When the balaclava’d bully boys of Danny Tommo’s newly-formed ‘Patriot Platform’ group burst into the public consciousness with their blockade of Dover on September 2nd, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage issued a surprisingly stern condemnation of the action:
“Disgusting. Nobody, at any political protest, whether they’re on the left or right, should be wearing balaclavas. It is wrong, it’s horrible”
The party soon softened its tone, perhaps sensitive to mixed opinions among the party’s base on figures like Tommo and his friend Tommy Robinson. This was further complicated when the very next day after Dover, Tommo and his team descended on the town of Portsmouth in an attempt to prevent asylum seekers being transported onto coaches and out of the area.
His team were involved in several clashes with police, resulting in multiple arrests and more expected to come; police have released photos of six men wanted in connection to the disturbance.
However, it appears that many lower level politicians are rather more curious about the Patriot Platform than the top brass might like.
HOPE not hate has discovered that the North East Patriot Platform and Tyneside Patriots Facebook pages, part of the Patriot Platform network that launched the intimidating masked vigilante actions in Dover and Portsmouth last week, have been set up by Mark Thorn, a Reform activist from Gateshead.
Thorn describes himself as the “Reform UK Representative/Campaigner” for Gateshead Central & Whickham Constituency on his social media accounts, which contain a mix of pro-Reform and pro-Patriot Platform content, and appears to believe that the party’s criticisms of the movement are not sincere.
Responding to criticism of Farage’s response from another member, Thorn argued that Farage public stance was guided by political necessity and might not match his “secretly and privately personal opinions”:
It appears that Thorn believed his Reform colleagues might be keen to participate in Patriot Platform’s activities, and five of them took him up on the invitation: Cllr Trevor Shonk of Kent County Council, Cllrs Sandra Pickering and James Wright of Gateshead Council and Cllrs Paul Goldingay and Jamie Campbell of Solihull Council.
Three of the councillors have since left the group after being asked about their membership, and Cllr Wright of Gateshead stated that he had been in the group only to monitor its activity, had subsequently left the group and that he did not endorse it or any unlawful or disruptive activity.
Since the Reform UK’s messaging on Patriot Platform has been somewhat confusing so far – and some Reform activists apparently doubt its sincerity – perhaps the party should firmly clarify where it stands on the phenomenon of masked gangs blocking roads and taking vigilante action, and recommend that its own officials and activists should keep a distance from the organisers?
Prefer to listen? Click the play button to hear the audio version. Harry Shukman Reform UK is staffed by oddballs and enigmas, but none odder…
