A far right group exposed as having links to neo-Nazis three years ago will be assessed under the UK Government’s new definition of extremism.
The Ferret revealed in 2021 that members of Patriotic Alternative (PA) posted racist and anti-Semitic comments on Telegram. We later disclosed that a leading figure in PA sought to recruit neo-Nazis who posed with weapons, shared a bomb-making manual, quoted a mass murderer, and said members should kill “for the greater good”.
The far right group, which has been linked to six people now in prison for race hate or terror related crimes, was named by the UK Government yesterday for promoting “neo-Nazi ideology”.
Speaking in the House of Commons, the community secretary Michael Gove laid out the government’s new definition of extremism, which will be distributed across government and Whitehall.
Gove defines extremism as “the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance that aims to negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others”.
The definition covers those who seek to “undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights” or intentionally create a “permissive environment” for others to achieve those aims.
Gove also named several groups to be examined under the new definition. “Organisations such as the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), which is the British affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, and other groups such as Cage and Mend give rise to concern for their Islamist orientation and beliefs,” Gove told MPs. “We will be holding these and other organisations to account to assess if they meet our definition of extremism, and will take action as appropriate.”
He added: “I am sure that we would agree that organisations such as the British National Socialist Movement and Patriotic Alternative, who promote neo-Nazi ideology, argue for forced repatriation, a white ethnostate and the targeting of minority groups for intimidation, are precisely the type of groups about which we should be concerned and whose activities we will assess against the new definition.”
A list of organisations meeting the new definition will be drawn up following “careful” reviews of evidence and consultation with civil servants, Gove explained.
Patriotic Alternative has actively recruited in Scotland for several years now. Its members to have been jailed include Sam Melia, who was found guilty in January of inciting hatred and sentenced to two years. Melia had links to the banned neo-Nazi terror group, National Action, and he spoke at an anti-asylum seeker protest in Erskine last year.
Kristofer Kearney, who had links with PA Scotland, was jailed last year after sharing terrorist materials. Other jailed individuals linked to PA included James Costello who travelled from England to Erskine last year to demonstrate against asylum seekers being housed in a hotel. Costello was sentenced to five years behind bars for race hate offences last November.
I am sure that we would agree that organisations such as the British National Socialist Movement and Patriotic Alternative, who promote neo-Nazi ideology, argue for forced repatriation, a white ethnostate and the targeting of minority groups for intimidation, are precisely the type of groups about which we should be concerned and whose activities we will assess against the new definition
Michael Gove MP, UK Government’s communities secretary.
However, Gove’s announcement yesterday prompted legal threats and criticism that the new definition will stifle free speech. The MAB and Mend challenged Gove to repeat the allegations without parliamentary privilege so they could sue.
The unveiling of the new definition comes amid the backdrop of heightened community tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, and political rows over the policing of pro-Palestinian marches in London.
The organisers behind pro-Palestine marches across the UK branded the new definition of extremism as “an assault on core democratic freedoms”.
In a joint statement, six groups involved in organising weekly pro-Palestine marches since October 7, said the government “should stand charged of falling foul of its own definition of extremism”.
The groups are the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, Friends of Al-Aqsa, the Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and MAB.
Their statement said: “His (Gove) redefinition of extremism, framed as a defence of democracy, is in reality an assault on core democratic freedoms, seeking to silence dissenting voices. The government has used the protests we have organised in response to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people as a core rationale for the need to redefine extremism.
“Successive government ministers and pro-Israel voices have attempted to demonise those protesting as hatemongers, Islamist mobs and antisemites. The reality is that, as the police themselves have publicly affirmed, the marches have been overwhelmingly peaceful and attended by a broad cross section of British society, young and old, of all faiths and none.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Today’s announcement is a very belated admission by the government that it has engaged with and even funded extremists over the years, and that it will no longer do so.
“That is welcome, but that is as far as this announcement goes. It proposes no sanction whatsoever for extremists caught by the new definition other than a loss of state support that they should never have had in the first place, and far too many extremists will not be caught under this definition at all.”
Patriotic Alternative said: “This presents a major threat to both freedom of speech and freedom of association and is a dangerous step toward a totalitarian state where those who do not adhere to state doctrine are silenced and have their human rights curtailed.”
Last April, a new group called Homeland was formed after PA split and it is now registered as a political party. Homeland promotes a nationalism based on ancestry, land and the “law of blood”.
Featured photograph is of PA leader Sam Melia speaking at an anti-asylum protest in Erskine in 2023. Credit: Angela Catlin.
Correction: This article was amended at 10.24 on 21 March 2023 to add this paragraph: “Homeland promotes a nationalism based on ancestry, land and the “law of blood”.
