Breaking News: Croydon BNP election candidate guilty of attacking four anti-fascist protesters

A British National Party election candidate for Croydon Council has been found guilty of attacking four anti-fascist protesters.

David Clarke, of Dunley Drive, New Addington, was found guilty of four counts of assaulting protesters outside of East Croydon station on May 27 and May 29 last year.

Mr Clarke is currently running for election as a councillor for Heathfield Ward.

Croydon Magistrates Court heard the first incident occurred at 6.50pm on May 27 as anti-fascist protesters were handing out leaflets in an attempt to try and dissuade people from supporting the BNP at the station.

Two days later on May 29 he is accused of assaulting another two protesters, James Cox and his partner, Lorna Nelson-Homian.

Clarke will be sentenced on May 18.
Lorna Nelson-Homian, one of Clarke's four victims, said: "I think the verdict today shows that the BNP's veil of credibility has once again fallen down.

"BNP policies are racist, and this case shows they always resort back to their violent roots."

Croydon Guardian

‘Neo-Nazi father asked me to research bomb’

A TEENAGER facing terror charges has admitted researching how to make an electromagnetic pulse bomb capable of knocking out vital computer systems if successfully detonated.

Former milkman’s assistant Nicky Davison told a jury at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday that he had been finding out more about the device for his father, Ian, who he later discovered was found in possession of the poison ricin – one of the world’s most deadly substances.

But Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting, said the 19-year-old could not blame everything on his father.

The exchange came on the tenth day of the trial of Mr Davison Jr, who is accused of being one of the founders of the Aryan Strike Force – a neo-Nazi group set up by his father in 2008.

The aim of the group was to carry out “ops” and to resist what its members called Zog – the Zionist Occupational Government.
Mr Davison Jr has pleaded not guilty to three charges of possessing a record containing information which could be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

The charges relate to electronic copies of The Poor Man’s James Bond and Anarchist’s Cookbook found on computers at his home in Grampian Way, Annfield Plain, near Stanley, County Durham.

Mr Davison Jr, who denies knowledge of the documents or downloading them, said earlier in his trial he had joined the extremist group to please his father.
He said his father had always been interested in bombs and had asked him to research how to make an electromagnetic pulse bomb, using plastic explosive, which could be built for about £260.

When detonated, the device creates a field of magnetic energy which can disable electronic systems, including bank, government and hospital computers, the court was told.

The jury was shown a red GCSE art book in which Mr Davison Jr had written notes about the device.

Mr Edis said: “Not everything you have done is your father’s fault. You were able to make decisions yourself. You cannot just say it was your dad.

“Your dad wanted to make a bomb and you were helping him.”

Last month, Davison Sr, a former pub DJ, of Myrtle Grove, Burnopfield, County Durham, admitted preparing for an act of terrorism and producing a chemical weapon between June 1 and 3 last year.

He also admitted three charges of possessing a record containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing acts of terrorism relating to copies of The Anarchist’s Cookbook, the Mujahideen Explosives Handbook and Kitchen Complete on June 2.

He will be sentenced at the conclusion of his son’s trial.
The Northern Echo

Husband of BNP parliamentary candidate quits 'to protect party'

THE husband of a BNP Parliamentary candidate has quit the party following his recent arrest over an alleged drugs offence.

Clifford Baddeley was arrested last month on suspicion of possessing cannabis.
The arrest led to police searching the house he shares with his wife Melanie, who is the far-right party's Parliamentary candidate in the Stoke-on-Trent North constituency.

Mr Baddeley, who has not been charged with any offences, remains on police bail while officers complete their investigation.

The unemployed 49-year-old, of Holehouse Road, Abbey Hulton, has admitted to using cannabis in the past to relieve the pain of arthritis.

However, he says he has since stopped using the drug.
BNP figures say Mr Baddeley left the party to avoid causing further embarrassment in the run-up to the May 6 polls.
His departure comes after BNP chairman Nick Griffin was forced to defend Mr Baddeley's conduct at the party's election manifesto launch in Stoke on Friday.
Mr Griffin had unveiled a range of tough new crime policies, including the death penalty for drug dealers, in front of the media.
But he was later forced to admit he would not be taking any disciplinary action against Mr Baddeley on the grounds that he had been using cannabis medicinally.
Mr Baddeley told The Sentinel last week that he was ashamed of the embarrassment his arrest had caused for his wife and the party.
He was unavailable for comment last night on his decision to step down.

Mrs Baddeley said she accepted her husband's resignation from the party and wanted to focus on her campaign.
She said: "Following the manifesto launch on Friday, when questions were raised about Clifford, he has decided to resign from the party.

"He stepped down, because he was aware of the embarrassment his situation was causing for the party."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council BNP group leader Councillor Michael Coleman, who is standing for election in the Stoke-on-Trent South constituency, said he felt Mr Baddeley had made the right decision.

And he hinted that his departure may be temporary if the ongoing police inquiry finds no evidence of any wrongdoing.
He said: "It is true that Mr Baddeley has resigned in light of everything that has happened.

"He is doing this to protect the party and our reputation, but he wasn't pushed; it was his choice to leave.

"I'm sure that when this has all blown over, he will come back to us."

He added: "His medical condition is absolutely awful and we are taking a lenient approach because of that."

This is Staffordshire

Jobbik unveils new name for organization soon to be again banned by the courts

After winning 47 seats in the new parliament, Jobbik party chairman Gábor Vona has announced that he will  form a new Hungarian National Guard, which is slightly different from the Hungarian Guard that was banned, and the New Hungarian Guard which was also not smiled upon, an MTI report revealed. The Hungarian Guard has claimed that it functions as a movement and not an organization, and that therefore the judgment by the court does not apply to it. The article did not address what new names Jobbik would give to the Hungarian Guard when it is banned again.

Politics.Hu

PP IN BADALONA, DEFENDS ITS FLYERS STATING ROMANIAN GYPSIES “ARE HERE TO COMMIT CRIME” (Spain)

The president of the PP in Badalona, defends its flyers stating that Romanian gypsies "are here to commit crime". The president of the PP in Badalona, Xavi García Albiol, defended the distribution of leaflets in the town made by his party in which a photograph taken from the street with a slogan that says 'we do not want Romanians', and that part of the collective Romanian-Gypsy community has "been installed to commit crimes and steal". García Albiol explained that the purpose of these forms is to transmit a major issue "being experienced by the municipality". The booklet is a real picture of a banner that hangs in several buildings in the neighbourhood of San Roque where 75% of the population are gypsy," argued the popular leader, in an interview with Cadena Ser gathered by Europa Press. In this sense, Albiol criticized the mayor of Badalona, the socialist Jordi Sierra, he "hides his head in the sand" and think that "failure to discuss the problem will solve it" rather than confront it "with courage". "The Romanian-gypsy group has been installed in this city to commit crimes and steal and that is creating many problems in the densest part of the city," said Albiol, who qualified that this accusation does not extend to all Romanian immigrants since he recognized that "the vast majority of them have come to the city of Badalona to work and are honest people."


Barcelona Reporter

War heroes anger as BNP use 'D-Day veteran'

A SHEFFIELD D-Day hero has lashed out at the BNP for using a Normandy veteran in an election publicity drive.

Ken Riley, aged 86, of Grimesthorpe, chairman of the Normandy Veterans' Association Sheffield branch, said there were inconsistencies in the account of service given by the man - Bob Head - in the BNP's release.
And he said the man's medals - displayed in two rows, one at an angle - were not being worn correctly.

Mr Riley said: "There is no way a Normandy veteran would be voting for the BNP or endorsing them when they fought against fascism. I have suspicions about this person, particularly with the medals not being worn properly."

Mr Riley is currently the face of a campaign being run by Hope Not Hate against the far-right BNP - and said a lot of the quotes in the BNP's publicity drive seem uncannily similar to some of his own.

Paul Meszaros, regional spokesman for Hope Not Hate, said: "It's disgraceful. We know Ken is a real war hero. It would be despicable if they have used our press release as the basis for theirs."

In Hope Not Hate's press release, Mr Riley says: "When I enlisted in the Army 66 years ago, I did it for Britain. Now I need you to do something for me. The BNP is trying to strangle our great nation with the same extremist and fascist agenda that Hitler's Nazis threatened us with decades ago. Hope Not Hate is on the front lines of our fight."
Mr Head begins: "When I enlisted in the Army in 1942, aged 18, I did it for Britain. Now I need you to do something for me. The British National Party is on the front lines of our fight."

Other lines appear in both men's statements, such as "Today, the war isn't being fought on the battlefield but in the ballot box" and "If I had my health I would be out there with them. But I can't - so I'm asking you to volunteer for me".
In the BNP's press release, Mr Head claims to have been part of the 51st Highland Division and says he was involved in the Normandy invasion, the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Market Garden.

But historical records show the 51st Highland Division was not involved in Market Garden - the attempt to take the Rhine bridges at Arnhem.

In a photograph released by the BNP Mr Head is wearing two rows of medals but the top row is at an angle.

Mr Riley said that although the medals on the top row are genuine, they would be worn by any proud veteran in a straight line. And doubts have been expressed about the authenticity of the lower medals, which Mr Riley did not recognise.

The BNP did not respond to requests to The Star's request for comment
The Star

Mexico migrants face human rights crisis, says Amnesty

Migrants in Mexico are facing a "major human rights crisis" as the authorities fail to tackle widespread abuses, Amnesty International has warned.

The human rights group said officials ignored or even played a part in the rape, kidnap, and murder of migrants, often carried out by criminal gangs.
Tens of thousands of Central American migrants pass through Mexico every year to try to reach the US and find work.

Amnesty called on Mexico's government to "prevent, punish and remedy abuses".

"Migrants in Mexico are facing a major human rights crisis leaving them with virtually no access to justice, fearing reprisals and deportation if they complain of abuses," said Rupert Knox, who contributed to the report, Invisible Victims: Migrants on the Move.

"Persistent failure by the authorities to tackle abuses carried out against irregular migrants has made their journey through Mexico one of the most dangerous in the world," he added.

Sexual violence
Amnesty cited statistics from the Mexican National Human Rights Commission, which showed that nearly 10,000 migrants had been abducted, mainly for ransom, over a period of six months in 2009.
It said that almost half of those interviewed said public officials had played a direct role in their kidnap.


The report also said that an estimated six out of 10 migrant women and girls have experienced sexual violence at the hands of criminals, other migrants or corrupt public officials.

Amnesty has called on the Mexican authorities to set up a federal task force to protect migrants' rights, and to bring those responsible for abuses to justice.

The Mexican government has often stated its commitment to the protection of migrants.

Grupo Beta, a government initiative started in 1991, operates in northern and southern border states, offering advice and humanitarian aid to migrants.

However, it lacks the necessary funding and authority to adequately support the constant stream of migrants heading north, according to Amnesty.

The majority of migrants are from the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

BBC News

UK agrees to compensate man wrongly accused of terrorism

Lotfi Raissi was released in 2002 after 'no evidence at all' was found to support allegations that he trained the hijackers of airplanes used in the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001.
Amnesty International has welcomed a move by the UK authorities to compensate Lotfi Raissi, a flight instructor who was wrongly accused of training the hijackers of airplanes used to carry out the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001.

Following his arrest in September 2001, Raissi spent five months in prison in Belmarsh high security prison while the USA attempted to have him extradited on minor charges unconnected with terrorism.

In April 2002, a judge ordered his release, stating that the court had received "no evidence at all" to support the allegation that he was involved in "terrorism".

The UK Ministry of Justice told Lotfi Raissi via his lawyer on Friday 23 April 2010 that it considered him "completely exonerated", more than eight years after he was first arrested.
The agreement, which came on the last possible day permitted by a 26 March 2010 judgment by the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, allows Raissi to apply for compensation. The final amount will be determined by an independent assessor.

Lotfi Raissi told Amnesty International via his lawyer on Friday 23 April, "I am delighted. I have waited for this for nine years. I hope that this government statement will help get rid of the cloud of suspicion that has hung over my life for so long."
In March, the Court of Appeal found the UK authorities' "inordinate delay" to reconsider Raissi's compensation claim to be characterized by a "high degree of unreasonableness".

Lotfi Raissi's lawyer, Jules Carey, said to Amnesty International on Friday that "the allegations of terrorism were utterly ruinous to Mr Raissi both personally and professionally" and that he hoped that the decision to compensate Lotfi Raissi "marks a new chapter in his life and that his rehabilitation will begin."
The Court of Appeal had earlier ruled on 14 February 2008 that the authorities must reconsider Lotfi Raissi's claim for compensation. The Court said the extradition proceedings "amounted to an abuse of process" and had been "used as a device to circumvent the rule of English law".

Lofti Raissi was arrested on 21 September 2001 on the basis of information supplied to the UK authorities by the US administration of former President George W Bush.

He was released after seven days' questioning and immediately re-arrested on the basis of a warrant requesting his extradition to the US.

He was never charged with any offence related to terrorism and extradition procedures appeared to have been launch to secure his presence in the USA so that the 11 September attacks could be investigated.
amnesty.org

'Anarchist's Cookbook' writer admits terror offences

A man who wrote a terrorists' handbook using information from an al-Qaeda training manual has pleaded guilty to offences under the Terrorism Act.

Terrance Brown, 46, from Portsmouth, compiled CDs which included instructions about how to build bombs.
The discs, called the Anarchist's Cookbook, were sold for $35 (£23).

Brown pleaded guilty to seven counts of collecting information that could have been used to prepare or commit acts of terrorism at Winchester Crown Court.

The maximum sentence is 10 years. He will be sentenced on 2 June.

'Largest haul'
Two additional counts of recklessly disseminating the information and one count of transferring criminal property will lie on file.
The discs were sold worldwide on a website, which is now closed, between 2003 and 2008 from his home in Whitworth Road.
They included, among other things, extracts from the Mujahideen Poisons Book and instructions on how to build improvised explosive devices.
The court was told that Brown made tens of thousands of pounds from the business but had no terrorist sympathies.
He is now penniless and has county court judgements against him, the court heard.

Parmjit Cheema, prosecuting, told the court that the haul of terrorist information was the largest ever found in the UK.
The judge, Sir Geoffrey Grigson, granted Brown bail and adjourned the case for reports.

BBC News

Blair Peach: After 31 years Met police say 'sorry' for their role in his killing

A former police inspector tonight denied involvement in the notorious killing of the anti-racist protester Blair Peach, after a report released earlier in the day suggested he may have been the officer who struck the "fatal blow".

Alan Murray, who is now a university lecturer but was a 29-year-old Metropolitan police inspector in 1979, said he was the victim of a bungled investigation into Peach's death. "I did not kill Blair Peach. Of that I am certain," he said.
Murray was speaking after the release of more than 3,000 previously secret documents that shed new light on the death of Peach, a 33-year-old teacher from New Zealand whose skull was crushed by a single blow to the head during a protest against the National Front in Southall, west London, on the evening of 23 April 1979.
The documents appeared to confirm the long-held suspicion that Peach was likely to have been killed by an officer from the Met's riot squad, the special patrol group (SPG).

The key document was produced by Commander John Cass, who ran the Met's internal complaints bureau and led the inquiry into Peach's death. He concluded that Peach was "almost certainly" killed by one of six SPG officers, some of whom then lied to cover up the actions of their colleague.

No officers were ever charged over Peach's death, although the event marked one of the darkest moments in Scotland Yard's history. Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan police commissioner, recognised as much when he said the report made "uncomfortable reading". He unequivocally accepted the finding that a Met officer was likely to have been responsible for the death and, in an unusual move, expressed his regret.

"I have to say, really, that I am sorry that in over 31 years since Blair Peach's death we have been unable to provide his family and friends with the definitive answer regarding the terrible circumstances in which he met his death," he said.

Asked if he was apologising for the death of Peach, he replied: "I am sorry that officers behaved that way, according to Mr Cass."
Murray, who retired from the Met soon after the death and now lectures in corporate social responsibility at Sheffield University, was not named in the documents that were made public. But he accepted that from evidence given at Peach's inquest and other material, he was easily identifiable. The former inspector is among dozens of police officers questioned over the death more than 30 years ago who can now be identified.

They include Tony Lake, who attended the Southall demonstration as an SPG sergeant, and later rose through the highest ranks of the constabulary, becoming the chief constable of Lincolnshire police.

Lake, who once chaired the national DNA database and was awarded an OBE when he retired two years ago, declined to comment last night on Peach's death but said that a 1981 newspaper report linking him to the officers identified in the Cass report was "fundamentally wrong".

The Met agreed to release the documents last year in the aftermath of the death of Ian Tomlinson, a 47-year-old newspaper seller who died after being attacked by police at the G20 protests in London. The officer filmed striking Tomlinson was a member of the territorial support group, which replaced the disbanded SPG in 1987. The Crown Prosecution Service is still considering whether to charge the officer with manslaughter.

Yesterday's publication marked the culmination of a 31-year campaign by friends and family of Peach for full disclosure of the Met's inquiry into the death. The Cass report was suppressed in 1980 by the late Dr John Burton, the coroner who oversaw the inquest into Peach's death.

The inquest controversially returned a verdict of "death by misadventure", but recently disclosed documents suggest Burton was biased in favour of the police. He wrote to ministers before the end of the inquest, dismissing the belief that Peach was killed by an officer as political "fabrication".

After the inquest, Burton penned an "unpublished story" about the Peach death which railed against what the coroner saw as a leftwing campaign to destabilise the legal establishment. Senior civil servants managed to persuade him not to publish his account. One official wrote: "An article like this would be a heaven-sent opportunity to those who wish to get maximum publicity out of this incident to argue that the coroner was biased and for this reason the inquest was unsound."

Peach's long-term partner, Celia Stubbs, said yesterday she felt totally vindicated by the Cass report. She described its released as "the beginning of the end" of her campaign for answers.

She repeated her long-held belief that Peach would not have wanted to be known as a political martyr, but accepted that the search for answers over his death had for many become a political cause in itself, galvanising concern over what were considered the brutal actions of corrupt and unaccountable police.

When Peach's body was finally buried – 51 days after his death – thousands of activists marched across London. Around 8,000 mainly Sikhs from Southall had already paid their respects at his open coffin, which lay in a nearby theatre the previous night.
The suspicions of most of those mourners – that a police officer killed Peach – were all but confirmed in yesterday's report.

Stubbs said: "It is fantastic after 31 years. I have only read 200 pages of the report but I feel that we have really been vindicated because we have always said that Blair had been killed by a policeman. It says in the report that it was an officer that struck Blair.

"I never really expected a prosecution. I don't regret that, I am just pleased that we have the report so we can see what happened on the day."

The Cass report was written at the end of the summer of 1979, following months of inquiries.

In laying out his terms of reference he said: "My brief is to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death, so I do not propose to enlarge much further on the events of that day except to emphasise that it was an extremely violent volatile and ugly situation where there was serious disturbance by what can be classed as a 'rebellious crowd'.

"The legal definition 'unlawful assembly' is justified and the event should be viewed with that kind of atmosphere prevailing. Without condoning the death I refer to Archbold [Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice] 38th edition para 2528: "In case of riot or rebellious assembly the officers endeavouring to disperse the riot are justified in killing them at common law if the riot cannot otherwise be suppressed."

If Cass was seeking to exonerate his men, it was an endeavour he found difficult in the face of more than 3,000 pages of witness testimony, forensic evidence and tense interviews with officers. After reviewing hundreds of pages of evidence, he reached his conclusion: that it could "reasonably be concluded that a police officer struck the fatal blow". Despite this, he said there was insufficient evidence to bring charges of unlawful killing.

Cass had narrowed his investigation down to six SPG officers in carrier U11, the first vehicle to arrive in Beachcroft Avenue, the suburban street where Peach was found stumbling around, barely able to talk. Moments earlier, 14 witnesses had seen "a police officer hit the deceased on the head" but, according to Cass, there were discrepancies in their evidence and most could not identify an officer from repeated identity parades.
Although he did not recommend charges over the death, Cass did name three officers he proposed should be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice, believing they had lied to his investigators to cover up the actions of their colleague.
Analysing their statements, he found some had been engaged in a "deliberate attempt to conceal the presence of the carrier at the scene at that time".

In a key passage, he wrote: "It is now clear that [carrier] U11 was at the scene and almost certainly the officer who struck the blow had come from that carrier. It will be appreciated that the explanation given by the crew of the carrier would be of paramount importance to the investigation." He went on to express concern over the "attitude and untruthfulness" of some of the officers in the van, and found their responses "seriously lacking".
His recommendation that three officers be prosecuted for lying to their seniors was apparently overruled by the then director of public prosecutions, Sir Thomas Hetherington, who within weeks of receiving the Cass report announced there was insufficient evidence to bring any charge against any officer. After the Met reviewed the conduct of the officers, it was felt that none should be disciplined.

Of the six SPG officers, Cass said there was an "indication" that one officer in particular – the first to emerge from the carrier – struck the "fatal blow", but emphasised that there was "no evidence of a conclusive nature". The name of that officer was redacted from today's published version of the report, but last night Murray acknowledged that it was a reference to him. He accepted he was the first out of the van and said he was aware at the time that Cass had made him a "prime suspect" in the inquiry. But he criticised the investigation, and accused Cass of turning to him in the absence of more concrete evidence.

"In a report like that, that man [Cass] can write anything he likes," he said. "So he is pursuing me and trying to fit me up for a murder that I didn't commit, and then he tells people that I am stressed."

Claiming he had been a "hostage to fortune", Murray accused Cass of bungling the investigation.

Cass, 85, who retired 20 years ago, said last night he was unwilling to comment on the allegations being made by Murray. But the Met stood by Cass, saying his findings were the result of an extensive and robust inquiry. Commander Mark Simmons, the officer who now runs the Met's complaints department and oversaw the release of his predecessor's report, said "a significant amount of resources" had been put into the investigation. "I've got no reason to disagree with Commander Cass's conclusions," he added.

Cass's findings were also welcomed yesterday by Deborah Coles, a co-director of Inquest, an organisation that was set up in 1981 partly in response to Peach's death and provides advice on contentious deaths. However, she raised questions about the institutions that hold police to account. "The whole police investigation into what happened on 23 April 1979 was clearly designed as an exercise in managing the fallout from the events of that iconic day in Southall, to exonerate police violence in the face of legitimate public protest," she said. "The echoes of that exercise sound across the decades to the events of the G20 protest and the death of Ian Tomlinson in 2009."

The history
April 23 1979 Blair Peach dies at a protest against the National Front in London. Scotland Yard announces an investigation and interrogates police officers. It finds 14 witnesses who say they saw Peach attacked by a police officer. In July, tens of thousands attend Peach's funeral.

October 1979 After reviewing the Metropolitan police's internal investigation, the director of public prosecutions, Sir Thomas Hetherington, says there is insufficient evidence to charge any officer. We now know that the Met inquiry, by Commander John Cass, said three officers should be charged with perverting the course of justice.

May 1980 An inquest into Peach's death returns a verdict of death by misadventure. Campaigners accuse the coroner, Dr John Burton, of being biased in favour of police and leaning on the jury. Burton refused lawyers acting on behalf of Peach's friends and family access to the Cass report.

July 1988 In an out of court settlement, the Met agrees to pay Peach's relatives in New Zealand £75,000 in compensation. His partner Celia Stubbs was not entitled to a payout.

April 2009 Newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson dies during G20 protests in London after being struck by police. Parallels are drawn with Peach's death. A motion is put to Scotland Yard's watchdog for release of the Cass report, which is published almost a year later.

The Guardian