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Draft:Migrant Hunters in the United Kingdom
“”I’m a reporter from South East Kent covering the stories that the mainstream media manipulate. I show the truth, what’s actually happening, without any fabrications. No fake news here.
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—Steve Laws, misrepresenting what he does |
UK Migrant Hunters are predominantly far-right anti-migrant activists who hang around migrant entry points and turn up unannounced at migrant accommodation centres and hotels housing migrants to threaten and harass staff, security and the migrants themselves.[1][2] Some coming from the so-called "auditing" movement pose as citizen journalists, attempt to provoke reactions, and video their encounters for posting online as rage-bait. They also use leafleting, banners and online forums to further encite hatred and mass protest at the sites. This agenda setting by post-organisational individuals is jumped upon by more formal far-right organisations such as Britain First and For Britain was noted by Hope Not Hate as something new.[3]
We're going on a migrant hunt[edit]
Far-right, British fascist, paramilitary thugs Britain First followed a particularly humiliating trip to Calais in September 2019 which ended with them being pelted with rocks, by promising round the clock vigilante patrols to monitor migrant crossings off the coast of Dover under the name of Operation White Cliffs.[4] While, in actuality this amounted to little more than a photo op for BF leader Paul Golding to stare wistfully out to sea, genuine patrols by so-called migrant hunters were soon to follow.[3]
Over Summer 2020 a number of so-called "citizen journalists", including Alan "Active Patriot UK" Leggett, Neil "The Little Veteran" Marcham, Chris Johnson, Steve Laws and Christopher "Tyrant Finder UK" Batt, living out of their cars or in long-term hostels, filming the beaches of the south coast and chasing down any arriving migrants. These videos from the "front line" went viral on far right social media reinforcing the false narrative of a migrant invasion.[3]
An injunction hearing brought by the Port of Dover at Canterbury Crown Court in November 2021 against Legett, Marcham, Laws and Tracey "XxTWxX" Wiseman saw them all banned from entering the Eastern and Western Docks in Dover, with Leggett and Marcham solemnly promising not to intimidate new arrivals.[5]
Migrant hunting enablers[edit]
English Media Group[edit]
The English Media Group, formerly known as the English Press Association (not to be confused with the actual Press Association), is a division of fake trade union "The Workers of England Union" formed by far right-wing, anti-immigrant, racists from the English Democrats[6] and affiliated with the equally fake "English TUC" (not to be confused with the real Trades Union Congress).
The group issues fake press credentials to migrant hunting "journalist" for a modest fee of £120. Following a High Court injuction the organisational affiliation on the cards was changed to the "English Press Association" to the "English Media Group".[7]
Voice of Wales[edit]
Voice of Wales (VoW) is a far-right media outlet founded by convicted fraudster Dan Morgan and failed UKIP candidate Stan Robinson in Swansea.[8] Banned from YouTube in 2021, VoW releases content on Gettr and its own website.
Migrant hunting groups[edit]
East Anglian Patriots[edit]
East Anglian Patriots (EAP) is a very minor anti-migrant street network reformed under the leadership of former EDL activist Andy Reynolds in 2022 to capitalise on the emerging anti-immigration movement.[9] A small EAP protest, platforming James Harvey (Students Against Tyranny), Tommy Robinson ally Glen Saffer and Alek Yerbury (National Support Detachment), at asylum accommodation in Norwich was overrun by counter-protestors and ended in multiple arrests.[10] A follow-up protest collapsed as the EAP protestors failed to leave the pub.
Patriots of Britain[edit]
Patriots of Britain is a very minor anti-migrant organisation established in 2022 to unite aging far-right football hooligans across clubs in preparation for a small anti-immigration demonstration in London in September of that year.[11] The group's 200-subscriber Telegram group, administered by former BNP activist and British Democrats parish councillor Chris Bateman, posts anti-migrant content and amplifies the likes of Alan Leggett, Voice of Wales and Paul Joseph Watson.[12] The group organised poorly attended demonstrations to “protect the statues” and oppose migration, as well as turning out to a number of Turning Point UK protests.[13]
Migrant hunters[edit]
Alan "Active Patriot UK" Leggett[edit]
“”I wasn't derogatory to any immigrants yesterday...
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—Alan Leggett[5] |
Alan Leggett aka Active Patriot UK is a far-right racist, islamophobe and antisemite who has been described by Tommy Robinson as "our man on the ground".[14][3] Leggett, originally from Cleethorpes, was radicalised in 2017 following the Manchester Arena bombing[15] and came to prominence live-streaming speeches and making loving montages from the protests outside Robinson’s 2019 Old Bailey trial. By the end of 2020 Leggett had established himself as a Robinson-style “citizen journalist” documenting cross-Channel migration and spearheading an explosion in anti-migrant activism. Following a November 2021 injunction hearing promise not to intimidate new arrivals,[5] Leggett toured seven northern towns streaming reactions to "screenings" on a portable screen in public locations (often outside police stations) of his "documentary" on so-called "Muslim grooming gangs" pushing the "migrants are sexual predators" narrative.[16] In 2022, Leggett teamed up with Amanda Smith (aka Yorkshire Rose) to travel the country filming themselves harassing staff and residents at migrant accommodation, which eventually resulted in them being banned from West Yorkshire.[12] A subsequent legal case related to a video from 2020[17][18] resulted in further sanctions including a 10-month suspended custodial sentence[19][20] with Judge Simon Taylor stating:
What I see is disgraceful conduct, not only racist and misogynistic but also cowardly and it undermines British values and British society, things you claim to hold dear. There is nothing to be proud of in your conduct.[18]
His YouTube channel has also subsequently been taken down.[10]
Nigel "The Little Veteran" Marcham[edit]
“”Take a knee for the brethren of this fucking country.
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—Nigel Marcham[21] |
Nigel Marcham aka Nobby Robinson and The Little Veteran is a disgraced ex-serviceman turned far-right anti-migrant activist described by Hope Not Hate as a "foul-mouthed reprobate".[3] Marcham, originally from Watford, was part of the initial core group of so-called "citizen journalists" filming the beaches of the south coast and in September 2020 organized a protest which closed the Port of Dover.[21] However, following a November 2021 injunction hearing promise not to intimidate new arrivals,[5] Marcham reduced his migrant hunting output and increasingly posted COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories instead.[3]
Amanda "Yorkshire Rose" Smith[edit]
Amanda Smith aka Yorkshire Rose is a racist conspiracy theorist who describes herself as a “real journalist”[22] while real journalists describe her as Britain's most prolific "migrant hunter".[23]
Tracey "xxTWxx" Wiseman[edit]
“”Get your motherfuckers controlled... see this is what’s coming in.
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—Tracey Wiseman[24] |
Tracey Wiseman aka xxTWxx is a former tattooist and body piercer turned far-right racist, islamophobe and conspiracy theorist.[24] Wiseman and her partner Dave Goldsmith were among the protestors outside Tommy Robinson’s 2019 Old Bailey trial and with the encouragement of Alan Leggett joined the core group of so-called "citizen journalists" chasing down and filming migrants arriving in Dover in 2020. As was pointed out at the November 2021 injunction hearing brought by the Port of Dover at Canterbury Crown Court,[5] Wiseman has shared QAnon, New World Order and Great Replacement conspiracy theories, Islamophobic calls for the banning of Eid, and photos of herself with far right activists including Tommy Robinson and members of the Proud Boys Britannia. This lead litigators to conclude that:
[She] would lead you to believe she is a neutral reporter - neutral reporters don’t go posing with well-known protesters. Any reporting is just live-streaming for the like-minded.
Nonetheless, Judge Sarah Venn ruled that after signing a promise not to "harass or intimidate" Wiseman would, unlike fellow defendants Leggett and Marcham, be allowed continued access to the docks.
References[edit]
- ↑ Migrant-Hunters Hope Not Hate
- ↑ The money grabbing “Migrant Hunters” (12 March 2021) Antifascist Research Collective
- ↑ Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 State of Hate 2021: Backlash, Conspiracies & Confrontation Hope Not Hate
- ↑ State of Hate 2020: Far Right Terror Goes Global Hope Not Hate
- ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Far-right activists, including Suffolk man, promise not to 'abuse migrants' during English Channel crossing protests (12 November 2021) SuffolkNews
- ↑ The Workers of England Union Explained (10 March 2022) Hope Not Hate
- ↑ PA wins High Court injunction against union issuing ‘fake’ press passes to ‘citizen journalists’ (13 January 2021) PA Media
- ↑ CASE FILE: Voice of Wales Hope Not Hate
- ↑ CASE FILE: East Anglian Patriots Hope Not Hate
- ↑ Jump up to: 10.0 10.1 State of Hate 2024: Pessimism, Decline & the Rising Radical Right Hope Not Hate
- ↑ CASE FILE: Patriots of Britain Hope Not Hate
- ↑ Jump up to: 12.0 12.1 State of Hate 2023: Rhetoric, Racism & Resentment Hope Not Hate
- ↑ Turning Point UK: Conservative Hooligans (20 June 2024) Red Flare
- ↑ CASE FILE: Alan Leggett ("Active Patriot") Hope Not Hate
- ↑ The wedding DJ who wants to stop migrant boats by Sue Mitchell (1 November 2020) BBC News
- ↑ State of Hate 2022: On The March Again Hope Not Hate
- ↑ Far-right 'Active Patriot' denies posting racist YouTube video by Sean Axtell (25 May 2022) Kent Online
- ↑ Jump up to: 18.0 18.1 Far-right YouTube activist Active Patriot – Alan Leggett of Cleethorpes – branded racist by judge at Canterbury Crown Court by Julia Roberts (16 November 2023) Kent Online
- ↑ YouTuber sentenced for antisemitic abuse during online livestream (16 November 2023) Crown Prosecution Service
- ↑ YouTuber sentenced for antisemitic abuse during livestream, CPS says by Anahita Hossein-Pour (16 November 2023) The Independent
- ↑ Jump up to: 21.0 21.1 Port of Dover is brought to a standstill by far-right groups by Mark Townsend (5 Sep 2020) The Observer
- ↑ ‘Migrant hunts’ double in one year by Matt Dathan, Dominic Kennedy and Ben Ellery (February 17, 2023) The Times
- ↑ ‘Are You Paying for this Room?’ Three Years of Far-Right Attacks on Migrant Hotels by Sian Norris (February 28, 2023) Byline Times
- ↑ Jump up to: 24.0 24.1 A Who’s Who of the ‘Migrant Hunters’ (12 March 2021) Antifascist Research Collective