Britain First’s (BF) rally in Nuneaton on 1 March was noteworthy for several reasons.
As we showed recently, despite months of promotion by BF’s leader, Paul Golding, the event was little more than a damp squib. Concerningly, we also uncovered a puzzle regarding the cost of BF’s big screen at Nuneaton, hired from a supposedly “friendly” supplier. Whereas BF told its supporters that it had paid £5,500 for the screen package, we were quoted nearly £1,800 less for an identical one. A curious difference.
However, also significant is the apparent open-door policy from BF towards neo-Nazis and other extremists. Our post-event analysis reveals that members of the neo-Nazi group Patriotic Alternative (PA) made appearances in Nuneaton alongside BF regulars and other fascists.
This is indicative of BF’s “slipping of the mask” in recent years, with its anti-Muslim focus metastasising into a broader, more explicit racial politics. As the saying goes: if you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas.
The Nuneaton rally was marketed as a “March for Remigration”; a euphemistic term for mass deportations associated with Generation Identity, and recently re-popularised as part of an international far-right effort. BF’s use of such language acts as a homing beacon for explicit fascists.
These include the veteran British fascist Michael Woodbridge, as well as Jason Withey and Nathan Attewell, all of whom have been members of PA.
Withey has been involved in the far right since at least June 2023, when he appeared at an anti-migrant demonstration in Leeds called by the Yorkshire Patriots. The demo was attended by an array of neo-Nazis, including members of PA, a group Withey would formally join the same year.
Following the various ructions within PA, Withey hitched his wagon to Alek Yerbury and his PA-splinter group, the National Rebirth Party (NRP), an overtly fascist micro-party.
Withey is friendly with veteran fascist, Michael Woodbridge, a former member of the National Front and, more recently, a regular at PA events. Woodbridge attended the Nuneaton event. Among the litany of extreme gatherings attended by Woodbridge over the years have been the 2013 and 2014 protests outside the Greek Embassy in support of Greek neo-Nazi organisation, Golden Dawn, and the 2015 White Man March attended by members of the now-banned neo-nazi terror group, National Action (NA).
At the latter, Woodbridge stood alongside NA activists, as leading NA member Matthew Hankinson delivered a speech. In 2018, Hankinson was sentenced to six years in prison for his continued membership of NA after its 2016 ban under anti-terror legislation. Woodbridge himself was arrested alongside several others – including NA members – at the Newcastle march, though all charges were dropped.
Also present in Nuneaton was Nathan Attewell, a supporter and occasional activist with PA. Attewell attended two Tommy Robinson protests last year, one before the riots and one after his incarceration for contempt of court.
Elsewhere, the rally was graced by Christopher Matthews, unmasked by HOPE not hate last year as the highly secretive “auditor” turned ”migrant hunter”, ST Audits; one of the most aggressive and confrontational activists of the genre we had come across. Matthews – who formerly wore a balaclava and a stab vest whilst making videos – is a 53-year-old former professional wrestler and doorman from Stoke-on-Trent who has bragged in online “war stories” about an array of violent episodes during his career.
Matthews attended last summer’s far-right riot in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, which saw outbreaks of serious violence and numerous subsequent convictions. Indeed, other BF activists have since been convicted for their roles in the riots. Following a major spat with another “migrant hunter”, Matthews appeared to have stepped back from far-right content generation. However, his appearance in Nuneaton indicates a possible return to a more organised approach to his output.
Also in attendance was Ryan Ferguson, a man subject to a football banning order and sent to prison for nine months following his racist tirade against a Forest Green Rovers player. Ferguson was seen at the head of the march in Nuneaton, alongside the leadership of Golding and Ashlea Simon.
During sentencing, the judge was unequivocal in his assessment of Ferguson’s character, describing him as “an immature individual, who has not learnt how to treat people equally”, as well as someone who “appears to find fulfilment at football matches though violence, abuse and offensive behaviour”. Given the extensive criminal histories of many associated with BF in one way or another, we’re sure Ferguson will find himself right at home.
Another noteworthy attendee was Thomas Simpson (AKA Top Cat), a chronically online fascist menace who has been in the orbit of BF since 2022. During that time, Simpson has performed a security role for the group, particularly for Simon on the campaign trail.
Simpson is a vicious racist, and has spoken on livestream about “k***s” and wanting to “put those fucking n****** in their place”. HOPE not hate has also obtained an image of Simpson performing a Nazi salute.
A final person of interest was Ralph Harrison, Director of the Odinist Fellowship, a group that follows a “folkish” version of Heathenism and has attracted figures from an array of extreme fringe groups. Harrison – who goes by the name Ingvar – is a long-term far-right activist and a former editor of the now-defunct Right Now! magazine.
Given BF’s emergence from the wreckage of the British National Party, Golding’s organisation has always contained its fair share of fascists. However, the motley collection of oddballs and neo-Nazis present at the Nuneaton event speaks volumes about where BF now finds itself.
The group is now in a bind; unable to lure major numbers onto the streets and with a catastrophic record on the electoral front, BF is left with convicted criminals, cranks and fringe fascists.
Such figures are unlikely to transform BF’s fortunes any time soon.
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