Posted on Apr 17, 2013

UKIP officials expresses sympathy for far-Right EDL

Evidence has emerged that a senior UKIP figure, the Chairman of UKIP Hillingdon, Cliff Dixon has links to the English Defence League (EDL), a far-Right group with a long history of attacking Muslims.

Dixon, formerly involved with the English Democrats party, boasted on his blog, in 2011, that he has “joined my friends from March for England to tag along on the EDL Tower Hamlets demonstration.”

Colin Cortbus, a Stand for Peace fellow, notes: “If Mr Dixon thinks extremists should get off our streets, perhaps he should lead by example.”

Mr Dixon’s blog also records his attendance at a number of nationalist marches, mainly through the relatively small ‘March for England’ group. One event was co-organised by the British Patriots Society, which is described by anti-extremism campaign Hope not Hate as “a tiny splinter of the English Defence League”.

One photo shows Dixon posing with EDL leader Kevin Carol and other EDL and BNP figures.

Dixon has openly admitted to the authenticity of the image. Further, on Dixon’s own blog another photo shows him with EDL and EDP figure Ben Weald.

Dixon is not the only UKIP official to take a somewhat uncritical view of the EDL. UKIP Bedfordshire Councillor Stuart Parr has complained to the BBC, claiming that the EDL is not “a political organisation. It has no political ideology at all and campaigns only against Islamification and unfettered immigration.”

Parr has also spoken of a “Muslim breeding programme”.

He has encouraged violence on the grounds that the UAF, a violent far-Left group, is putatively condoned by authorities. Parr writes:

Let Choudary turn up with his mates and exercise their right to protest at our soldiers, just as long as everyone else who wants to stage a “counter protest” is allowed to exercise theirright to protest at Choudary and his Islam4UK mates. I’m sure the BNP and EDL will be there, not to mention the families of soldiers and ordinary members of the public who will want to turn up and support our troops. The British government lets the violent fascists from Unite Against Fascism start riots at EDL protests so it’s only fair.Choudary wants 500 muslim protesters carrying empty coffins in Wooton Bassett so the police won’t even have to bring their own body bags.

In the past UKIP spokespersons have said of the EDL: “If you are an EDL supporter then you are not welcome in Ukip.” Following previous investigations by Stand for Peace, UKIP has promptly expelled far-Right members of the Party. Will UKIP expel these officials too?

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