In things that seem truly unbelievable until they turn out to be true, it turns out that at least one of the swathe of ridiculous, cruel & dangerous anti-immigrant protests currently happening in the UK was led by someone who has been convicted for illegally bringing immigrants into the UK.
Yes, a people smuggler. Presumably protesting against…himself.
Lee Twamley, photographed at the front of Britain First’s “March for Remigration” in Manchester this month, has served prison time for trying to smuggle Vietnamese migrants into the UK.
That aside, in general, whilst I’m certain not every participant in the protests is a far right extremist, I think everyone needs to be aware that much of this action is being organised by and/or participated in by some very unsavoury extremists, many with a criminal background.
If you decide to attend one of them, please know who you’re aligning yourselves with, whose agenda you’re supporting - inadvertently or otherwise. Know that some of the people who may have influenced you to turn up to the protest are far more of a danger to women and children than the average asylum seeker could ever be.
The march Tawmley attended was put in place by Britain First, which has instigated:
…a series of events that have brought an assortment of neo-Nazis, misogynists, crackpots and convicts onto the streets of Nuneaton, Birmingham and, on 2 August, Manchester
Such as? Hope Not Hate runs down some lowlights of these hypocritical criminals:
Current and former Britain First activists have been convicted for theft, burglary, drugs offences, numerous kinds of violence (including domestic abuse), terror charges, child abuse and more.
For example, while Golding rails against the supposed lawlessness of London under Mayor Sadiq Khan, his own brother Jamie — himself now a Britain First activist — unleashed an astonishing crime wave across London and Kent in the mid-2000s, culminating in his confession to 171 burglaries across the region.
Despite endlessly decrying “imported rape gangs”, we have previously revealed that former Britain First activist Warren Gilchrest has been convicted of multiple sexual offences against children under the age of 13. Gilchrest is currently serving three years for his role in the racist violence in Manchester last summer.
We have elsewhere detailed Paul Golding’s own long list of convictions. The Britain First leader has also been caught on tape admitting to having violently assaulted his then-partner Jayda Fransen and another woman.
Regarding the recent “put England flags everywhere” initiative, also known as “Operation Raise the Colors”, Hope Not Hate reveals:
…that the co-founder and organiser of the group is longtime Stephen Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson) ally Andrew Currien (AKA Andy Saxon). Formerly a key member of the English Defence League’s leadership bodyguard team, and now running security for the far-right party Britain First, Currien has previously been jailed for his part in a racist death. He was one of six men convicted in 2009 after a 59-year-old man was crushed to death by a car following a violent brawl.
And the infamous ongoing protests at the Bell Hotel in Epping Forest?
…the Bell Hotel has been targeted by dedicated far-right activists since 2020, several of whom were involved in last night’s protest. This includes Eddy Butler, a former British National Party (BNP) organiser previously linked to a violent neo-Nazi group; Callum Barker, an activist for the fascist Homeland Party; Toni Collins (AKA Ginger Toni), a key figure in the circle surrounding Tommy Robinson; Lance Wright, involved in the neo-Nazi music network Blood & Honour; former Combat 18 activist Phil Curson; and activists associated with the anti-Muslim group Britain First.