court he is “not racist” as a libel claim brought against him by a Syrian teenager who was filmed being assaulted continues.

The English Defence League founder – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – is being sued by schoolboy Jamal Hijazi, 17, who was filmed being attacked at his Huddersfield school in October 2018.

Shortly after the video went viral, Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that Jamal was “not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school”.

Robinson, who is representing himself at the trial, is defending his comments on the basis they are substantially true.

In his written arguments, Robinson claimed to have “uncovered dozens of accounts of aggressive, abusive and deceitful behaviour” by Jamal.

He said that with people donating nearly £160,000 to a GoFundMe page set up for the claimant, he believed it was important for people to be given a “balanced view”.

Starting his case on Thursday, Robinson told the High Court that Jamal’s lawyers had mischaracterised him and the EDL.

Robinson said: “Their opening statement, which was a blatant attack on my character, is boringly predictable.”

The 38-year-old told the court the EDL had been classed as a centrist group and he had worked with an anti-extremism group for five years.

“For what it’s worth, I am not racist, and I am certainly not anti-Muslim,” he said.

Robinson later said the media had been in a “frenzy” over the incident with Jamal and had not reported “the other side”.

He added: “I only reported what I was told. That is all I’m doing here in this court, looking for the truth.”

In the Facebook videos, viewed by nearly a million people, Robinson made claims including that Jamal “beat a girl black and blue”, which the teenager denies.

On Thursday, the High Court heard evidence from Bailey McLaren, the boy shown pushing Jamal to the ground and pouring water over him in the widely shared video.

Mr McLaren, who is now 18 and was a student at Almondbury Community School with Jamal, told the court he had been in trouble at school but was not a bully.

He said: “I would say that if I was physical, I would have to be provoked into it. There would have to be a reason and it would have to a strong reason.”

Robinson asked: “Looking at your school record, were you a bully?”

The teenager replied: “No. I can’t stand bullying – from a young age I was affected by it. The mainstream media painted it out that I was a bully.”

“Are you a racist?” Robinson asked.

Mr McLaren replied: “Not at all. The incident with Jamal had nothing to do with race.”

In his witness statement, Mr McLaren claimed Jamal was “a strange boy”.

He wrote: “Pupils and staff alike were fully aware that Jamal had a real problem with girls and even with female staff and that he was abusive towards them. You would hear from time to time that Jamal was bullying young girls and stuff.”

On the day of the incident in October 2018, Mr McLaren told the court there had been a confrontation between him and Jamal, adding: “He told me to ‘f*** off, you white bastard’.”

Mr McLaren also said he was told by another student that Jamal had threatened to stab him, which is denied.

On Wednesday, Jamal’s barrister Catrin Evans QC described Robinson’s defence as “a cobbled-together mix of generalised smears of Jamal’s character”, saying “there is simply no merit to the defendant’s defence of truth”.

In cross-examination on Thursday afternoon, Ms Evans said Mr McLaren was “regularly in trouble” for serious bullying including intimidation and physical assaults.

Mr McLaren replied: “I’m not trying to claim I’m an angel, I had incidents in school.

“I do agree that I’m quite hot-headed, but I’ve changed.”

The court heard he was permanently excluded and accepted a police caution for assaulting Jamal after the videoed incident.

Ms Evans suggested Mr McLaren was part of a gang of students who often targeted Jamal.

She said: “Jamal was one of your regular victims of bullying and you were the ringleader of the group that bullied him.”

Mr McLaren replied: “I think if anyone was the bully, it was Jamal.”

Credit: PA News

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Tommy Robinson’s “entirely distorted anti-Muslim message” about a Syrian schoolboy who was attacked at school led to the boy and his family “facing death threats and extremist agitation”, the High Court has heard.

The English Defence League founder – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – is being sued by Jamal Hijazi, 17, who was filmed being attacked in the playground at Almondbury School in Huddersfield in November 2018.

Shortly after the video went viral, Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos, which were viewed by nearly one million people, that Jamal was “not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school”.

The 38-year-old also claimed Jamal “beat a girl black and blue” and “threatened to stab” another boy at his school, allegations the teenager denies.

On the first day of the libel trial in London on Wednesday, Jamal’s lawyer told the court that Robinson’s comments “turned Jamal into the aggressor, and the bully into a righteous white knight”.

Catrin Evans QC, representing Jamal, said in written submissions that Robinson’s allegations had “a devastating effect on Jamal and his family” and led to them being relocated from the area in early 2019.

She described Robinson as “a well-known extreme-right advocate with convictions for violence, as well as fraud and drug offences”.

Robinson “used his social media platforms, in particular his Facebook account, to spread his extremist views”, Ms Evans added.

She said Robinson “falsely accused Jamal of being part of a gang that participated in a violent assault on a young girl and… also alleged that he had threatened to stab another child”, and did so “without any direct knowledge of the events in question”.

Ms Evans told the court that Jamal was bullied from shortly after he started at the school in October 2016, having come to the UK with his family as refugees from Homs in Syria.

She added: “The bullying, and the failure to do enough about it, culminated in 2018 in a series of incidents in the school, including serious threats made to Jamal.”

Ms Evans said a fellow pupil attacked Jamal in October 2018 and “simulated waterboarding him” by pouring a bottle of water over his face when he was on the ground.

After the video of the incident went viral, it “received mass national media coverage and an outpouring of support for Jamal and his family”, Ms Evans told the court.

Robinson then published the allegations about Jamal “to his million social media followers”, “apparently based only on material posted on, and subsequently deleted from, social media”, Ms Evans added.

She described Robinson’s defence as “a cobbled-together mix of generalised smears of Jamal’s character”, saying that “there is simply no merit to the defendant’s defence of truth”.

Robinson, who is representing himself at the trial, is defending his comments on the basis that they are substantially true.

In written submissions, Robinson said he had “uncovered dozens of accounts of aggressive, abusive and deceitful behaviour by the claimant, including acts which speak the truth to the matters complained of”.

Referring to the alleged “waterboarding” incident, Robinson added: “Not only was the claimant the bully and not the victim in this incident, he has subsequently been shown to be the aggressor on multiple occasions, indulging in violent and abusive behaviour.”

The eight-day trial at the Royal Courts of Justice in London is expected to hear evidence from Jamal and Robinson, as well as pupils and staff at the time of the incident.

The trial before Mr Justice Nicklin is due to conclude next Friday and it is expected that he will give his ruling at a later date.

Credit: PA News

Read more: Tommy Robinson’s Facebook page is shut down

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In a statement, the company confirmed to Tell MAMA that both accounts “had been subject to an ongoing investigation due to the nature of some of the content posted.”

Multiple content violations concerned the use of hate speech, which fall foul of the platform’s Terms and Conditions.

The ban is permanent, meaning that neither Mr Robinson nor Britain First can return to TikTok.

A TikTok spokesperson said: “Keeping people on TikTok safe is a top priority and our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines clearly outline what is not acceptable on our platform. Content that seeks to promote hateful ideology has no place on TikTok and the accounts belonging to both Tommy Robinson and Britain First have been permanently removed for multiple violations of our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. We’re continuously enhancing our efforts to ensure that individuals and organisations seeking to promote any form of hateful ideology cannot establish a sustainable presence on TikTok.”

Recent investigations exposed their activity on the platform.

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and Britain First have been banned from all other major social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat.

Tell MAMA welcomes this ban, as all social media platforms have a duty to protect its users from hate speech, and ban those who breach its policies.

The post TikTok bans Britain First and Tommy Robinson for hate speech violations appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Adam Boulton, the presenter of All Out Politics on Sky News, was correct to identify this as ‘us and them’ politics.

It’s also a form of politics unbecoming and undeserving of such a large media platform.

Lord Pearson’s central claim first appeared during a debate in the House of Lords on December 7, 2017, which referenced a “Muslim takeover of our society, at least in our major Muslim conurbations” and includes the misuse of census data.

While it is true that the Muslim population has more than doubled in a decade, the census question on religion and non-belief is of self-identification, Lord Pearson, for example, ignores the continued growth of atheism and non-belief, declining Christian belief, and how just over half of those (55 per cent) surveyed by the National Centre for Social Research believe in a God figure more broadly.

The demographics argument shifts to Muslim children outnumbering non-Muslims, which is true in some areas, like Washwood Heath in Birmingham (86 per cent) but untrue in like Bristol, for example, there were three times as many Christian children (aged 0-17) as Muslim, per the 2011 census data.

Such an argument echoes that of the Daily Mail in 2017, which ran the alarmist headline: “The changing face of Britain: A child in Birmingham is now more likely to be a Muslim than Christian”. Buried further in the article, however, was the admission that: “The figures show that Christianity is still the dominant religion in every local authority area in England and Wales, even in the most culturally diverse towns and cities”.

Again, there is a fundamental and crucial difference between birth rates and self-identifying with a religious belief like Islam. Conflation is a dangerous gambit.

Racist conspiracies about birth rates were behind the terroristic murders of 51 Muslims in Christchurch, which went on to inspire other forms of racist terror in Germany, the United States, Norway, and a sleepy English suburb.

Lord Pearson, in this House of Lord’s speech, also invoked the racialised and Islamophobic conspiracy of Taqiyya, an enduring obsession in many far-right networks and online spaces.

Baroness Williams of Trafford rebuked his remarks on Sharia law, adding it has no legal jurisdiction in England and Wales, as Lord Ahmed also challenged some of the unfounded claims from Lord Pearson.

During his appearance on All Out Politics, Lord Pearson admitted, “I’m not a great expert on Islam, although I’ve been studying it for seven years”, but advocated that Muslims in Britain practice a ‘mild’ form of their faith, and referred to the Prophet Muhammad as a ‘violent warlord’.

Tell MAMA identified in its recent annual report how such language causes deep upset and harm to Muslims, given that many seek to emulate his teachings in daily life. The report adds: “To understand why such language is so hurtful to Muslims, in particular, is to understand that Muslims believe that Muhammad was God’s final messenger who  gradually  revealed the religion of Islam, who, in his lifetime, was an administrator, commander-in-chief, a teacher, and prayer leader for the burgeoning Muslim community. Therefore, ordinary Muslims view him as a model of God’s grace and salvation, and the greatest and highest of role models as many strive to emulate his teachings in their daily lives”.

For all of Lord Pearson’s obsessive interest in Muslims and Islam in the UK, he avoids discussing how structural racism and discrimination harms Muslims in education and employment – from being denied job interviews, to the ‘Muslim penalty’ which hinders access to the salariat, to teachers holding stereotypical or low expectations of their Muslim students, with non-Muslim teachers reluctant to engage them, according to the Social Mobility Commission, incidents of racism and Islamophobia further damaged the confidence and self-esteem of young Muslims, resulting in some Muslims leaving university early, or not gaining ‘good grades’.

Almost half of Muslims in Britain (46 per cent) live in the 10% of the most deprived local authority districts.

Muslims, particularly women, face double (gender and ethnicity) or triple (low socio-economic backgrounds) penalties in the labour market, which has real long-term consequences. Which, in turn, are reflected in low pay and the disproportionate impact household poverty has on Muslims (50 per cent) compared to 18 per cent of the overall population.

These barriers pose real, significant questions about social mobility.

The challenge of anti-Muslim and Islamophobic prejudice, violence, and discrimination warrants more media attention, not the rambling, inchoate conspiracies of an individual who, late last year, invited Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) to dine at parliament, and referred to him, bizarrely, as a ‘Quranic expert’.

The post Lord Pearson promotes the Muslim birthrates conspiracy on Sky News appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The chants are said to have praised Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson), referred to Luton as “a small town in Asia”, amid other chants of “You’re not English anymore”,  and the racialised slur “paedo”.

Steve Lansdown, chairman of Bristol City, condemned the racist abuse, adding that those responsible “will be banned from Ashton Gate and from purchasing tickets at future away matches”.

The club statement added that supporters of both clubs are assisting with the investigation.

“We will deal harshly with anyone found behaving in a racist manner. They will be banned from Ashton Gate and from purchasing tickets at future away matches.”

Steve Lansdown has re-affirmed #BristolCity's swift condemnation of any form of racist abuse or language.

Read more:

— Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) October 20, 2019

Jon Lansdown, the club’s vice-chairman, condemned the racist abuse on Twitter.

Fans were quick to condemn the anti-Muslim and Islamophobic chants. One supporter tweeted, “minority of the away support was embarrassing- shouting paedo and singing Tommy Robinson’- next time stay away we don’t want you in our club”.

Some condemned supporters who were in denial about the extreme, far-right politics and thuggery of Yaxley-Lennon, and that some chants were indeed racist.

I'm not sure which is worse.
The "You're not English anymore"/"Tommy Robinson" chanting by Bristol City fans at Luton
Or the people flouncing around FB & Twitter and City forums now saying it's not racist.
At least a lot of City fans at the game (and now) are calling it out

— Tristan Cork BLive (@TristanCorkPost) October 20, 2019

Local journalists have exposed sections of the Bristol City fanbase which have attended far-right marches before, notably with the Football Lads Alliance in 2017.

One Bristol City fan, writing on Facebook, described how they left the game with twenty minutes remaining, citing their disgust at the “Asian/England/Tommy Robinson” chants, adding that a fellow supporter assaulted them when leaving.

A listener posted this in the private Facebook group about her experience of today’s game. pic.twitter.com/kchdsAeZC7

— One Stream in Bristol (@OSIBpodcast) October 19, 2019

Tell MAMA continues to document how the far-right (and those influenced by their narratives and ideology) have continued to exploit high-profile criminal CSE convictions to push a divisive and racialised narrative which targets Muslims more broadly, despite evidence on the ethnicity of perpetrators being subject to various caveats, and methodological concerns.

Tell MAMA has documented other examples of anti-Muslim and Islamophobic abuse of Muslim football fans, including at Salford FC last August.

Kick It Out has an online form and apps on Google Play and iOS to report racism and discrimination in football.

You can get advice through our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

The post Bristol City investigate pro-Tommy Robinson, racist chants at Luton fans appeared first on TELL MAMA.

(Original story below)

A Labour Party councillor who allegedly ‘liked’ the Facebook page of the far-right extremist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) before its removal from the platform, had shared an anti-immigrant post last month, Tell MAMA can reveal.

Credit: Facebook.

Councillor Carol Bowman represents the ward of Waltham Cross in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire.

Tell MAMA began its investigation after a member of the public forwarded screenshots of posts and ‘likes’ attributed to Cllr Bowman’s personal Facebook account.

A blog post from Facebook on February 26, 2019, outlined how Mr Yaxley-Lennon had incurred multiple breaches of its Community Standards, in posts which dehumanised Muslims and promoted violence against them. Examples cited by the BBC included a post which encouraged individuals to “terrorise and behead those who follow the Koran”.

It was during this investigation that Tell MAMA uncovered a post, dated May 11, 2019, where the councillor shared a post which read, “The best barrier for stopping illegal immigrants is to stop ALL benefits to illegal immigrants.” It went further, adding, that “WE OWE THEM NOTHING.” Ms Bowman captioned the post, “Yes, totally agree!”.

Credit: Facebook.

Those who enter the UK illegally, however, are unable to claim financial support unless they enter as, or become, asylum seekers. Individual financial support for asylum seekers is capped at £37.75 per week and drops to £35.39 (per person) for failed asylum claims.

Eligibility for tax credits and other social security benefits for EU residents and migrants outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) depend on passing a habitual residence test (for the former), and Non-EEA nationals require indefinite leave to remain (often called “settled status”) to proceed with such a claim.

Those with ‘limited’ leave to remain are unable to apply for such social security benefits, as they have “no recourse to public funds”. This precarious status, has, according to housing charities, put individuals and families at greater risk of homelessness.

This racialised and caustic myth has circulated online in various email chains for over a decade and is traceable to similar campaigns in Australia and Canada. Given the viral nature of the email campaign, the House of Commons Library issued a briefing paper countering the myth that refugees and ‘illegal’ immigrants received more financial support from the government than pensioners.

An additional screenshot provided to Tell MAMA purports to show Cllr Bowman sharing a viral Facebook post from 2013 where an individual ranted about needing to renew their passport, and, despite his family living in England ‘since 1776’, he instead had to rely upon his doctor, who, in their own words, was, “BORN AND RAISED IN PAKISTAN”.

A valid counter-signatory on UK passports is someone who knows the applicant (not professionally) or is ‘a person of good standing in their community’ or work in (or be retired from) a recognised profession, like a doctor or GP. A family member or partner (via marriage or cohabitation) are not permitted to be countersignatories on UK passport applications.

Tell MAMA reached out to Cllr Bowman but as of writing has not received a reply.

Tell MAMA will be making a formal complaint to Broxbourne Council and the Labour Party.

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Some academics have diagnosed this phenomenon as a form of “entrepreneurial populism”, which, exists in a paradox: where a person running in opposition to the establishment, does not need to be trustworthy, or even demonstrate a strong moral core, due to the apparent “corruption” of their political opposition.

To “play a system whose institutions one does not trust but whose ideals and intentions are still trusted,” the untrustworthy are granted a degree of trust.

It’s within this framework that Yaxley-Lennon has morphed from a “journalist” into an Independent candidate in the upcoming European Elections.

But the tactic is nothing new.

In the embryonic months of the English Defence League, Yaxley-Lennon posed for a photograph with the media personality, Katie Price in 2010. In October 2010, in response to the photo circulating on social media, Ms Price tweeted: “that’s the trouble when I do pics I don’t know where they end up NO I don’t support such group report it.”

A year later, the disgraced former footballer, Joey Barton, then of Queens Park Rangers, was photographed with Yaxley-Lennon, and the photo soon appeared on the EDL’s Facebook page, with the caption, “Joey Barton joins the EDL”. Barton, like Price, used social media to deny any links to the group.

The EDL did enjoy some broad sympathy and support, but a clear majority were put off by their propensity for street violence. Its appeal, therefore, had hit a glass ceiling, given how many saw it as an innately Islamophobic, racist, and violent movement.

This decline, which owes to the mainstreaming of such ideological talking points, is also a product of what academics argue is the “reputational shields hypothesis.” In a broader sense, within this framework, political parties like the British National Party, could not reject accusations of racism and extremism, since their history provided “no evidence to support such a contention.” It’s why the EDL tried and often failed to appeal to religious minorities, like the Jewish and Sikh communities.

Its leadership, however, had bigger aspirations. Hence Robinson’s “rejection” of the movement he founded via the Quilliam Foundation, to his pivot towards the leadership of Pegida UK, demonstrate how Robinson, who remained unapologetic, never considered himself in need of ‘de-radicalisation’, as he saw himself as “correct” all along.

Yaxley-Lennon has even used his Telegram account to suggest that he has a “Muslim supporter” under the hashtag “#VoteTommy”, which runs counter to his history of Islamophobia and criminal convictions.

Credit: Telegram

In a further example of abstract “authenticity”, Yaxley-Lennon shared a meme of a milkshake with a burnt rasher of bacon inside, captioned with a lyric from the Kelis song “Milkshake”.

Credit: Telegram

A Muslim man who dowsed Yaxley-Lennon with one such milkshake has spoken of the death threats he has been sent since the video of the incident went viral.

Britain First, the street defence movement and far-right political party, has borrowed a similar tactic. In 2016, a photograph of the group’s leadership, Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen with the BBC presenter Evan Davis, with the caption: “Paul and Jayda out campaigning today in London with Evan Davis, Britain First supporter and Dragons’ Den/Newsnight presenter!”.

Davis clarified on Twitter that he was asked to pose for a photograph with the individuals, unaware of their intentions or extreme political views.

The BBC’s former political editor, Nick Robinson, had posed for a photograph with Jayda Fransen, during the Rochester and Strood by-election in 2014, where she had gained just 56 votes, used the photograph to mask this failure and present a false example of mainstream credibility.

Robinson denied any affiliation to the group, writing: “I had no idea who this was. Asked for a selfie by someone I wrongly assumed was a worker at the count. My mistake.”

Robinson was, himself, working to a tight deadline, and didn’t look at the badge worn by Ms Fransen, due to the obvious time constraints, and felt it was more polite of him to accept a photo in response to an innocuous request for a photograph then refuse.

The deliberate targeting of such journalists has real consequences, not just professionally but personally, as Robinson and Evan Davis have since had their political views wrongly questioned on social media.

Britain First gained its biggest endorsement (and free media attention) when Donald Trump retweeted their Twitter accounts in 2017. The group has since imploded as it continues to deal with legal issues in Northern Ireland.

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The book, first published in 2017, was available to purchase on February 25, 2018, but following Facebook’s decision to ban the far-right provocateur from its platform and Instagram yesterday, the book is no longer available.

Credit: Google Cache

To search for the book through Google brings up the notification that the page is ‘no longer functional’ on Amazon.

It appears that Amazon has now removed copies of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon's (Tommy Robinson) book "Mohammed's Koran: Why Muslims Kill For Islam" from sale: pic.twitter.com/fsYx68qMDx

— TellMAMAUK (@TellMamaUK) February 27, 2019

Nor can you find the book through Robinson’s author page on Amazon, as the listing remains unavailable. His book ‘Enemy of the State’, however, remains on sale.

Amazon states that products “that promote or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promote organizations with such views” are prohibited from sale.

Amazon also “reserves the right to determine the appropriateness of listings on its site, and remove any listing at any time.”

Facebook had warned Robinson that if he continued to break Community Guidelines on the platform, he risked having his personal and professional pages removed.

In a blog post, Facebook said: “When ideas and opinions cross the line and amount to hate speech that may create an environment of intimidation and exclusion for certain groups in society – in some cases with potentially dangerous offline implications – we take action. Tommy Robinson’s Facebook page has repeatedly broken these standards, posting material that uses dehumanizing language and calls for violence targeted at Muslims. He has also behaved in ways that violate our policies around organized hate.”

Posts which broke guidelines on hate speech included a post calling Muslims “filthy scum bags”, a post urging people to terrorise and behead those who follow the Qur’an, and a post which urged individuals to “make war” on Muslims.

Nor will Yaxley-Lennon be able to create new profiles or business pages on Facebook in the future.

YouTube remains the only major platform where Robinson remains active, despite the Google-owned video sharing platform de-monetising his channel for breaching advertising rules.

Last November, PayPal banned Yaxley-Lennon from its service, and Twitter banned him in March 2018.

Nor is ‘Mohammed’s Koran: Why Muslims Kill For Islam’ without heavy criticism.

The book is also unavailable from Waterstones.

UPDATE (13/03/2019): Foyles Bookshop has removed copies of the book from its website after Tell MAMA brought it to their attention.

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Removing Tommy Robinson’s Page and Profile for Violating Our Community Standards – Facebook Statement

One of the biggest questions we face is around what we allow on Facebook – and we spend a lot of time trying to get this right. This is hard and critically important. We want Facebook to be a place where you can express yourself freely and share openly with friends and family. At the same time, when people come to Facebook, we always want them to feel welcome and safe.

This is something we take incredibly seriously. So when ideas and opinions cross the line and amount to hate speech that may create an environment of intimidation and exclusion for certain groups in society – in some cases with potentially dangerous offline implications – we take action. Our public Community Standards state this sort of speech is not acceptable on Facebook – and when we become aware of it, we remove it as quickly as we can. Our rules also make clear that individuals and organizations that are engaged in “organized hate” are not allowed on the platform, and that praise or support for these figures and groups is also banned. This is true regardless of the ideology they espouse.

Tommy Robinson’s Facebook Page has repeatedly broken these standards, posting material that uses dehumanizing language and calls for violence targeted at Muslims. He has also behaved in ways that violate our policies around organized hate. As a result, in accordance with our policies, we have removed Tommy Robinson’s official Facebook Page and Instagram profile. This is not a decision we take lightly, but individuals and organizations that attack others on the basis of who they are have no place on Facebook and Instagram.

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Jay Daniel, who tweets under the username @Jay_Daniel19, wrote on June 22, 2017, “Say what you like about @TRobinsonNewEra It doesn’t stop him from being right.”

Credit: Twitter/@jay_daniel19

Other tweets from @Jay_Daniel19 to Mr Robinson appear several times in 2017, with the final tweet, a positive reaction GIF from the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, sent on March 19, 2018 – 9 days before Twitter banned Robinson from its platform.

A notable tweet to Robinson contained a quote, removed from its original context, from the 1899 edition of Winston Churchill’s The River War, on June 28, 2017.

Credit: Twitter/@jay_daniel19

Others have chronicled Churchill’s views on Islam and other races. His wartime cabinet, in 1940, also set aside £100,000 to build London Central Mosque, as a thank you to the Muslims who fought alongside the British.

On August 17, 2017, he tweeted a YouTube video from the far-right media outlet Rebel Media, which featured Robinson discussing acid attacks.

Credit: Twitter/@jay_daniel19

The personal Facebook account of Mr Daniel had ‘liked’ Tommy Robinson’s official page.

Credit: Facebook

Tell MAMA has uncovered other concerning tweets of an Islamophobic and anti-Muslim nature. Including the claim that “one would struggle to come to the conclusion that Islam doesn’t instruct its followers to commit violence.” Yesterday evening, during a wider discussion, he told a Muslim woman, “Preaching hate is dangerous and your religion relishes in it.”

Credit: Twitter/@jay_daniel19.

Tell MAMA was also made aware of tweets sent from Mr Daniel’s account which concern the racial epithet ‘P*ki’.

Credit: Twitter/@jay_daniel19

During an online discussion yesterday evening, he tweeted, “Well you can’t even call someone from Pakistan a ‘paki’ or a ‘Pakistani’ without being racist these days so I understand your confusion.” When challenged by other users, Mr Daniel added: “As you can see from my picture, I’m not the palest of blokes… occasionally people call me a Mexican or a paki or a nigga… still life moves on.”

Credit: Twitter/@jay_daniel19

The racialisation of Muslims and Islam means that traditional racial epithets, like ‘P*ki’, are directed at Muslims, irrespective of their ethnicity.

As of writing, Mr Daniel has not responded to Tell MAMA’s request for comment and has since removed his Twitter and Facebook accounts from public view.

Questions remain, however, as to the use of the official Blackpool North and Cleveleys Young Conservatives Twitter account to defend Mr Daniel.

A statement from the Blackpool North and Cleveleys Conservatives confirmed that the individual would be expelled from the Conservative Party, adding that local MP Paul Maynard condemns racism in all its forms and that the investigation will be dealth with in a serious manner.

Please see our statement regarding the offensive comments made overnight. pic.twitter.com/kYWiIFPGyF

— Blackpool North and Cleveleys Conservatives (@bpncca) February 4, 2019

Our investigation will be sent to the Conservative Party to assist in their investigation.

UPDATE: Brandon Lewis, Conservative Party Chairman, has confirmed that Mr Daniel is no longer a member of the party

I unequivocally condemn this tweet. The person responsible for the tweet is now no longer a member of the party.

— Brandon Lewis (@BrandonLewis) February 4, 2019

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SNP MP Stewart McDonald, who was recently targeted by English Defence League (EDL) founder Tommy Robinson, raised concerns over “dark channels of money” funding the far right in the UK as MPs considered amendments to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill.

The Bill aims to equip the statute book for the digital age and will allow police and prosecutors to intervene earlier in investigations, and will also close off potential loopholes.

Security Minister Ben Wallace, in response to the concerns raised by Mr McDonald, said that funding for extremist far-right groups had not been “as high as people imagine”.

He said: “For very little amounts of money you can groom people, inspire people, indeed the terrorist attacks of 2017, the five main attacks cost GBP5,000 in total.

“That is the reality of a modern-day terrorist attack and indeed the financing behind it, I don’t see much evidence of huge swathes of money funding it.

“What I do see is growing evidence of the impact of the internet allowing people to join up who in the past had nowhere to go, who may have been the oddball in their village, or the odd one out now has the ability to live in a fantasy world, to indulge their bigoted beliefs, to learn how to make bombs and hurt people and find kindred spirits across the internet.

“That is what I believe has given one of the big boosts to terrorism.”

The comments came as MPs considered a number of House of Lords amendments to the Bill.

One such amendment, Clause 4, seeks to soften Government proposals to jail UK nationals for up to 10 years if they enter a “designated area” overseas.

The move was designed to help police and prosecutors mount prosecutions in cases where there is limited evidence of the suspect’s activities while overseas but presence in an area associated with terrorism can be proved.

The Lords added a number of “reasonable excuses”, described as “get outs” by Independent MP John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness), for being in such an area.

The reasons, if accepted by the Commons, would include providing humanitarian aid, carrying out work for the Government, carrying out work for the United Nations, working as a journalist, attending a funeral or visiting a relative who is terminally ill.

Mr Woodcock, addressing the Security Minister, said: “Does he not share my concern that some of the get outs which are listed now on the face of the Bill could be very easy to exploit, for example how can it be proved that someone wasn’t going to attend a funeral if that’s what they say?”

Mr Wallace responded: “If you go your reasonable excuse has to cover all your activity, so if you are going there and you say you are going there as a doctor but you are also going there to commit a terrorist offence or a crime that reasonable excuse effectively falls away.”

“The designated offence is designed to be used to establish a clear ban on travel to a tightly defined area or areas outside the UK where such a ban is necessary for the purpose of protecting the public from a risk of terrorism with a criminal sanction breaching that ban”, he added.

Mr Wallace said such an offence would “send a clear message that there are areas that we do not want people to go to”.

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Today, these two countries are changing unquestionably. It would be the height of disingenuity to ignore the sweeping racism that always dogged somewhere like Britain. For much of the last century the far-right were a presence in the streets, a manifestation of Enoch Powell’s dark prophecy that promised blood on the streets amidst a race war. But they were pushed back by the solidarity between minorities and the natives. Britain was not a post-racism society as many liked to dishonestly pretend, but by comparison to other countries in the west it had made incredible strides in becoming more socially liberal.

And yet today we have Brexit. We have increased rates of hate crime that followed it across places like Stoke, West Midlands, Wales and Sunderland. A sense of euphoria and legitimacy has emboldened the far right to not only peddle their hate but now attack groups. Brexit seemed to vindicate them, bring them from the margins previous generations spent blood and sweat to push them to. And why would they not feel like that? Brexit was the culmination of cultural and economic grievances boiling into a desire to rattle the status quo and the distant elites whose lives seemed wholly unconnected from those living in impoverished post-industrial towns. Give the tree a shake and see what falls down.

What does post-Brexit Britain so far look like? Increased hate crimes, uncertainty about the future of migrants, loss of jobs, shortage of medicines, the Yellow Vests, Tommy Robinson in UKIP and a whole lot more. Globalisation delivered rapid change and it would be mistaken to think this would not generate tensions between different demographics, especially in towns where a sort of self-imposed segregation born from fears of racism and extremism arise. People are social animals and long for a sense of cultural communion, the sort of which local councils have not sought to nurture enough. These cultural divides have made groups more vulnerable to extremists from both the far-right and Islamist backgrounds, who feed off the sense of social exclusion that can fester.

But this has been exacerbated by the profound sense of loss in many post-industrial towns and cities which have been tapped into, relentlessly, by both the far-right, populist parties like UKIP and the right-wing tabloids.

When Margaret Thatcher closed the mines during the eighties a terrible gale of depravity blew through many British communities. A sense of cultural identity, communal tie and belonging was lost to the forces of globalisation and the market. The shift to a more insecure labour market further eroded the sense of community that once existed. In these towns a rust has settled over and provided a fertile ground for hostility towards immigration and Islam to grow.

Research has shown that areas close to major cities and university towns have warm views on both while those from the more industrial towns have negative views. In particular, attitudes towards Islam had been somewhat softening between 2011-2016 but then grew again during 2017, which is likely tied to the spate of terrorist attacks. The consequences of this cannot be underestimated for how it undermines the social fabrics by fracturing the cohesion in communities. In areas where hostile views towards Muslims and immigrants exist, the potential for racially-motivated violence and abuse are never too far away. Data found that following Brexit, 33 out of the 44 major police forces across England and Wales reported a sharp rise in hate crime.

Key to challenging this growth in far-right extremism include listening to concerns over immigration and Islam but at the same time presenting a passionate defence of the contributions made to our country by migrants and Muslims.

Vital to this is also appreciating the economic anxiety gripping the country. In leaving behind the industries without a plan to regenerate well-paid jobs offering dignity and social status, successive governments have entrapped communities in a state of chronic poverty and unemployment. Opportunities have relocated almost exclusively to London and inequality has cut through the country starkly like a knife. It is sharp, and it is clear. While the wealth at the top multiplies, there are millions of working families toiling in poverty, reliant on food banks and unable to pay energy bills. The shortage of affordable housing coupled with abominably high rents, cuts to welfare and local council budgets have punished families relentlessly. Insecurity over housing and jobs is a strong aspect of anxiety regarding immigration. Many feel they are already priced out and unable to compete, and regard low-skilled immigration as another threat to their own economic security and interests.

Within this climate, populists and extremists present an enemy in the shape of the low-wage immigrant, who without voice, status and power, cannot defend their interests. They would ordinarily look to the institutions for protection but find government ministers demonising them and newspapers blasting them. This is the game of divide and rule that the far-right thrive upon. We comforted ourselves with the decline of UKIP thinking that populism was in its last embers, but they achieved their goal of Brexit, and one imagines that a populist right-wing party offering economic protectionism to post-industrial towns coupled with harsher stances on immigration and Islam could perform extremely well.

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Growing up in Huddersfield, I too faced and witnessed prejudice and bullying at school during the 90s. A devastating phenomenon that was even worse for my father’s generation in the 70s and the generation before him in the 60s.

As a British Muslim of Pakistani descent, who is proud to have been raised in Huddersfield, I and other Pakistanis were subjected to racial slurs, hatred and even violent attacks. The same was true for many black and Irish children growing up at the same time. There was no logic or rational basis to the prejudice we faced; it was pure hatred, based on generations of ignorance.

While children are the most cherished members of any society, they can also be a troubling and cruel reflection of the very worse aspects of society. A Primary School child is not genetically racist or prejudiced. He or she comes to discriminate between ethnicity, race and gender on the basis of their socio-economic environment or if they come across hateful material. Furthermore, if the spark of hatred and racism is struck up in the home, then it is large sections of the media and many public commentators who douse it with fuel.

There is ample evidence that media coverage of Muslims and Islam is disproportionately negative. Moreover, common sense tells us that hatred towards Muslims is only increased by headlines such as ‘Muslims’ Sympathy for Jihadis,’ ‘Muslims Tell us How to Run our Schools’ or ‘Muslims Tell British: Go to Hell!’. Despite this, the mainstream media will continue to influence playgrounds by providing platforms to hate preachers such as Tommy Robinson.

In my experience, it would also be fair to say that racism and prejudice are not exclusively a ‘white’ problem. For example, some of the worst hatred I faced was from fellow Muslim children and teenagers who would verbally abuse and assault me and others purely on the basis of sectarianism; because we were Ahmadi Muslims, a peaceful sect of Islam they disagree with.  Racism really does affect us all.

As a lawyer, human rights activist, long-time youth worker and grass root community activist and anti-hate campaigner, I have had the opportunity to work with thousands of young people in Huddersfield and across the breadth of the UK. One of the most powerful lessons I have taken from my experience is that children and even adults, if given the chance have the capacity to learn tolerance, acceptance and plurality.

By way of example, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community runs a series of community projects. These include tree planting, cleaning up fly-tip areas, visiting and helping the elderly, supporting World War II veterans through the Poppy Appeal, responding to floods and other natural disasters, and raising money for the most disadvantaged in British society.

In twenty plus years of carrying out this work, I have witnessed countless people embrace, thank tearfully and befriend young Muslims who took the time to help and value them. Even members of far-right parties have knocked on our doors not to abuse or assault us, but to thank us, shake our hands and tell us that our kindness has caused them to question and even shed their prejudice.

Experience has taught me that the fire of hatred that is raging across the UK and Europe can be extinguished by mutual love, compassion, understanding and kindness. For that to happen, we need to get up and pro-actively meet one another. Living in isolation will only breed ignorance, prejudice and racism.

Farooq Aftab is a member of the British Ahmadi community and works to ensure human rights and justice.

The post Video of Racist Bullying in Huddersfield is not Shocking. It Happened to Me Too appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The report, from the Washington state sheriff’s office, became public after it analysed the firing of a deputy due to her links to the female offshoot of the Proud Boys – a movement which was launched in 2016 by Gavin McInnes (the co-founder of Vice Media), which the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) designates as a hate group.

In a warning to local law enforcement agencies, the FBI has said: “Proud Boys members have contributed to the recent escalation of violence at political rallies held on college campuses, and in cities like Charlottesville, Virginia, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.”

The Proud Boys and its leadership are noted for their overt misogyny, glorification of violence, Islamophobia, and transphobia. Members of the group attacked individuals they believed to be anti-fascists and were not arrested on October 13, despite the violence and homophobic chants. Arrests came later, as their violence made headlines across the globe. The NYPD had arrested and charged several members of the group in an article published by CBS News on October 22.

McInnes generated controversy and outrage last year after a video titled ’Ten Things I Hate About Jews’ went viral. Rebel Media, the far-right Canadian media outlet, then retitled it ‘Ten Things I Hate About Israel’ after accusations of antisemitism.

This latest development may pressure the Australian government further, as a petition calling for Tommy Robinson to have his visa application denied, has gained over 50,000 signatures.

A week ago, it emerged that Tommy Robinson had not been granted a visa in time to meet with Republican members of Congress in Washington, following an invite from the controversial president of the Middle East Forum, Daniel Pipes, which has funded Robinson’s legal defence. Mr Pipes met with Robinson in his hometown of Luton last year.

Nor is this the first time that Robinson has sought to forge links with the ‘Islamophobia industry’ in the United States.

Shayne Neumann, Labor’s immigration spokesman, has written to the federal government to deny McInnes a visa.

Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of Australia’s Anti-Defamation Commission, called on Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to deny Robinson a visa, saying his “race-baiting promotes religious bigotry”.

PayPal has recently cancelled the accounts of McInnes and Robinson, and several anti-fascist groups in the United States.

Fans of Mr Robinson and Mr McInnes, however, can still spend $995 on private dinner tickets in several major Australian cities.

Photos of Mr McInnes have appeared on the personal Instagram profile of Tommy Robinson eight times – including photos of the pair drinking, eating breakfast, and attending a Luton FC match together.

Credit:@realtommyrobinson/Instagram

Credit:@realtommyrobinson/Instagram

McInnes interviewed Robinson on CRTV, a conservative media outlet in October. He appeared alongside the leader of Ukip, Gerard Batten, Sargon of Akkad, Anne Marie Waters, leader of the far-right For Britain party, in protest at Tommy Robinson’s permanent ban from Twitter in May.

The Guardian newspaper has now revealed that the FBI had classified the Proud Boys as an extremist group in a meeting on August 2.

The post Tommy Robinson to tour Australia with the leader of group FBI deems extremist appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The incident occurred on October 29 at around 13:12 GMT.

A family member reached out to Tell MAMA and agreed to have the incident reported anonymously, adding that they were targeted for abuse by the same man due to their hijab.

She described how a man approached the mother and daughter as they queued in Greggs and spat in the child’s face and began to chant ‘Tommy Robinson’ at the young girl. The mother described hearing a spitting noise but was unaware of what had just happened until she turned around and observed the ‘sheer hatred’ in his expression.

The family member believes that the man targeted them due to their ethnicity and because the child’s mother also wears the hijab.

After leaving the branch of Greggs, she spotted the same man leaving an adjacent store and observed how the man had made an obscene gesture at her with his fingers.

The family have reported the incident to West Midlands Police but have expressed concern that the call handler and the responding officer ‘did not know’ who Tommy Robinson was.

Tell MAMA has long documented the disproportionate abuse and violence directed at Muslim women who wear Islamic clothing, by perpetrators often identified as being white males.

The attack, however, is even more shocking, given that an adult male felt emboldened enough to not only attack a child but also to intimidate the family by invoking the name of Mr Robinson in such a public setting without challenge.

You can get advice through our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

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The Court of Appeal’s ruling highlighted various technical flaws by the judge who oversaw in the handling of the Leeds case which, did in part, relate to the speed of events that risked undermining procedural safeguards, noting a critical lack of adjournment in the case and the failure to contact the Attorney General.

3/ The Leeds contempt finding was a total dog's breakfast. There were 4 errors. (1) It was rushed through for no good reason, (2) there was no clear statement of what he was accused of, (3) his sentencing was messed up, (4) the haste meant his lawyer couldn't properly mitigate pic.twitter.com/MJwKv1muH1

— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) August 1, 2018

The bail conditions placed upon Robinson prevent from going within 400 yards of Leeds Crown Court, and he will appear before the Old Bailey for a retrial for the contempt of court offence.

But as the Secret Barrister noted, the judgment was ‘a victory for the procedural rules, and a sharp reminder to the courts of the need to follow them.’

Robinson, charged under his real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed in May after he admitted to contempt of court after filming trial proceedings outside Leeds Crown Court and streaming it to over 800,000 people on Facebook Live.

His actions could have caused two major trials to collapse.

As Judge Geoffrey Marson told Robinson in May, “I am not sure you appreciate the potential consequence of what you have done.”

Indeed, had Robinson caused a re-trial, it would have meant that witnesses and potential victims would face the ordeal of giving evidence to a new jury. The cost of any such trial would have been in the hundreds of thousands, according to Judge Mason.

His appeal against the contempt of court conviction in Canterbury, however, was dismissed.

Robinson’s interest in the Canterbury trial related more to the ‘ethnicity or religion of the defendants by contrast with the alleged victims’ than actual journalism. As Judge Heather Norton stated in her sentencing remarks, a legitimate journalist would never refer to defendants as “Muslim paedophile rapists” under strict liability rules given how such pejorative language only serves to prejudge such cases.

This continues to demonstrate how the polarising and conspiratorial rhetoric of Robinson and some of his supporters (in the UK and abroad) risks eroding trust in public institutions.

One such supporter of Robinson, who travelled from Wales to support him, told the Guardian that, “They want to silence him because he challenges the status quo.”

But none of this is true.

Robinson admitted breaching reporting restricting in Leeds Crown Court and admitted that he was in contempt of court at Canterbury Crown Court.

And for some in the self-styled ‘#FreeTommy’ movement, such admission of guilt is ignored or downplayed against this drumbeat of conspiracism. The criminally convicted are lionised and held to the same moral standard as Nelson Mandela, a modern-day freedom fighter of sorts, exonerated by history if you follow this logic. This argument was also put forward by Gerard Batten, the leader of UKIP, a man who is no stranger to making inflammatory comments about Islam, which includes an unapologetic belief that the religion is a ‘death cult’ and that Muslims should sign his “proposed charter of Muslim understanding”, first published in 2006. Batten has also spoken at ‘counter-jihad’ event in 2007 which featured a keynote speech from Robert Spencer, a man who remains banned from entering the UK due to his Islamophobic views.

It is rather telling that following his release from Onley Prison, Robinson told reporters: “All the British media do is lie. I have a lot to say but nothing to you.”

The official Facebook page of Robinson doubled-down on such rhetoric in a post which has been shared almost ten-thousand times suggests that the ‘corrupt fake news mainstream media’ had “spent the best part of 2 months writing horrible lies, slander and fake news not only about Tommy but also hard working people who support him.”

Tellingly, this post ends “The establishment tried to break him mentally and physically!”. But the establishment also corrected procedural errors to ensure fairness in the legal system, which is part of the very establishment Robinson rallies against, expressed in the language of the far-right populist politicians who lent Robinson their support.

The concept of ‘entrepreneurial populism’ may help us understand how Robinson and parts of his support base will praise and chastise public institutions when it proves expedient to do so.

Academics used this framework to analyse the rise of political figures like Silvio Berlusconi in Italy. But the paradoxes this form of populism presents can, in some way, help to explain the rise in support for Robinson (more so in Europe, the United States, and Australia as evidence suggests from social media analysis of the ‘#FreeTommy’ hashtag).

A key paradox of ‘entrepreneurial populism’ is that the person does not need to be trustworthy or even have strong moral credentials because the establishment and politicians are viewed as corrupt.

Trust, is, therefore, placed in the untrustworthy in “order to play a system whose institutions one does not trust but whose ideals and intentions are still trusted.” Hence why Robinson is able to portray himself as a journalist.

We have also observed how sections of Robinson’s support base has descended into violence and criminality, as sections of the crowd at a ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ rally in London on June 9 had attacked police officers with bottles, metal barriers and other objects. Violent disorder followed the June 16 protest where supporters of Robinson harassed and intimidated a female Muslim bus driver.

Recent events have also exposed the growing influence of support for Robinson abroad and the use of foreign money to cover his legal costs. But this is nothing new, and merely a question of scale.

Daniel Pipes, the president of the US-based conservative thinktank, the Middle East Forum (MEF), met with Robinson in Luton last year, months before the MEF sponsored two ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ rallies in London in June.

The claim came from Pipes himself during an interview with the website the Savvy Street, which appeared online on June 5, 2017.

When asked about recent Robinson’s imprisonment, Pipes replied: “I spent much of a day with Tommy in December 2017 as he took me around his hometown of Luton,” adding that he considered him a knowledgeable ‘leader’.

The MEF also funded the successful legal defence of Geert Wilders in 2010 and 2011 against Dutch charges of inciting racial hatred.

Raheem Kassam, the one-time editor-in-chief of Breitbart London, failed Ukip leadership candidate, a former advisor to Nigel Farage, and Senior Fellow for the Gatestone Institute, an anti-Muslim think tank, told AFP last month that he was working to make Robinson’s case an international event. He said: “When the left see an injustice, it rallies an international caucus of people together… and we don’t do that enough on our side.”

Kassam characterised Islam as a “fascistic and totalitarian ideology” on the BBC’s flagship Radio 4’s Today programme when defending Robinson on August 2.

Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, defended Robinson on LBC radio, describing him off-mic as “the backbone” of Britain.

Robinson had received upwards of £20,000 in Bitcoin donations following his short stint in prison from supporters abroad.  His official social media accounts also grew in popularity.

Nor is this the first time that American donors, named in multiple reports concerning the ‘Islamophobia network’ in the United States, have solicited donations from their supporters to aid Robinson’s multiple legal issues. In 2011, for example, the Gates of Vienna blog asked readers to donate money to Robinson through the EDL’s official bank account on September 8, 2011.

Following his arrest and subsequent conviction for entering the United States on a false passport in September 2012, it emerged that Robinson had flown back to London under the name of Paul Harris – the legitimate name on his passport.

Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer used their blogs to encourage their supporters to donate to his legal funds. Donations to Robinson’s legal fund came from Stop the Islamization of America and the American Freedom Defense Initiative, both founded by Geller in 2010. Robinson had sat on the President’s Council of Stop Islamization of Nations (SION) in 2012, alongside Geller, Spencer, and others, following their event in Stockholm that year.

Support also came from the anti-Muslim ‘Bare Naked Islam’ blog.

This new-found support offered to Robinson, however,  by the MEF, appears larger in scale, and included fundraising for his legal fees (through the Legal Project), and political support, hence why Geert Wilders of the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands, and US Congressman Paul Gosar (Republican of Arizona), both spoke at the June 9 rally.

Gosar tweeted at Donald Trump to raise his concerns about the treatment of Robinson on June 13 and spoke at the ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ rally in London two days later.

Perhaps a larger curiosity, however, was the MEF’s promise of diplomatic support for Robinson, which may help to explain why Sam Brownback, the US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, is said to have complained to the British ambassador in Washington D.C. following lobbying from Breitbart, according to Reuters, an accusation Brownback denies.

Donald Trump Jr also tweeted about Robinson’s apparent mistreatment in May – demonstrating how the conviction of Tommy Robinson has caused ripples in North America.

Before news of Robinson’s imprisonment had spread in May 2018, there was little to no reference to the ex-EDL leader, on the Twitter accounts of the MEF or Mr Pipes.

Pipes signed a petition calling for the release of Robinson and encouraged others to sign it on May 26 and tweeted a portion of the of the Savvy Street interview concerning his trip to Luton to meet with Robinson.

The MEF Twitter account had tweeted about Robinson on September 11, 2015, with an external link to a Breitbart article concerning Robinson’s departure from the EDL.

Pipes remains a controversial figure. In 1990, he wrote: “West European societies are unprepared for the massive immigration of brown-skinned peoples cooking strange foods and not exactly maintaining Germanic standards of hygiene.” Years later, he attempted to clarify this sentence, suggesting that he was trying to reflect the thinking of European leaders, not his own. A blog published in 1997 included the sentence, “Antisemitism, historically a Christian phenomenon, is now primarily a Muslim phenomenon — and not just in the Middle East, but right here in the United States.”

In 2002, Pipes’ Campus Watch came in for criticism after allegedly publishing ‘dossiers’ on US-based academics and their views on political Islam and Palestine, according to a New York Times article published that year.

Pipes has propagated falsehoods relating to so-called ‘no-go-zones’ and indulged the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was a Muslim in his youth. He wrote in defence of various European far-right political parties in Europe, including Marine Le Pen’s National Front (now rebranded as the French Rassemblement).

The overtures from Steve Bannon towards Robinson may prove part of his wider strategy (however inflated or wishful), to launch a new far-right think tank in Europe.

From the political failures of British Freedom Party to the limited reach of Pegida UK, and his departure from Rebel Media earlier this year, puts Robinson at somewhat of a crossroads with an impending re-trial hanging over him, and the ‘#FreeTommy’ movement may mobilise again.

The post How the latest Tommy Robinson saga exposed the influence of foreign funding appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The e-mails suggest that ‘political correctness’ is behind the arrest and incarceration of Robinson, which demonstrates the factually inaccurate nature of the propaganda that is being posted. Robinson was in breach of reporting restrictions on an ongoing trial and was previously warned of his activities by a judge. Something that he disregarded and flouted, leading to his incarceration.

The e-mail also twists historical fact and suggests that Poles fought for ‘free speech’ and cites the left leaning Solidarnosc movement, which was trade union led and then supported by the Catholic Church during the 1980’s. The Solidarnosc movement was led by factory workers, many of whom would have no idea or no empathy for divisive racist movements and the twist of history to suit far right narratives and sympathisers, shows how defunct and ‘fake news’ such material is.

Identified

We have identified the people associated with Januzs Korwin-Mikke’s ‘Wolnosc’ (Liberty) Party. Faith Matters have previously highlighted comments from Korwin-Mikke before where he has stated:

“The world is collapsing. 150 years ago, we white people, ruled the world. Today, we are being colonised…….We colonised Africa, it wasn’t the Negroes who colonised Europe. It’s something to be proud of. I am proud of my civilisation”

He has also stated that:

“I have no doubts that your daughters and grand-daughters will end up in harems. Muslims despise us, we are doormats to them. Why? Because in modern Europe, life is the highest value. I don’t understand it. To be honest, Muslim civilisation is closer to me than the European Union which is just savage. When the Muslims come, at least they will abolish the VAT tax. They might chop some heads off, but at least they won’t allow any gay parades”.

The You Tube clip in the e-mails that were circulated to Parliamentarians highlight right-wing ‘You Tuber’ Dariusz Matecki, who is closely linked to Korwin-Mikke’s Party. He is one of their chief propagandists.

Faith Matters has made repeat calls for the Home Office to bar entry to people like Korwin-Mikke, yet he has managed to enter the United Kingdom and speak at the annual meeting of his UK branch. Korwin-Mikke also spoke at a far-right ‘free speech’ rally in London on May 27th alongside Anne-Marie Waters, (ex-UKIP), and now with the ‘For Britain’ party.

We have found that Matecki confirms that he is the initiator of a campaign to send messages to UK politicians supporting Robinson and demanding his release.

Matecki also recently published an interview about Robinson with the leader of ‘Liberty’ in the United Kingdom, one Jakub Grygowski, who is based in London. Within this interview, Matecki confirms once again, that he is the initiator of this campaign to send e-mails requesting the ‘release’ of Robinson to UK Parliamentarians.

The interview carries with it, the usual twisted and perverse rhetoric of ‘Muslims only coming to the UK for benefits’, claims that British children cannot wear crosses since they ‘offend’ British Muslims and British people tolerating the ‘deviation’ of LGBT equality rights because of “years of brainwashing”. This is the nature of such groups agitating to cause divisions in our country.

Grygowski is also found to suggest in the video that ‘Muslim areas’ in London are extremely dangerous and that if he was an ‘attractive young woman’ he would be scared to enter them. He carries onto say that ‘unattractive women’ should also stay away from these areas since Muslims “are into anything, even fancying goats”.

Furthermore, to add a twist to reality, Grygowski said in the interview that there is a ‘Muslim takeover’ of United Kingdom and he claimed that Luton is 60-70% Muslim when at the last census it was 24.6%.

Advice

Our advice to parliamentarians is to report these e-mails to the police since they make up a sustained campaign, emanating from a far-right Polish group with a small number of activists in the UK. Nonetheless, from the background we have provided, it is clear that the individuals behind the activities are not only deeply unpleasant, they hold extreme views about Muslims, LGBT communities, women and black communities.

For further information on such groups, we would suggest that you follow the work of Faith Matters.

The post Parliamentarians Receive Multiple E-mails from Individuals Citing Polish Support for Far Right Agitator, Robinson appeared first on TELL MAMA.

It took the jury just 59 minutes to find Darren Osborne, 48, guilty of the murder of Makram Ali, 51, and the attempted murder of nine others.

The 48-year-old had a ‘warped’ hatred of Muslims which was rooted in the ‘material he had watched on TV and online’, according to Jonathan Rees QC for the prosecution. The online materials were from far-right sources which included circulars distributed by Tommy Robinson, the founder and ex-leader of the English Defence League, via the far-right Canadian outlet Rebel Media.

Mr Osborne had used internet searches for Britain First and the English Defence League. He used Twitter to engage with the deputy leader of Britain First, Jayda Fransen, via an automated direct message.

One internet search took him to a misleading article headlined “Proof: Muslims celebrated terror attack in London” on the Infowars website.

Devices used by Mr Osborne, which included two iPhones and an iPad revealed that Osborne searched out various tweets, one such tweet, made by Tommy Robinson two days before the Finsbury Park attack read: “Where was the day of rage after the terrorist attacks. All I saw was lighting candles.”

Following the London Bridge terror attack, Mr Osborne is said to have browsed a tweet which read: “We have to go back to Churchill, Churchill never told us to hold vigils and sing songs, he told us to fight.”

Within hours of that attack, Osborne researched more Britain First materials online, and the murder of Christians in the Philippines.

For his long-term partner of twenty years, Sarah Andrews, however, Osborne was an ‘unpredictable’ man, who she had never considered a racist until he watched the BBC drama Three Girls in May. He then began research far-right materials online. In her mind, the documentary had such an impact on Mr Osborne that she likened it to a form of ‘brainwashing’, according to the judge.

His outward hostility towards Muslims meant that his daughter stopped bringing her Muslims friends home to visit.

But when it came to hiring the large Luton box van in Cardiff on 17 June, he was described as “polite and well-mannered”.

The outward hostility and racial hatred of Muslims Mr Osborne displayed at home would resurface again two days before the attack. At Hollybush Pub in Pentwyn, near Cardiff, Osborne burst into paroxysms of anti-Muslim rhetoric, stating that ‘all’ Muslims ‘were terrorists’ and that he was going to ‘kill all Muslims’, according to Callum Spence.

Mr Spence, a Royal Engineer, told the court that Osborne had mumbled ‘all our families are going to be Muslim. They are all going to be terrorists.’ He then claimed to be a serving soldier but could not disclose to Mr Spence which regiment he belonged to, insisting that he ‘will find out tomorrow’.

Andrew Parker, the landlord of the Hollybush pub, described Osborne’s ‘agitated’ state, adding that he ranted about Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party.

Osborne approached the bar and requested a pen as he ‘wanted to send a letter to Parliament’. CCTV footage presented to the jury showed Osborne writing a note which would later appear in the van following the attack.

The letter included statements about ‘feral’ and ‘inbred raping Muslim men’ who are ‘hunting in packs preying on our children’. He appended this section of the letter with a racist statement about Muslims ‘climbing’ back on ‘ya camels’.

He vented about the child sexual exploitation scandal in Rotherham, directing his rage at Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, whom, like some sections of the UK press, insisted that he was a ‘terrorist sympathiser’. The letter also blamed London Mayor Sadiq Khan for the terror attacks last year.

The ideological curve is most apparent when Osborne wrote: “islams ideology doesn’t belong here & neither does Sharia law.”

He expressed his desire to kill Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan, adding that killing the Mayor of London would be akin to a ‘lottery win’. To kill Jeremy Corbyn in Mr Osborne’s mind would mean ‘one less terrorist on our streets’. Another target was the Rochdale Labour councillor Aftab Hussain.

His original target was the ‘Al-Quds Day’ march, on June 18, expecting that Mr Corbyn would attend. Mr Osborne changed targets after road closures prevented from being close to the march. He then drove to Forest Hill, south London, asking a member of the public where the nearest mosque was at around 20:00 pm.

Learning that no such mosque existed in the area, he settled on Finsbury Park and was able to follow a motorist to the location in under thirty minutes.

When Osborne took the stand, he offered none of the racist bravado or conspiracy theories he spoke of days earlier. Here was a man who attempted to blame the attack on a man named ‘Dave’. The prosecution argued that his contradictory statements were proof of a ‘fabricated’ defence from a man who lacked the ‘courage of his convictions’.

This pattern of calculating behaviour is consistent with his statements given in the immediate aftermath of the terror attack.

Footage from the body camera of PC David Jones, the attending officer who is said to have handcuffed Mr Osborne in the aftermath of the attack, confirmed that Osborne was the sole driver and that Mr Osborne had claimed to have ‘lost control’ of the vehicle. He added that he had drunk a ‘couple of pints’ before the attack.

The loss of control and consumption of alcohol were proven false. Osborne had no trace of alcohol in his system, despite being described as a ‘functioning alcoholic’ who had been out of work for years and had previous convictions for violence. A ‘ticking time-bomb’ to some.

The injuries Makram Ali sustained after collapsing were described as ‘catastrophic’ as the Home Office pathologist Dr Simon Poole believed that Mr Ali was still alive when Osborne struck.

A group of Muslim men, dressed in traditional Islamic clothing, rushed over to assist, when Osborne struck again, injuring nine.

Commander Dean Haydon, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “From our investigation, it was clear that Osborne had planned to come to London with the intention of carrying out an attack against the Muslim community.

“Only he will know, but if Osborne’s aim was to create divisions and hate between communities, then from what I have seen, he has failed in that respect. The way that the local community in Finsbury Park – of all faiths and backgrounds – came together was astounding and this reaction was the same across London and the UK.”

Sue Hemming, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Darren Osborne planned and carried out this attack because of his hatred of Muslims. He must now face the consequences of his actions.”

It would be short-sighted, however, to frame Osborne’s act of murderous terror as a response to terrorism or even child sexual exploitation.

His murderous intent was ideological, believing Islam to be an ideology which is incompatible with the UK, and calling for the banning of Sharia Law, arguments unrelated to either event. Osborne wanted to be a martyr for his ideological beliefs. He tried and failed to flee the scene, shouting: “I want to kill more Muslims”.

In short, Darren Osborne’s ideological conviction to ‘kill all Muslims’ went beyond words and turned into an act of terror which left one man dead and left others injured. The Prime Minister remains correct in her assessment that anti-Muslim hatred is a form of extremism.

The pathway to radicalisation is not linear but Osborne’s trajectory towards such thinking and actions in a few short weeks is alarming but not uncommon. Perhaps owing to how the violent rhetoric of some which trade complexities for binaries of racial division and hatred can overwhelm more vulnerable minds. There is a growing awareness among experts about the role mental health can play in the radicalisation process.

The ease in which Osborne accessed such hateful materials online is not a call for censorship but a call for an honest discussion about how the far-right continues to exploit sections of the internet. For example, Britain First reaped the benefits of a verification badge on Twitter, before its long overdue suspension from the platform. The extremist far-right movement still benefits from a verified Facebook profile.

In our 2016 annual report, titled A Constructed Threat: Identity, Intolerance and the Impact of Anti-Muslim Hatred, we called on social media platforms and search engine providers to do more to tackle the scourge of far-right extremism online. For example, we called on Google to “review how far-right websites are cheating its search algorithm through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to improve their rankings on stories related to crime, sexual exploitation, and terrorism”.

He will be sentenced tomorrow morning.

The post Darren Osborne guilty of Finsbury Park terror attack appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The famous footballing veteran put out the following tweet about the treatment of young refugees and showed compassion and care towards these stateless young people fleeing from persecution.

You would think that trolling the nation’s favourite footballing celebrity would be a particularly silly thing to do, but in jumped Tommy ‘reformed’ Robinson with a tweet against Lineker who has 5.32 million Twitter followers.

The result was a one-liner that absolutely put the Robinson on the back foot causing him to send out abusive messages to Lineker.

Having lost the argument, Robinson deferred back to what he knows, insulting people. However, on this occasion, what was clear to see was that he picked on the wrong person. The nation stands behind Lineker, whilst some of those behind Robinson involve a hotchpotch of anti-Muslim bigots, racists and haters. Just to add to it all, Robinson was blocked!

The treatment by some towards these young refugees is hideously racist and utterly heartless. What's happening to our country?

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) October 18, 2016

@TRobinsonNewEra racist idiot

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) October 18, 2016

Didn't take long. Throws out accusations then cannot back them up. Typical celebrity moron living on another planet to ordinary people pic.twitter.com/bKiqnyqsfK

— Tommy Robinson (@TRobinsonNewEra) October 18, 2016

The post Gary Lineker Slams Anti-Muslim Bigots & Tommy Robinson appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Failing to realise that he was targeting the wrong woman, he decided that Muslim lifestyle magazine Producer and Emel Founder, Sara Joseph, was in fact Saadia Khan, the wife of London Mayor, Sadiq Khan. Not to be outdone in the circulation of the graphic placing Sara and Saadia as being the same woman, (now with a Hijab), Tommy decided to put out the graphic in the hope that it would persuade people that the ‘Islamic take-over’ of London’s Town Hall has begun.

Hey, who cares, when one Muslim woman looks like another huh? Or maybe it was that in the rush to spread fear since ‘Moozlims’ have taken over the Mayoralty, they now had a secret plan to Islamize all of the of State institutions. This view that Muslims are secretly taking over is truly what far right sympathisers.

Robinson may truly believe this stuff, even though we think that he secretly knows that this not true. Alas, he has built his platform on anti-Muslim bigotry. So why really change?

In his blind hatred Tommy can't tell the difference between Saadiya and me.
Malice knows no boundaries it seems. pic.twitter.com/jGBkdsND4U

— Sarah Joseph (@SarahIJoseph) May 8, 2016

The post ‘I Have Changed’ Robinson Sees Hijabs Abound After Sadiq Khan’s Win appeared first on TELL MAMA.

However, not to be outdone in the race to target Muslim communities, far right groups like Pegida have joined up with ‘Mosqueblock’ and they have decided that they will provide guidance to members of the public to lodge what can only be assumed to be vexatious complaints against mosque planning applications.

So there we go. Pegida who claimed to fight ‘Islamic extremism’ are in fact, targeting a group of citizens by potentially making it  difficult for them to lodge successful applications for local mosques. We do not want you to pray in mosques is what Pegida is suggesting by these set of actions.

So next time you hear Pegida talking about tackling extremism, just remember this. They believe that one group of people in our country, British Muslim citizens, should be subjected to complaints if they want to develop a mosque to pray in. If anything, this shows what a malevolent group Pegida are.

The post Pegida Believes that a ‘Parking Jihad’ is Being Waged in Areas appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The Advisory group meets with ministers and advises and informs them of key areas and issues where anti-Muslim bigotry affects Muslim communities and is part of the Government’s strategy to reach out to and ensure that all communities feel safe within our country.

On the 6th of January 2016, Mrs Ahmed simply tweeted out that she has been on a school run to pick up her 11-year-old daughter and stopped to wait at a junction with a car in front of her. This vehicle’s driver, it seems, was abusive towards Mrs Ahmed and subsequent tweets stated that she did not aggravate the driver and that she has previously suffered such intimidating incidents without any provocation.

Mrs Ahmed simply reported to us, (as a national third-party reporting project), the fact that she perceived this incident to be anti-Muslim in nature since she is visibly Muslim. She also stated that she did not do anything to provoke the individual concerned.  In fact, this is one of the reason’s why third-party reporting centres were set up after the Macpherson report of 1999. They were set up so that members of the public could report in hate incidents or hate crimes based on their perception of the incident. These reports would then be sent to the police who would either crime the report for action or place it as some form of intelligence so that if anything occurred in the future, there was a trace of the initial complaint.

Having received the tweets from Ms Ahmed, we ensured that we contacted her to find out more about what had happened and to re-assure her that we would be in touch with the police on the matter so that they could be in touch with her. For those who are not aware, this is one of the roles of a third-party national hate crime reporting project like Tell MAMA. Ensuring public confidence in the system to ensure justice for the victim is key. This means contacting victims to corroborate a version of events with any evidence available.

So what could possibly go wrong when a victim of perceived anti-Muslim prejudice reported into a national project, set up to support victims of anti-Muslim prejudice?

Well, along came Anne-Marie Waters, Chairwoman of ‘Sharia Watch’ and one of the self-appointed leaders of Pegida UK. Having imposed herself into the conversation, she suggested that those reporting hate incidents into third-party reporting projects, should not be ‘using up police time.’ This after she decided to include references to grooming and sexual abuse, making the bigoted link between innocent law-abiding Muslims and others who had been involved in grooming activities. The rage of Anne-Marie Waters though, did not last very long according to her tweets, yet they generated a barrage of hateful tweets to the victim thereafter.

Every day, tens of hate incident reports go into third-party hate crime organisations and agencies. Some of these reports lead to arrests and some provide strong intelligence to stop future crimes that could lead to more serious assaults. Such projects therefore provide confidence and support for victims.

Not according to Anne-Marie Waters, who decided that she knew better and in the process, spiralled the conversation into a blame game with the victim being targeted by someone who may know very little about the experiences of black and minority ethnic women and the racism, prejudice and bigotry that some have faced.

We have listed the threads of conversations below and these are just a snapshot of the abusive messages that Ms Ahmed received over a 48 hour period with a sustained and co-ordinated campaign to abuse and intimidate her.

So I was on the school run picking up my 11yo daughter from primary school. I drive up to top of road, stop to wait behind car in front ->

— Akeela Ahmed (@AkeelaAhmed) January 6, 2016

@tellmamauk @akeelaahmed They'll look in to before or after all the rapes?

— Anne Marie Waters (@AMDWaters) January 13, 2016

.@AMDWaters @TellMamaUK expected better of you Anne, violence against women not ok no matter who per is

— Akeela Ahmed (@AkeelaAhmed) January 13, 2016

@akeelaahmed @tellmamauk Where was the violence Akeela? I wouldn't do this, but I wouldn't use up police time with it either.

— Anne Marie Waters (@AMDWaters) January 13, 2016

To further whip up a storm, self styled ‘New Era’ Tommy Robinson joined in to agitate with the folowing tweet that further inflamed the situation. Given the abuse that Ms Ahmed was now receiving, this tweet exacerbated the volume and intensity of the abuse that she received and which was also directed at us.

The tweets below are just a snapshot of the hundreds of tweets that were directed at the victim.

https://twitter.com/Punjabiarnie/status/687437479293628417

the fuck you gonna do about it @AkeelaAhmed @TellMamaUK pic.twitter.com/kesderpMIY

— 「hurricanematthew」 (@Hitoshura) January 14, 2016

@Muslim_Patrol @AkeelaAhmed @Sheanderthal @TellMamaUK So her feelings were hurt, so what? You need to learn the meaning of sufferance

— matt nicholls (52%) (@shoutinghorse) January 14, 2016

@AkeelaAhmed @AMDWaters @TellMamaUK that is a well known had signal for "you cant drive." Hardly a beheading or suicide bomber

— The One Zane (@TheLexZane) January 14, 2016

https://twitter.com/AbsurdinessBrwn/status/687429093852344324

@AkeelaAhmed @TellMamaUK pic.twitter.com/q08ApKOWkx

— notch (@notch66) January 13, 2016

https://twitter.com/Bastille1790/status/687427769022689281

@Ricky_Vaughn99 @AkeelaAhmed @AMDWaters @TellMamaUK she is a slut for not covering her face, who is she trying to seduce? #burqa

— Richard Hollywood (@MrDickHollywood) January 13, 2016

@MrPaulTown @AkeelaAhmed @TellMamaUK I wonder what those 1400 kids did to provoke Rotherham rape?

— Deus Vult Deports (@IvanJakoff) January 13, 2016

https://twitter.com/WilliamRLBaker/status/687418431944175616

@SimonT_Space @AkeelaAhmed @TellMamaUK @metpoliceuk what's wrong with that? Expressing himself. Are you a major whiner, a delicate flower?

— deplorable Kathleen (@kmcccomcastnet) January 13, 2016

https://twitter.com/GrimDavis/status/687417315885973505

https://twitter.com/FDExD_T2015/status/687416507643592710

@TellMamaUK @Ricky_Vaughn99 @AkeelaAhmed Do muslim women who are battered by their husbands report it to the police, and if not, why not?

— natalia yusupova (@nataliayusupova) January 13, 2016

@AkeelaAhmed @TellMamaUK @Sadieisonfire pic.twitter.com/Gmjw39JA2H

— beach boy (@666_mrnubs) January 13, 2016

https://twitter.com/AlexPareene/status/687413460146216961

https://twitter.com/anonym_exmuslim/status/687407600409939970

@billybrown881 @XxPLWxX @TRobinsonNewEra @AkeelaAhmed @TellMamaUK pic.twitter.com/WdNIEbboS6

— Gabi.ai/Sir WotNot (@w0tn0t) January 13, 2016

https://twitter.com/hequbiss1/status/687406837482827777

@mcfcsm @TRobinsonNewEra @AkeelaAhmed @TellMamaUK So count your blessings, & be grateful our weak government put up with your nonsense

— gab.ai/fifi_j (@fifi_j) January 13, 2016

The post Muslim Female on Advisory Board to Government on tackling Islamophobia Incessantly Abused appeared first on TELL MAMA.

At the helm is Paul Weston, leader of the fringe party Liberty GB. Weston stood in the 2015 General Election and mustered just 0.4 per cent of the vote (158 votes) in Luton South. His party came bottom in the 2014 European Elections with 0.02 per cent of the vote (2,494 votes).

He stood in the 2010 General Election for Ukip and achieved just 664 votes in the Cities Of London & Westminster constituency. In a 2010 interview, Weston warned that immigration results in the “ethnic cleansing of the English”. And that a civil war could occur in the next ’20 years’.

Apocalyptic and self-victimisation narratives continue to pervade his ideology and writings.

Following the murder of Lee Rigby in May 2013, Weston warned that ‘we are losing a racial war, we are losing a cultural war‘. He claimed that you would find ‘no white people in Tower Hamlets’ due to rising demographics of non-whites and Muslims.

In response to accusations of racism, Weston responded “If I want to avoid a civil war happening in my country, I am prepared to accept being called a racist“.

Weston quit Ukip after Lord Pearson stood down as leader. For him, the party would take a soft line towards Islam under Nigel Farage. He wrote in 2012 that “I think Islam will cause even more death and destruction in Europe over the 21st century than Nazism and Communism caused over the 20th century”.

Ukip, however, are happy to exploit anti-Islam sentiments when politically expedient.

Weston took on the chairmanship of the British Freedom Party (BFP) in 2011. A year later and the party announced an alliance with the English Defence League (EDL). The EDL’s founder and ex-leader, Tommy Robinson, and his cousin, Kevin Carroll, joined the leadership structure.

In the 2012 Local Elections the BFP stood six candidates (five in Liverpool and one in Basildon) with derisive results.

Weston left the BFP before it dissolved. He launched Liberty GB in 2013. The foundations of Liberty GB are contingent on cultural nationalism and anti-Islam sentiments.

In 2014, police arrested Mr Weston after quoting from Churchill’s book The River War. In truth, the arrest had more to do with a failure to follow a dispersal order, and charges were later dropped.

Nor is Mr Weston a stranger to Pegida. He spoke at their Newcastle rally in March 2015; where he went on to compare the Prophet Muhammad to the ISIS extremist Mohammed Emwazi. A year earlier, his speaking engagements included EDL rallies.

Mr Weston’s links counter-jihad circles runs deeper than his political career. His blogs on the counter-jihad site Gates of Vienna began in 2007. He attended a Brussels conference in in that same year alongside Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, Lars Hedegaard, and Bat Ye’or. Mr Weston attended the 2008 counter-jihad conference in Vienna. And in 2011, Weston brought a delegation of BFP members to the London counter-jihad conference. At the 2012 counter-jihad conference in Brussels, Tommy Robinson spoke on behalf of the BFP and EDL.

A discussion of Pegida’s new leadership is not complete without reference to Anne Marie Waters. She chairs an organisation called Sharia Watch. In May of last year, Ms Waters invited Tommy Robinson to speak at the launch of Voice UK – Victims of Islamic Cultural Extremism.

In the past she has contributed to Lars Hedegaard’s counter-jihad website Dispatch International. And shared a platform with him in 2011.

Before the 2015 election, a Daily Mirror sting exposed her anti-Islamic views during a Mothers Against Radical Islam And Sharia (MARIAS) rally. As Ukip’s parliamentary candidate for Lewisham East she went on to gain 3,886 votes (9.1 per cent).

Waters and Weston were due to speak at the ‘Draw Mohammed’ cartoons exhibition. Amid security concerns, the event was later cancelled.

So why the change? Pegida hope to tap the wellspring of anxieties towards Islam and appeal to ‘middle England‘ and individuals put off by the violence of the EDL. Pegida affords a new platform for Tommy Robinson’s unrepentant views towards Islam – without the toxic legacy of the EDL.

George Whale, Liberty GB’s Treasurer, who sat on the BFP’s Executive Council, has been invited into Pegida UK’s administrative team. So has Liberty GB’s Outreach Officer Jack Buckby – who posed for photos with former BNP leader Nick Griffin.

Pegida’s leadership change demonstrates the insulated yet interconnected networks within counter-jihad circles. This contiguous ideology extends across Europe and North America. It creates its own online echo chambers and speaks to simplistic, binary world views.

Pegida hopes this interconnectivity will come to fruition with simultaneous protests across Europe on February 6.

The post Who is Pegida UK’s new leader Paul Weston? appeared first on TELL MAMA.

However, Robinson’s actions have placed a Rotherham resident of Pakistani heritage at real risk. This tweet (below), which Robinson sent out a few days ago is false and makes an allegation that two individuals around the Member of Parliament for Rotherham, are paedophiles. Such actions can put the lives of these two individuals at risk and Robinson should be held to account for this.

One of the individuals has worked with Tell MAMA to place a civil claim against a branch of UKIP and this is ongoing. They initially tweeted out a virtually identical tweet and our advice to him is to pursue a civil claim against Robinson for the dissemination of this material.

Robinson claims to act for against ‘Islamic extremism.’ His tweets show a different stance and one which panders to anti-Muslim bigots. No doubt, Robinson may well be hearing from the solicitor of the individual that he has libelled.

The post Robinson Endangers Rotherham Resident of Pakistani Muslim Heritage appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Of course, some desire civil war (imagined or otherwise) because it gives those disaffected and disempowered voices a grand narrative and sense of belonging. Hence why groups like Britain First heavily borrow the iconography of the Knights Templar.

Key individuals in the movement like Tommy Robinson openly peddle anti-Muslim conspiracies. In a 2014 interview, he told Newsweek “The UK is heading to civil war. Whether it happens in five, 10 or 20 years, there will be bloodshed”. A year later, he claimed halal meat funds terrorism.

Socialisation in the offline and online worlds potentially hardens ideologies and perceived grievances towards this type of thinking. In his keynote speech on counter-extremism, Prime Minister David Cameron argued that ‘grievance justifications’ must be challenged. A challenge that extends to far-right and ‘counter-jihad’ circles.

Quite often, these groups foster a sense of self-victimisation. For example, they would argue that is not ‘racist’ to worry about becoming a ‘white minority’ in Britain (a classic white supremacist trope). The far-right are mere victims of immigration, Muslims and a two-tier justice system. Therefore, they must find ways to reinsert themselves back into the dominant culture.

The Prime Minister was also correct to say that we must challenge the conspiracy peddlers ‘who try to suggest that there is some kind of secret Muslim conspiracy to take over our government’. A fear of ‘Islamisation’ also dates back to the European tradition of viewing Jewish and Muslim communities as ‘foreign intruders’ in societies. ‘Intruders’ intent on changing societies through demographics alongside the historic, nefarious and paradoxical antisemitic trope of disproportionate Jewish influence over public institutions.

A similar notion of this belief is ‘Dhimmitude’ a term coined by ‘pseudo-scholar’ Bat Ye’or. Ye’or contends that non-Muslims serving in Muslim conquered lands treaty for protection from their new leaders. A bizarre notion that feeds a false narrative that Muslims are afforded legal and political favours.

The idea of a ‘Muhammad cartoon contest’ or exhibition is infantile and crass; but they have the right to host an event, no matter how desperate their need for attention. Others can peacefully counter-protest. But like in Texas, the best antidote is to ignore it. Indulging these groups provides the media attention they crave.

Had two extremists not reacted with violence, it is unlikely many beyond Texas would know of the AFDI’s contest (that spawned various copycat events in Europe and North America). Sadly, extremists on both sides intend to fan the flames of bigotry. Murderous intentions are no response to offence.

Thankfully though, many British Muslims are secure enough in their faith to follow the response of the Prophet Muhammad when faced with insults. Giving voice to this middle ground is key to drowning out extremist narratives on both sides.

The post Civil war? A note of caution about the ‘counter-jihadists’ and their Muhammad cartoons exhibition appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The Mail on Sunday story highlights how Amin suggested that the EDL should announce a march against the Dudley mosque just before the election, only to back down after a series of meetings (organised by Amin), with the local police and Muslim communities. The aim was to give the public the impression that he had lowered tensions in the local area by halting the EDL march and thereby to gain enough support the overturn the razor tight Labour majority in the area.

Furthermore, the investigation revealed that he wanted to possibly pay EDL activists who could talk to voters at the doorstep and who may have been persuaded to vote for him due to his military service. Amin must have assumed that the EDL activists could target specific profiles of potential voters and advocate his military credentials and service to them.

There are times when individuals over-reach themselves and make mistakes. There are positions that individuals and elected officials take that make clear their red lines and their desire to speak out on issues that matter to them. We understand that in an information rich and fast moving media cycle, these things happen and positions are taken. This is the rich tapestry of what makes life so exciting and sometimes so infuriating.

Yet, the investigation by the Mail on Sunday opens up a whole array of issues in relation to this ex-candidate. To use the EDL, a far right extremist group, to promote tensions in an area that has been blighted by tensions due to objections to the Dudley mosque, is jaw dropping. No-one should under-estimate the local fractures and tensions that the Dudley mosque has caused and which has ramifications for communities to this day. This is not to side with people who object to the Dudley mosque, nor is to support the vile campaigning by anti-Muslim groups like Britain First who seek to agitate and increase divisions. However, it is to acknowledge that the Dudley mosque has become a focal political point in the area and that tensions need to be reduced by cool heads.

With this in mind, we hope that the future Member of Parliament for Dudley North strives to bring together communities in the area and to keep out those who seek to divide, spread fear, intolerance and hatred. That is the last thing that Dudley needs.

The post Asking for a Far Right March for Votes In Dudley, Goes Way Beyond Politics appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Britain has had an ingrained paedophilia problem since at least Victorian times. As one leading expert stated in a Newsnight interview, this is not just a problem of some Muslims of Pakistani heritage. The fact is that there is not a hamlet, village, town or city in this country that does not have a problem with paedophilia. Continuing disclosures about various celebrities, politicians, teachers and others are witness to this. And the failure of the authorities to act for many years is a stain on the police, local authorities, Home Office and all political parties.

But notwithstanding all that, the Muslim community too must tackle head-on those instances of paedophilia that occur within it.

The English Defence League, Britain First and the other tiny groups of racists have tried to exploit the Rotherham scandal, but over the years dozens of extreme-right activists have been convicted of violent and sexual crimes against children. In our study of the terrorist far right in Britain, Lone Wolves: Myth or Reality, we found that people who were making bombs to attack mosques and other community buildings were also abusing children in some way or another.

When Stephen Lennon, the former leader of the EDL, was adopted by the publicity seeking Quilliam Foundation, he went on about how he cared for his family. He did not mention, and nor did they, that he had been sent to prison for a violent attack on an off-duty police officer who had tried to stop Lennon beating his partner. Most of these thugs have no moral compass whatsoever.

Currently Government is panicking over the threat posed by returning British Isis fighters who may have taken part in mass killings, torture, rape and the selling into sexual slavery of women prisoners, the crucifixion of Christians and the destruction of places of worship including Muslim ones. But we want to know what is going to happen to those brave young Muslim men and some women who travelled to Syria to oppose the barbaric regime of the Syrian dictator Assad.

During the Spanish Civil War from 1936-39, Britain opposed intervention, which left the democratically elected republican government to bleed to death, while Hitler and Mussolini armed General Franco, the Fascist aggressor against a lightly armed legitimate government. Tens of thousands of men and women from dozens of countries volunteered and became part of the heroic anti-fascist International Brigade.

The British Government banned these volunteers from travelling to Spain and many were held in Fascist concentration camps when the Republic fell. They received an enormous welcome on their return home and many joined the British Army.

What will happen on the return of those who have fought with enormous courage against Assad and Isis? Will they be treated as potential terrorists, like the Isis supporters? In fact these people have the potential to show positive leadership to young Muslims.

I have no problem with the security services detaining returning Isis fighters if they have killed, tortured and raped, provided there is evidence and proper court process, rather than a witch-hunt by the right-wing media who have far too much influence on the present government.

If common sense had prevailed and the blind hatred of the USA by some on the left could have been suspended when Parliament voted against military intervention in Syria last year, tens of thousands of people might still be alive and not living in desert camps thousands of miles from home. In a recent editorial I wondered how many of these misguided MPs and marchers get a good night’s sleep, with over a quarter of a million dead in Syria and millions displaced across the region.

But the Home Secretary does not have only Islamist potential terrorists in her sights. Theresa May has also promised to pursue Nazis. The problem is that the Home Office and counter-terrorist police have little concept of where on the far right the real danger lies. One spokesperson recently referred to Combat 18 (C18), a group that no longer exists in the UK, never actually had members and, according to Searchlight and a World In Action TV documentary, was a honey trap set up by MI5. During C18’s reign of terror people were beaten, shops firebombed and riots sparked at football matches. C18’s unrestrained operations inspired people such as David Copeland, the London bomber who directed his attacks at the black, Muslim and gay communities in London in spring 1999 before he was caught.

Power on the extreme right in Europe and beyond has shifted. Our investigations have revealed the links internationally between far-right groups, often well-financed, some of which are backed by Putin’s Russia, Assad’s Syria and the Iranian regime.

The Muslim community, the good, the indifferent and the ugly, will all come under fire if we allow religious and race haters to thrive.

Gerry Gable MA (Crim) DUniv,
Editor/Publisher Searchlight magazine, now in its 51st year

The post We Must Act Together Against Those Who Seek to Divide, Says Gerry Gable of Searchlight Magazine appeared first on TELL MAMA.

A section in the documentary focused on the actions of the East London mosque and how members of Anjem Choudhary’s group sometimes entered the mosque and fomented and agitated within it.

The Communications Officer, Salman, was shown in the documentary highlighting how mosque worshippers chased away supporters of Anjem Choudhary and how the mosque effectively policed itself against people promoting hate and extremism. These actions, Salman stated, were rarely picked up in the headlines around the East London mosque which had painted the mosque in a negative light, whilst not reporting on these positive steps against extremism.

Salman also went on to highlight the link between Anjem Choudhary, press headlines and anti-Muslim hate material which the mosque received. Salman mentioned that when there were press headlines around Muslims or around Anjem Choudhary, the mosque received hate mail and some examples were shown in the documentary. It seems that receipt of hate mail was not a new occurrence and that the mosque employees, sadly, had grown accustomed to it. Additionally, Salman also mentioned that he believed some press journalists ‘had a speed dial’ button to Anjem Choudhary and when they wanted an inflammatory quote, it was him that they called.

Robb Leech’s documentary is a depressing insight into how the vulnerabilities of young men are abused. The documentary also re-enforces the fact that young men need support mechanisms in place around them if they are to have a future free from manipulation by charismatic individuals. Sadly, history tells us that such groups and causes, may not be the last.

The post Robb Leech’s Documentary, ‘My Brother, the Terrorist,’ Highlights Anti-Muslim Hate Received by Mosques appeared first on TELL MAMA.

1)     http://t.co/lFWDtvsNLC Oslo, Norway: 100% of rapes committed by ‘non european immigrants’ (muslims) Cultural enrichment,drowning in diversity

Robinson links to a debunked anti-Muslim story from 2011. A translated police report found, “Crude generalizations that have given the impression that rapists are only foreigners – and primarily Muslims – are shown to be inadequate and erroneous.”  

“The ethnic profile varies within the different types of rape, but for all types except assault rape the largest group is composed of Norwegian perpetrators.”

2)     http://t.co/nl04Idl2lm Fear of offending islam and muslims i.e #islamophobia in police is the reason why they act in such a manner. #Traitors

In spite of Robinson’s claims, his arrest had more to do with an alleged police obstruction than fear of offending Islam. The official EDL Twitter feed acknowledged the nature of the 2013 arrest: “Tommy Robinson & Kev Caroll arrested for Obstructing the police and carted off.”

According to Sky Correspondent Tom Parmenter, police warned Robinson (and Kevin Carroll) about the prospect of arrest if their charity walk continued towards Woolwich.

3)      http://t.co/lgouaagFor Couple singing Peppa Pig tune to toddler ‘forced off bus after complaints they were being racist’ #pork #islam

A viral hit (that received over 50k online shares) made serious allegations against a Rotherham bus driver and Muslim passenger. The Mail headline read, “Couple singing Peppa Pig tune to toddler ‘forced off bus after complaints they were being racist’ because it goes against Muslim pork ban”.

But the driver contradicts the couple. A First spokesperson told the Daily Mail: “The driver told us he heard no reference to racism but we are investigating the incident and have not yet drawn a conclusion.”

4)     http://t.co/tXhhQycQhy BREAKING: Muslims Shout “Praise Allah!” Surround OK Police Following Press Conference on Beheading. Reciting Koran.

Robinson links to a false story. The source (@Landonlawson78) followed the Islamophobic ‘Bare Naked Islam’ and ‘KILL MUSLIM RODENTS’. A cached version of the account reveals the use of a stock profile image.  The account is no longer accessible via Twitter.

5)     Ed Miliband : We need more Muslims in the UK http://t.co/aoFmxiQPvJ who is voting labour

The story originates from a 2013 news report titled ‘Ed Miliband says he will increase Muslim representation in the parliament,’ it took place during Labour’s Eid celebration. Yet, the link Robinson shared is full of vulgar comments:

“Oi, Ed Miliband! Fuck off back to the desert and take all your monkey friends with you, you cunt.”

“Kill him!!! He is a traitor of our civilization.”

Tommy Robinson is not responsible for what others post, but it reveals an unsavoury readership.

6)     http://t.co/B30FHu7QsF Eight men have been arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual activity with a child in Tower Hamlets. #muslim

The story highlights the ethnicity (Albanian) of the alleged perpetrators but not religion.

7)      http://t.co/OCNaaeIOxq ‘Political correctness’ allows Muslims easier time in struggling jail Tip of the iceberg

The issue is not of ‘political correctness’ but staff shortages.

The post 7 Simple Facts That Do Not Point to a ‘Reformed’ Tommy Robinson, by Steve Rose appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The tweets began on August 27, as Robinson lamented the political correctness. A day later and Robinson made his first reference to ‘Muslim grooming gangs’ amid serious allegations against South Yorkshire Police.

Robinson then shared three images related to ‘grooming gang convictions’. The data is from “Easy Meat – Multiculturalism, Islam and Child Sex Slavery” published by the Law and Freedom Foundation – an organisation who also helps “local neighbourhoods to resist planning applications for mosques.”

But the nature of the source is not revealed to Robinson’s near 90k Twitter following. A closer inspection of the images reveals two non-Asian names: Graham Blackburn and Robert Jackson.

Both individuals were part of gangs that readily exploited young girls. Jackson was convicted in 2013 and Blackburn in 2010.

In between musing about what links Boko Haram, ISIS and Rotherham, Robinson asserts that ‘Rape Jihad’ is a more appropriate term. The inflammatory rhetoric continues with references to ‘Muslim predators.’

On August 29, Robinson tweeted, “I/we have been ridiculed and called bigots for 5 years for trying 2 raise and highlight the issue of Muslim grooming! #Rotherham #vindicated.” The ‘we’ is a clear reference to the EDL.

In spite of the public disassociation, Robinson continues to share content from his days with the group. He retweeted an individual who used the EDL’s NFSE (No Fucking Surrender Ever) slogan.

A tweet sent on the same day used the word ‘us’ in the context of a separate EDL discussion. The deliberate choice of language is noteworthy (or simply a reflection of Twitter’s character limits).

Nor has Robinson stopped exploiting tension between Sikhs and Muslims after sharing an infamous urban legend.

The appalling abuse of one victim is a prop for the offensive hashtag ‘#RAPEJIHAD’.  Robinson uses the hashtag again on September 17.

In a repeat of old tactics, Robinson tweeted, “Muslims attacked our troops, who did police arrest? U guessed it. How were they ever allowed to disrupt homecomings” But the footage is over four years old and features the now proscribed Muslims Against Crusades.

On September 14, Robinson referenced a sex offender’s community order without mentioning that it was issued in November 2013.

Of all the possible examples, why did Robinson pick this one? The clue is in the perpetrators name and assumed Islamic faith.

Tommy Robinson is also a fan of false comparisons. On September 17, he tweeted, “Mosques handle is more valued than girl sexually assaulted by Rotherham Muslim.”

The desecration of an Edinburgh mosque with bacon by the far-right was a cowardly act and the individuals went to prison for a variety of reasons.

Equally cowardly, was Raja Hussain’s unprovoked assault upon a female train passenger. But according the Metro, his prison sentence was suspended on grounds of previous good behaviour.

Other examples of Robinson’s post-prison tweets include speculation about Muslim demographics, spreading the false William Gladstone Islam meme, denying accusations of racism, highlighting a death threat, and linking to a video of ISIS executing David Haines.

Robinson shoehorns Islam into stories of abuse with little evidence outside of ethnicity. Perhaps most telling is Robinson’s failure to acknowledge female victims when they are of Pakistani-heritage.

A selective and simplistic approach to the horrors in Rotherham will not help victims get the justice they richly deserve.

Has Robinson’s rhetoric truly changed?

The post Ex-EDL Leader Tommy Robinson, a Changed Man or Back to Past Behaviours, by Steve Rose appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Yesterday, two individuals sat on the sofas at the end of the documentary, one on his journey supposedly out of extremism and looking nervous and agitated. Whilst, we have seen nothing from Tommy which shows a mental shift away from the statements and comments he made bestializing Muslims, nonetheless, we have to welcome the fact that he has walked away from the English Defence League. We are well aware of the damage that ‘organisation’ has done on community relations and on the lives of innocent Muslims, those who were attacked whilst out shopping, or the young girl, for example, who was abused so much so that she developed a fear of leaving home.

What we also acknowledge is that Tommy will need to work towards a place where he feels somewhat secure. We cannot detract from the fact that he made decisions which led to him being in the position that he is in, yet, and we have said this many times, he has been through a turbulent period where his life has been threatened on numerous occassions. However, let us not forget how his sympathisers have also put us through such periods where we have had numerous threats made to our staff team whilst people shouted EDL down the end of the phone at us. If we could count the number of threats, libellous e-mails and abuse that we as a staff team have suffered, it would tip well over double digits since we started in March 2012. That being the case we know what constant abuse does to a person – it is corrosive and reduces trust and empathy in others.

So, we hope that Tommy turns a new leaf. We sincerely do and we hope that one day he can come and meet with us and support the work we do and feel that he can be a part of a world where he can stand up for the other. He has taken a step forward and we hope that it is one which enriches his life. The journey is going to be long and hard and there will be times when it is a case of ‘1 step forward and 2 steps back’. Let us hope that all those who took part in this process find that their lives and their futures are ones which give them hope and give us the ability to place our trust in them.

The post The Tommy and Mo Show appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The above tweet made by Robinson was made on the 20/6/2012 or take the following tweet:

Or maybe this statement which I am sure Tommy wants to try and forget:

So, in three tweets, we have shown opinions from Tommy Robinson where he believes that Muslims (i) inbreed (ii) the Koran is evil (iii) Muslims breed terrorists (in fact, he suggests that they genetically are programmed to plant bombs – in the form of their children).

So, you would think that someone who is feted around as a poster boy for the Far Right made good would (i) break links with EDL followers publicly (ii) start to show some flexibility of mindset, for example, around elements like Islam and (iii) understand that tweeting people with EDL on their Twitter handle might be a bad thing. We will show you how Tommy Robinson has done none of the above. So here we go:

Tommy Robinson continues to this day to talk to EDL followers, some of whom have been active for years and whom he is aware are core EDL sympathisers. In fact, when told by Hope Not Hate that he is speaking to someone that they have documented an article on, Robinson does not respond and simply moves on :

Or take this tweet where Robinson has a conversation with ‘Queen Lareefer’, an EDL sympathiser who has been active on Twitter for some time now. We have listed her tweets below his to show the kind of individuals Tommy is busily having a chat with, though we should also add that highly aggressive tweets against anyone, whether EDL sympathisers or not, are not helpful nor what anyone should be tweeting out to others, irrespective of their views.

Moving onto the second point which we mentioned earlier that a flexibility of mindset on say, Islam, would start to show a mental shift in Robinson, we came across the following tweet and the date of the tweet is worrying. This is a statement made very recently and according to Robinson, Mo Ansar has strengthened his belief against Islam during his 18 month documentary journey with Mo.

Or take this statement which is not only fundamentally untrue, it could be regarded by some as being inflammatory and being prejudicial against the Somali community since it suggests that they are potentially a ‘suspect’ community. Here Robinson links immigration to ‘Somali terrorists’ and he implies that the Government is allowing in people who could be Somali Al Shabab (sic) terrorists. Once again, such a statement could easily be read as putting a question mark on every Somali who comes through the immigration (or asylum) process, since according to the ‘reformed’ Robinson, they could be Al-Shabaab. If this tweet does not demonstrate what a complete load of rubbish Robinson harps on about, we are not sure what else would.

Or let us take this tweet where Robinson once again, is openly talking to someone who is well known to us and who is an ardent EDL supporter. You would think that with EDL in the Twitter tag Robinson would think twice about engaging with them. Clearly, this does not apply to the ‘reformed’ Robinson. Here he is just today, having a conversation with @Watford_EDL:

Just to remind readers what @Watford_EDL tweets out, here are some less than civilised examples from someone who calls himself the Reverend, though we are sure that no Christian wants such an individual even to associate themselves in any way shape or form with Christianity or any church. Here he deludely talks about ‘Islam starting the blood shed and allowing it to continue for 1,400 years.’ (Not an ounce of brittle deluded thinking here – no not at all!) Or when he mentions, more aggressively and worryingly, when ‘we have managed to combat ot (sic) back.’

Or take this tweet by ‘the Rev’ when he states the following, not even realising that the Crusades were launched against Muslims. But that does not matter to some people in the EDL whose main aim is to promote twisted untruths and prejudice.

So, on the basis of just a few of the tweets and comments out there, has the Damascene conversation of Tommy Robinson taken place with a real mindset shift, We think not! Do we think that he should be cutting his overt links to the EDL – certainly yes, if he is to be taken seriously. Lastly, has Tommy Robinson bothered to acknowledge two simple steps that we had openly asked him to fulfill if we were to be able to develop future engagement with him. The answer is once again, no! Not a peep or a tweet and we think that this in itself, speaks volume.

The post Surprise, Surprise – The Tommy Robinson Rehabilitation Not Going Too Well? appeared first on TELL MAMA.

We have listed a word cloud which represents words that have a higher frequency in on-line cases, as being larger in size and the word cloud really is self-explanatory. This is the legacy of Tommy’s agitation in the last 4 years and one of our colleagues went through all of the on-line cases of anti-Muslim prejudice recorded in TELL MAMA and mapped the terms according to their frequency. So Tommy, here is your legacy over the last 4 years:

As can be seen, many cases include references to the EDL or English Defence League. Much of the language includes negative responses such as ‘kill’, ‘war’, ‘muzzrat’ and ‘hate’, as well as racist terminology that is also mixed in with the anti-Muslim statements. ‘Paki’ for example comes up on numerous occasions which also brings us back to the fact that police forces need to be able to distinguish cases that have both a racial and religiously aggravated basis.

Finally, if this is the legacy that Tommy Robinson wants to leave behind, then there is one word to say – rehabilitation. He needs to payback to communities before he is rehabilitated. We have listed the first step here and continue to wait to see whether this is a real shift in mentality and a rejection of Far Right ideology or a cynical manipulation of the public so that he can continue to lead some form of a life.

The post The Legacy of Tommy Robinson & the English Defence League appeared first on TELL MAMA.

On Newsnight last night Robinson suggested that ‘Islamic immigration‘ should stop and no more mosques should be built until the current ones were regulated. So, in other words, if he had his way, no more mosques would be built at all at this time until all 1,500 mosques were ‘regulated’. So forget mosque building for the next couple of decades then!

Irrespective of his statements, he seems to want a chance to turn the corner. So, here are the conditions that someone like Robinson has to meet given the chaos he has caused through his group in the last 4 years. We will take him seriously in his desire to change if he simply meets the following basic elements. Such basic criteria have been asked before of people in groups like Al-Muhajiroun and we ask these specific elements of Tommy Robinson. So Tommy here we go and hope you seriously give these some thought.

1) Your previous group has been instrumental in promoting prejudice against ALL Muslims. The impact of this can be seen in this infographic and read in this report. If you have genuinely turned the corner, we will set up two meetings with victims of anti-Muslim prejudice where the perpetrators were EDL sympathisers. We want you to sit and listen to them. Nothing more and nothing less. We would ask this of extremists from groups like Al-Muhajiroun who have attacked Shia Muslims for example and this form of Restorative Justice is something that we support.

2) You have not denounced links to Pamella Geller and Robert Spencer. You entered the United States on a passport with the name of Paul Harris and were detained for a period of time for this in order to speak at a conference organised by Stop the Islamization of America (SIOE) and led by Geller. Yesterday, Geller and Spencer backed your move and suggested that this was another step in combatting extremism. We are clear! Remember this? Geller and Spencer were denied entry to the UK since they were ‘not conducive to the public good.’ In other words, Tommy, not wanted here in the UK by the Home Secretary.

So we make clear – do you publicly break your links, communication, alliance and affiliations with Geller and Spencer? Simple question and please do answer with a yes or no?

If you meet these 2 requirements, many will assist you in your rehabilitation. If you fail to acknowledge these elements or undertake them, you will still be regarded by many, as an unreconstructed extremist. It is as simple as that! We await your response and you know how to contact us. Just in case, info@tellmamauk.org.

The post The ‘Defection’ of Tommy Robinson – The Way Ahead appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Date: 08/10/2013
Contact: 0800 456 1226
E-mail: info@tellmamauk.org

RESPONSE TO THE ‘DEFECTION’ OF THE ENGLISH DEFENCE LEAGUE LEADER BY TELL MAMA

TELL MAMA welcomes the ‘defection’ of the English Defence League leader, though notes with some trepidation and caution, the activities of Stephen Lennon and Kevin Carroll over the last 4 years. Just a few days ago we documented how the English Defence League web-site allowed the targeting of all Muslims in general whilst talking about being anti-racist. Let us also not forget the actions of Stephen Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) when he marched to Woolwich after the brutal murder of drummer Lee Rigby and over the last 24 months, we have systematically documented how EDL sympathisers have been involved in off-line and on-line hate incidents against Muslims. For example, our data and our responses can be found here.

TELL MAMA  were also key in recording the range of anti-Muslim incidents post Woolwich, both off-line and on-line which no doubt, was instigated by the actions of the EDL. The impact of the Far Right can also be found through the Teesside report which was based on TELL MAMA data.

Commenting on the ‘defection,’ the Director of TELL MAMA, Fiyaz Mughal, stated:

“The real question is whether Tommy Robinson has changed from just a few days ago when he was at the heart of the EDL machinery and where his messages undermined the work of anti-racist campaigners and those like us who counter hate and prejudice in communities.  Whilst we cautiously welcome his change ‘defection’, the real truth will come out in the next few months and years. Yet, we must remain vigilant against the remaining sections of the English Defence League who may turn more violent after this event.

Also, we would ask Tommy Robinson to apologise to our nation for the millions of pounds spent on policing costs and for the tensions in communities he has caused. Someone should be held accountable for the enormous wastage of police, local authority and other resources whilst his street instigators ram amock in places like Stoke, Birmingham and other cities. We will not doubt be keeping a close eye on his activities and the activities of others in the English Defence League.”

ENDS

The post Tommy Robinson & His Future Career – PRESS STATEMENT appeared first on TELL MAMA.

So here we go:

The troll gets abusive and wants to bring ‘Allah’ into the discussion when we question their timelines and discussions with some rather dubious characters, Stephen Lennon being one of them. This is followed by claims of TELL MAMA UK being a proselytising centre, (see below). Clearly, this troll account has lost the plot since the first thing on the home page of TELL MAMA is that we help victims of anti-Muslim prejudice. There are two words constantly thrown at those who work with or are Muslims – Dawah and Taqiyya. It is as if for the Islamophobes and mischief makers, Muslims can only proselytise or lie. Truly depressing given the level of spin put on things.

As if this was not enough spin, our own troll account then moves onto speaking to the Official English Defence League account and makes a rather interesting statement listed below. Who in their right mind would want to, “dress up in all white bed linen sheet with pointy cone hate and don a cross?” Clearly @VDissidentZ does and the individual then suggests that #fairisfair and that they would like to dress up in what would be a Klu Klux Klan sounding outfit.

It really does not end there. Here is our special friend (@VDissidentZ) retweeting anti-Muslim prejudice from Stephen Lennon. Lennon in his usual inflammatory style uses the faith of individuals to suggest that grooming is an inherently ‘Muslim’ issue and his prejudicial words are carefully chosen to infer that all Muslims could be potential predators. He then re-enforces the initial statement by suggesting that every day brings “more arrests/convictions.” Guess who retweets his words – yes, you guessed it – the now infamous @VDissidentZ.

Just as you thought that the sycophancy could not get any worse, guess who asks Stephen Lennon to take care of himself after Lennon states that he was ‘walking 24 miles around Tower Hamlets on Friday the 13^th’? You guessed right! The stomach churning plea to Stephen Lennon states, ‘stay safe chief.’ Does our very own troll belief that Stephen Lennon is the leader, the chief? Oh how the heart patters with missed beats at the thought of Lennon being out there.

Oh dear, with more retweets of Stephen Lennon , our troll is starting to exhibit behaviours that people could say, show a Far Right set of sympathies. So, if you do come across, them, could we ask that you check to see if the same trend continues and we can only hope that the sycophancy wears off. We can only hope it wears off soon, since kind of sickening really.

The post Inferences, Suggestions, Trolls and Public Relations Disasters, VDissidentZ – Part 1 appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Yet, after all of these events that have no doubt raised community tensions, we still come across individuals who want to broadcast their dark desires to attack mosques. Here is one example of someone who broadcast his views to 113 followers on his Twitter address:

We are seeing more and more people feeling confident enough to make such threats on-line. What is concerning is that this brazen open prejudice seems to be acceptable, so much so, that they decide to broadcast it over Twitter. Obviously, we will be passing on these comments to the police and what is disturbing is that this gentleman, (Stuart Dryan) continues the discussion and actually admits that attacks against mosques seem to be the only option, (for the Far Right EDL).

Finally, just to confirm the EDL link, here is a tweet to massage the ego of the Fuhrer, apologies, his leader, Stephen Yaxley, (aka Tommy Robinson).

Whilst we must never forget those who lay their lives down for the freedoms we all enjoy, the last thing we need is such individuals trumpeting the cause of our nation based on promoting fear, division and hate. England is a country that we have much to feel proud of. Its diversity of communities, linked through shared values, are what make England and Britain, Great!

The post So EDL Sympathisers Espouse Non-Violence? Pigs Might Just Fly! appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Anyway, thanks Tommy, for confirming that we were right and that you were interviewed. Nice one pal! So we were slightly aghast when Tommy Robinson paid us another compliment after making out that our work was having a minimal effect. Whilst we are not keen on Tommy’s compliments, what is heartening to see is that imitation is the best form of flattery. Seeing as we have been effective in countering the hate of the EDL and more importantly, in getting prosecutions of their sympathisers who think it is fine to promote anti-Muslim hate on-line, the Far Right EDL have tried to set up their own helpline. (We desperately are trying to hold back the tears of laughter – poor souls, they know how effective we are; it clearly seems to have affected their judgement). So, today,  Tommy tweets this out to his 11,000 plus followers, (01/05/13).

There is one slight thing though. The Far Right ‘helpline’ which is a Twitter account may not know the implications of what they have placed in this tweet below. Only time will tell and we will no doubt keep you informed.

So, if you have suffered anti-Muslim prejudice or in fact, any form of prejudice, make sure you report it in preferably to the Police or to reputable third pary hate crime reporting organisations like TELL MAMA, CST (the Community Security Trust) or Stop Hate UK.

TELL MAMA can assist on anti-Muslim hate incidents and it is key to report in activities and ensure that the perpetrator be caught sooner rather than later. In the meantime, the best thing that the Far Right can do is to waste their time emulating us. They may want to flatter us, but we are ‘not for turning.’

The post Thanks for the Flattery Tommy. Clearly We Are Doing Something Right Where You Have to Emulate us? appeared first on TELL MAMA.

You would think that Tommy Robinson would be a bit more careful regarding his hate tweets after this experience. Well, you would think so, but with an ego the size of the grand canyon, the slight matter of the law seems to slip by the mind of this self-proclaimed leader of the motley English Defence League. Take for example, this tweet he put out a few days ago on the 2nd of April:

So let’s take this statement. There is a vast amount of academic information which shows how the Nazis used terms to associate Jews with vermin, with disease and infestation. Well, hey ho, the EDL leader who states that he is not racist seems to regurgitate the very same sick narratives, though mention this to him and you are likely to receive a Twitter rant blaming Muslims for all of the ills with this country. The EDL continue to try and maintain the old facade that they are not racist. “Islam is not a race they say.” Well, such prejudiced hate filled geniuses seem to give life to the narratives of hate that were used to marginalise and isolate out Jews in the 1930’s and we all know where that ended up. We also know that they are no friends of Jewish communities and scratch the surface of Far Right groups and out pops the age old anti-Semitism that is entwined in their DNA.

Whilst we clearly do not believe that a Holocaust will take place again, nonetheless, the poison of the EDL and other extreme Far Right groups must be checked. They not only feed off the extremism of their counterparts such as groups like Al Muhajiroun, they also help to radicalise others and provide cover for more extreme Far Right groups to operate within. Last week for example, we spoke to an ex-Far Right campaigner who walked away from an extreme Far Right group and who has started to piece his life together. Courageously, he talked to us about how the EDL were used as cover for more extreme groups to operate under and this cover was perfect for undertaking recruitment and criminality. His life was shattered by the extremist poison that was injected into him and his last words on the phone to us were, “I have done so many bad things, all I want to do is some good.”

Lastly, in our previous posting we raised the case of George Milnes, the Huddersfield based EDL sympathiser who has gone onto harass both us in TELL MAMA and a number of individuals across the country. Well, it seems George Milnes likes popping up wherever there are hate promoters. Take for example, the above tweet from Tommy Robinson. A glance at the retweeters shows George Milnes, (second from the left) and his ‘commando’ picture which he feels reflects his Twitter account @CommandoPirate. Looks like Milnes has become another groupie to the leader of the EDL. George – you might want to stop leaving so many electronic traces of yourself on-line. Either way, Bedfordshire Police will be receiving a copy of the tweet from Tommy.

The post Tommy Robinson – Back to His Hate Tweets appeared first on TELL MAMA.

So, here we go. Over the space of July to September 2012, members of the public were sending in tweets from Tommy Robinson to TELL MAMA, some of which were being targeted at Muslim women who were deeply offended by the sexist and prejudiced tweets that they were getting and which they believed were hate speech. Over this period, this information was sent into the police leading to a formal interview with Tommy Robinson. Ever the ‘courageous patriot’, Mr Robinson took the fifth as they say in the US, (don’t mention it, sore subject for him), and said nothing. The investigation was dropped with a list of reasons provided to TELL MAMA. In total, 40 separate pieces of evidence were provided to the police force in question.

We believed that the judgement of the local force on this issue was wrong. Barrister’s opinion confirmed that the force could have done more in relation to the case. We have passed this opinion to the force concerned and the detailed analysis has also been provided to the Crown Prosecution Service and we have asked for a review of the evidence and the process conducted by the local force. We await a decision on this within the next few weeks. Suffice as to say that the next time the ‘Official EDL’ account shoots off the hip with a libellous statement, we hope that they seriously consider the legal implications.

The post Tommy Robinson and the Case of the Tweets appeared first on TELL MAMA.