In the second instalment of a series, HOPE not hate exposes the links between individuals convicted for the recent disturbances, far-right organisations and ongoing anti-migrant campaigns. Find the first instalment here.
The week of 29 July to 5 August 2024 witnessed the largest outbreak of far-right rioting and disorder in the post-war period.
These events reflect the “post-organisational” nature of the modern far right, and were primarily driven by local people who are not members of any formal far-right organisations.
Nonetheless, HOPE not hate has identified numerous individuals linked to a panoply of far-right groups present at the disturbances, many of whom have since been convicted. We have covered some of these in an earlier blog, and others cannot be named at present due to ongoing legal proceedings.
This is the second entry in a series exposing the links between convicted participants in the disorder and far-right organisations, including Britain First, the Democratic Football Lads Alliance, the North East Infidels, Blood & Honour, the now-defunct English Defence League and ongoing anti-migrant campaigns.
We also uncover links between Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson), the figurehead of the UK’s broad far-right street movement, and those now behind bars for offences committed that week.
As the riots begin to fade from the headlines, we will continue to expose the influence of the organised far right and highlight the political motivations behind the wave of violence this summer.
On 2 August, chaos broke out in Sunderland after a mob of hundreds attempted to march to a mosque, only to encounter riot police. Mass violence ensued, during the course of which a Citizens Advice Bureau, which provides vital help for those in need, was torched.
A number of hardcore nazis were on the scene, having travelled into town for a Blood & Honour (B&H) gig the following evening, alongside activists from the antisemitic Youth Alliance. Core activists of the fascist street gang, the North East Infidels (NEI), also formed a notable contingent.
Among them was David Hann, a former EDL member who received eight months for causing religiously aggravated fear of violence, after shouting Islamophobic abuse outside a mosque and encouraging others to take part in the disorder.
HOPE not hate can reveal that Hann was highly active in the UK’s fascist street movement throughout the 2010s, attending protests organised by the EDL’s anti-Muslim successor Pegida UK, the more overtly fascistic Scottish Defence League, and the NEI.
Hann also marched side-by-side with members of the now-banned nazi terror group National Action at several events, including the “White Man March” in Newcastle organised by the group in March 2015.
During this time the fascist activist remained a supporter of Yaxley-Lennon, travelling to London for a “Free Tommy” protest during one of the serial criminal’s many stints behind bars in July 2018.
Shaun Doran was also jailed for 12 weeks for using threatening or abusive behaviour with intent to cause fear of or provoke violence. Doran’s lawyer told the court: “He didn’t go out intending to demonstrate. He was in a public house which was cleared by the police, that is the reality of how he got into the street.”
However, we can reveal that Doran, who has 44 previous convictions for offences including burglary, attempted to link up with members of the North East Infidels ahead of the riot that night.
On 3 August, Manchester witnessed some of the most widely publicised racist violence of the week.
Among those to plead guilty to violent disorder is Shaun Holt. We can reveal that Holt is a former Britain First activist, involved in the anti-Muslim political party at least between 2017 and 2020 and acting as security for the group’s co-leader, Paul Golding.
Holt was also involved in the Democratic Football Lads Alliance (DFLA), a football hooligan street protest network that is now largely dormant. Holt worked closely with the DFLA’s Polish division – which included open nazis – and in this capacity provided security for well-known far-right figures, including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and James Goddard.
Holt is also the founder of the Elusive Child Protection Unit (ECPU), one of several so-called “paedophile hunter” vigilante groups with close ties to the far right. The EPCU has so far been silent on the activities of local offender Warren Gilchrest, who, as we have previously revealed, is also an ex-member Britain First – Holt’s former organisation. Gilchrest was similarly convicted of violent disorder after the Manchester disturbances and has dozens of previous convictions to his name, including sexual offences against children under the age of 13.
Mark Bridgeford was also jailed for his part in a mob attack on a lone Black man in Piccadilly Gardens, punching and kicking the victim and shouting “sort your own f***ing country out” at the police as they moved in to protect him.
HOPE not hate can reveal that Bridgeford has a history of far-right activism and was photographed (wearing a grey patterned beanie hat) at a small but extreme anti-mosque protest in Bolton in 2016, standing behind a group of saluting nazis from the now-banned nazi terror group, National Action.
On 4 August, a crowd of hundreds descended upon the Holiday Inn in Manvers, Rotherham, a temporary asylum accommodation site. Horrifying scenes of violence ensued, including an attempted arson attack on the hotel while residents were trapped inside.
As previously outlined, this hotel has been targeted by so-called “migrant hunters” for more than three years and, on 18 February 2023, was subjected to a small but extreme anti-migrant protest that was attended by a litany of far-right activists, including the Yorkshire branch of the fascist group Patriotic Alternative.
Present at that event was Morgan Hardy, who has since been jailed for three years for his part in the Rotherham riot, during which he threw items including a fire extinguisher, fence panels and a chair at police officers.
Hardy is now the sixth person convicted in the wake of the disorder that weekend that we have linked to the February 2023 protest outside the Holiday Inn in Manvers. This is further evidence that the repeated targeting of asylum accommodation sites by the far right increases the likelihood of more serious trouble at those same locations.
Also convicted over Rotherham is Barnsley man Graham Harper, who has been jailed for two years eight months. HOPE not hate can reveal that Harper is a former EDL activist, attending a number of events organised by the now-defunct anti-Muslim street group.
This included at least two rallies in Rotherham, one on 10 May 2014 and another on 13 September 2014, the latter of which was attended by members of National Action and other extreme figures.
In Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, a crowd of hundreds chanted racist slogans before attempting to attack two mosques. Serious violence followed between the far right and a group of Muslim men, and also riot police.
Among those subsequently convicted of violent disorder is Ashley Morris from Newcastle. As disorders raged across the country, a picture of a bloodied Morris spread online alongside a false report that two men had been stabbed by local Muslims, raising tensions across the UK.
Morris is a former EDL activist and was previously involved in Blood & Honour, the nazi music scene. He has also attended events organised by the fascist drugs gang, the North West Infidels, as well as a “White Man March” event in Manchester in 2015, marching side-by-side with many of the most extreme nazis in the UK.
Throughout the week of 29 July to 5 August, crowds repeatedly chanted the same name at riots and disturbances across the country: Tommy Robinson.
The anti-Muslim extremist has acted as a talisman for the UK’s broad far-right street movement for the past 15 years. He now appears popular as never before, marshalling as many as 20,000 to the streets of London on 27 July, just three days before the riots began.
It is therefore unsurprising that so many of those convicted in the wake of the recent disorders have previously attended events headed by Lennon. We have already named some of the many individuals with pasts in the EDL, the now-defunct group founded and led by Lennon. Numerous others have attended his film screenings, or taken to the streets to support him during one of his many stints behind bars, or other events.
For example, on 11 November 2023 – Armistice Day – Lennon and his right-hand man, the convicted kidnapper Daniel Thomas (AKA Danny Tommo), led a group of 1,500-2,000 protesters to the streets of central London, who duly paid their respects to Britain’s war dead with a mass riot.
Rioters fought with police around the Cenotaph and Westminster tube station, whilst others attempted to confront the site of a pre-planned pro-Palestine demonstration. Over 140 were arrested for the disturbances that day.
Predictably, a number of those present at the Armistice Day chaos have also been arrested or convicted for participating in the recent disorders.
This includes Lewis Carver, who was on the frontline of a group that confronted police that November day in London. Carver has since been handed a 16-month prison sentence after admitting violent disorder and assault of an emergency worker during the 3 August Hull riot.
Likewise, Charles Smith was among a group that mobilised towards the Cenotaph on Armistice Day, before bouts of sustained violence broke out. Charles has since been jailed for 23 weeks for his involvement in the disorder in Whitehall on 31 July 2024 – an event similarly organised by Lennon’s right-hand man, Daniel Thomas.
The connection between Lennon’s online agitation and the imprisonment of his followers is clear. On Armistice Day 2023, having agitated his supporters online for weeks beforehand, Lennon fled the scene in a taxi as the inevitable disorder commenced and his followers were arrested in their dozens.
During the recent riots, and following yet more red-faced online rants from Lennon, mobs of far-right thugs around the country chanted their hero’s name whilst committing serious acts of violence and vandalism. Hundreds are now facing long periods behind bars, while Lennon enjoys some European sunshine and calls on his supporters for funds.
