The Brexit Party are having two rallies in North West England on Saturday 4 May in Flyde and on Monday 6 May in Chester. Attending both rallies will be Nigel Farage, Ann Widdecombe and the Brexit Party candidates for that region – including Claire Fox.

Ms Fox joined the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) while she was at Warwick university in the early 1980’s. She talked about it in this “Spanner Media” interview and also in this “Daily Politico” one. In the latter she said, “I joined the RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party) in the early 80s. I’d be in it still but it was wound up at the end of the nineties. So now I’m party-less, but still optimistic.”

One thing I have to emphasise is that Leninist organisations like the RCP have a “Party Line” to which members have to adhere in public. If someone is a long-term member, as Ms Fox was in this case, it can be safely assumed they agreed with the central tenets of the organisation. One of those tenets for the RCP was unconditional support for the IRA including defending their right to carry out their bombing campaign no matter the consequences.

On 12 October 1984, the IRA bombed the Grand Hotel Brighton with the intention of assassinating Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet. The Conservative Party conference was taking place there. Five people were murdered — Sir Anthony Berry MP, Eric Taylor, Lady Jeanne Shattock, Lady Muriel Maclean and Roberta Wakeham. Something which may be of particular interest to voters in NW England is that Eric Taylor was North-West Area Chairman of the Conservative Party. He was born in Oldham and “was a councillor and alderman on Oldham Council from 1961 to 1974 and a magistrate from 1966”.

Eric Taylor OBE.

The RCP’s newspaper the next step (no. 53 November 1984) carried this report of the Brighton bombing with the following statement — “We support unconditionally the right of the Irish people to carry out their struggle for national liberation in whatever way they choose”.

In the same issue there was a report on a demonstration by the RCP’s front organisation, the Irish Freedom Movement (IFM), at the conference with the headline — “Irish freedom fighters are not British criminals”.

Ann Widdecombe was at that conference. In her memoirs (Strictly Ann: The Autobiography) she recalls her feelings about the release of prisoners under the Good Friday Agreement and an incident where someone wanted to introduce her to Patrick Magee who planted the bomb.

She went on to recount why she did not wish to be introduced:

Lady Jeanne Shattock.

I am not aware of Ann Widdecombe”s views on Claire Fox being on the Brexit Party for NW England or if she is fully aware of Ms Fox’s views in 1993 and, more importantly, now on the Warrington bombing. But, as I said at the start, they will be campaigning together in the region on Saturday 4 May and Monday 6 May. Neither am I aware of what Claire Fox’s views are now on the Brighton bombing and whether they are different to when she was a member of the RCP.

Something which might give a clue to Ms Fox’s present attitude to the Brighton bombing is a tweet sent out from Colin Parry when he discussed the Warrington atrocity with her.

The question remains — why is Claire Fox still on the Brexit Party list for NW England?