EDL chief’s bank accounts frozen in cash inquiry

The bank accounts of the English Defence League’s leader have been frozen as part of a money laundering investigation.

EDL chief Tommy Robinson, 28, said he was last year arrested for ‘financial irregularities’ and was issued with a Luton Crown Court order on August 11 preventing him from making any withdrawals from or charging any purchases to his accounts.

In a YouTube video Mr Robinson, who has just moved home to an unknown location from Lower Stondon, said he is entitled to take out £250 each week to cover living expenses while the investigation is ongoing.

But other than that he cannot touch the money, the amount of which is unknown, although Mr Robinson, who led the 1,500- strong EDL rally in Luton town centre on February 5, said the figure is £6,000.

He said in the online video: “The £250 comes out of my own bank account which has my money in it anyway. I have had to stop working because if I do work, and say I earn £600, next week it goes into a frozen account and I am allowed £250.

“My solicitor has told me these orders are called disruption tactics in order to disrupt my life, disrupt everything I am doing and pretty much stop what we are saying, put pressure on me – and of course it has put pressure on me.

“This doesn’t cover my living costs. It prohibits me from dealing with any finances at all and that’s all in order to stop the EDL and our goals and what we are doing.

“They have given me this because between the years 2007 and 2009 I had more money going through my bank accounts than I paid tax on. Whoopy doo.

“It wasn’t all my money anyway. I bought a couple of properties and I have got partners that I am 50 per cent with.

“This will all come out if they decide to charge me.

“They haven’t charged me so they slapped this restraining order on me. I’ve been on it for six months. My bail date was February. My solicitor said they would probably bail me for another six months and I’ve been bailed until July again.

“They are just keeping my money frozen for 24 months.

“I’ve only got that £6,000 in my account and that’s going to run out soon.

“I can’t work because I can’t take any credit card payments at my tanning shop and the business is struggling.”

A police spokeswoman said: “A person has been arrested in connection with money laundering but as the investigation is still ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

Luton on Sunday

ANTIRACIST WORKSHOPS FOR UEFA EURO 2012 STEWARDS (Poland)

The Polish FARE partner organisation "NEVER AGAIN" Association, in cooperation with EURO 2012 Polska (Local Organising Committee) and the Polish Football Association, has provided a series of special antiracist workshops for the trainers of EURO 2012 stewards. The participants of the workshops represented members and staff Polish football clubs, security and safety directors of all top two division clubs. They took part in workshops about best models of stewarding on football stadiums, based on UEFA educational materials. One of the most important parts of this training is on racism and discrimination, including a special workshop on recognising racist, fascist symbols and hate speech.

This training is prepared specially for UEFA EURO 2012TM championship. Each of the listeners received the toolkit "How to fight racism?" and can share best practices during their everyday work in Polish top football clubs. In the forthcoming months, all the club representatives will organise similar trainings for their own safety and security staff. Recently the Polish Ministry of Sport recently decided to support the campaign by producing extra 300 copies of the toolkit - best practice guide "How to fight racism?". It will be spread all over Poland mainly to teachers and youth coaches. 'Never Again' Association also provides anti-racist trainings for different other groups such as police football "spotters", police human rights departments, teacher training centres etc.

Football Against Racism in Europe

CELEBRATIONS IN DRESDEN AS THWARTED NEO-NAZIS RELOCATE TO LEIPZIG UNDER POLICE PROTECTION (Germany)

At least 15 000 people distributed themselves throughout the streets of Dresden today to protest neo-Nazi efforts to hold demonstrations commemorating the 1945 bombing of the city by the western members of the Allied Forces. Police did their best to prevent contact between the two camps and essentially protected the extreme right commemoration, which had been permitted by the courts, from attack by counter-demonstrators who turned out in superior numbers. 

Followers of the Green Party and the Left Party formed the core of the counter-demonstration and were joined by small groups of anarchists and left-wing extremists. Czech citizens participated both on the side of the neo-Nazis and on the side of their opponents. Despite police efforts to maintain order, the number of neo-Nazi opponents continued to increase during the afternoon, as did their aggressiveness. Clashes gradually occurred in several places between left-wing extremists and police and kept escalating in terms of intensity. Demonstrators set garbage cans on fire, created barricades out of wood and tires which they soaked in fuel and set alight, and even started tearing up paving stones and raining them down on the police, who responded by using tear gas and water cannon. According to the Green Party website, the demonstrators could not stay on the streets in sub-zero temperatures for long in wet clothing, but their supporters continued to proliferate nonetheless.

The most dramatic situation occurred at around 5:30 CET near Weiskopf-Platz, where about 1 000 neo-Nazis were surrounded by their opponents and police found it very difficult to maintain order. About 50 neo-Nazis attacked police officers and a fight broke out there. German anti-fascist websites had been warning all demonstrators to be on the lookout for aggressive neo-Nazis. In the early evening, police announced they would be providing protection for the extreme-right commemoration in the nearby town of Leipzig instead. After waiting several hours, the neo-Nazis agreed to be transported to Leipzig by train under police protection and to hold their commemorative demonstration there instead. DPA reported that the Leipzig Police were preparing to take over security for the event. Shortly after 18:00 CET the neo-Nazis were assisted by police in getting back onto their buses to head to the train station. Just like last year, the neo-Nazis have been prevented from marching through Dresden. People there have started celebrating in the streets, dancing and lighting candles. About 150 neo-Nazis, however, still do not want to leave and are attempting to march through Dresden anyway. By noon CET, police had already blocked small groups of demonstrators at various sites throughout the city and did their best to prevent them from coming into contact with the neo-Nazis. Bridges across the Elbe were closed so the demonstrators could not relocate freely, according to the news server of the daily Sächsische Zeitung.

The city did its best to ban the neo-Nazi event, but an administrative court overturned the municipality's ban of the march and permitted commemorations to be held by three extreme-right groups at three different places in the city. Two of the events were registered by private individuals, while a third was registered by the Young Compatriots' Association of East Germany (the JLO). The first neo-Nazi gathering took place at noon CET on Nuremberg Square. About 100 neo-Nazis participated and were given police protection. In order to prevent violence, police kept a group of about 1 000 counter-demonstrators from accessing the square. Students living in nearby dormitories and left-wing activists repeatedly tried to breach the police barricades. Most of the blockades did not result in violence. 

The organization Dresden Without Neo-Nazis held a permitted counter-demonstration in the center of the city in which participants marched from the river to the main train station. The organizers repeatedly called on demonstrators to protest peacefully, and some performers gave short concerts in the streets for the demonstrators. Silent protests against the neo-Nazis also took place in many churches throughout Dresden today. Police originally expected up to 20 000 people to gradually join the demonstrations against the neo-Nazis over the course of the day, as many of 3 000 of whom were expected to be left-wing extremists. About 4 000 neo-Nazis were expected to participate, but by the late afternoon it seemed their numbers had totaled approximately 1 000, while the number of counter-demonstrators was around 15 000.

German media reported that police stopped buses bringing counter-demonstrators into Dresden on the highway before they reached the city limits. Activists had to walk to the center "on foot for more than an hour" in order to participate in the protest. Anti-fascists and neo-Nazis traveling on the same train to Dresden also engaged in a knife fight that sent four anti-fascists to the hospital.

CTK.Eu 

Former member of BNP s lashes out at Nick Griffin (UK)

Roger Phillips

A former member of the British National Party in Wales has lashed out at party leader Nick Griffin.

Kevin Edwards, a councillor for Llandybie in Ammanford, resigned from the ultra-nationalist party after he claimed it failed to properly deal with a member who had been convicted of assault.

The party’s South Wales organiser Roger Phillips, of Cross Hands, was convicted at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court last month after he admitted assaulting Adam Margetts, a fellow drinker at Llanelli Workingmen’s Club.

When Cllr Edwards e-mailed party leader Nick Griffin he claims he was told: “He’s got to go. I’m shocked that this was not dealt with in South Wales ages ago.”

But when a meeting of party organisers chose to back Mr Phillips, Cllr Edwards said the party’s refusal to oust him had left him no choice but to cut all links with the BNP.

Writing on his blog, he said: “What can I say? I have always been a loyal Griffinite and have always believed in Nick’s integrity and honesty.

“That is now shattered. Nick is either a blatant liar, politically naive or just listens to some very bad advice. Whatever the reason he is definitely not serious when he says that the party has cleaned up it’s image.”

Wales on Sunday previously reported how police investigated Mr Phillips in 2009 after he allegedly threatened to kill Bristol man Mark Watson, but charges were never brought.

BNP deputy Simon Darby said of Cllr Edwards resignation: “It’s a minor thing and it won’t affect the huge effort we are going to put into winning seats on the Welsh Assembly.”

Wales Online

Barnsley: antifascists march as EDL’s links to BNP exposed (UK)

Around 100 people turned up to support the joint Barnsley Trades Council and UAF demonstration in Barnsley on Saturday 19 February against the fascist British National Party, despite snow and harsh conditions.

But on the day, antifascists found themselves opposing both the BNP and the English Defence League.
Exposed

Both the BNP – which tries to hide its long history of fascism – and the racist street thugs of the EDL have sought to deny connections between the two organisations, although the EDL’s leader “Tommy Robinson” is a former BNP member and other fascists are central to its organisation.

But the links between the two groups were exposed when members of the EDL’s Yorkshire division turned out to defend the BNP’s stall in Barnsley as local trade unionists and antifascists marched against them.

The BNP is standing in the Barnsley Central byelection on 3 March. Local trade unionists and antifascists organised the march to oppose the BNP after the fascist party’s leader Nick Griffin’s recent visits to the town and the BNP’s attempts to maintain a stall in the town centre. The BNP wants to whip up support for its poinsonous racist and fascist ideas – local people are determined to oppose them.
Marched

The trade union and antifascist demo marched through the centre of Barnsley to show their opposition at the site where the BNP hold a stall.

Demonstrators were shocked when 50 EDL members marched up from a pub shouting abusive slogans. For an hour, police kept both groups penned in and refused to allow the trades council march to proceed.

But the antifascist demonstrators inisted they would march and the police eventually led the EDL back to the pub where they had been drinking earlier.

The trade union demonstration then proceeded through the town centre, chanting and outnumbering the fascists on the BNP stall and the EDL bully boys who had come to defend the BNP.
Rally

A rally in the centre of town was addressed by a number of speakers including the national president of the UCU and regional speakers from the GMB and FBU unions.

The rally finished with a call to leaflet and campaign against the BNP in the byelection.

UAF.org