Far Right Breaks Lockdown - AND THE LAW

Where anti-racism campaigners go, so too do the real racists, and yesterday’s Black Lives Matter protests, especially in London, were no exception. While most who turned out were responding to the murder of an unarmed African American, George Floyd, at the hands of a now former Minneapolis Police Officer, a small contingent from otherwise washed-up far-right outfit Britain First were also there in the capital.

A smile, a Stella, and a severe physical assault

The latter were displaying a banner claiming “White Lives Matter”, which by centuries of tradition they already did: that is sort of the point, that they mattered, and in much of the USA continue to matter, at the expense of other lives. Sadly, there were just three loyal banner-carriers, and no sign of BF Führer Paul “Stella” Golding.

But there was plenty of severely adverse comment. “Not wearing masks, not standing 6ft apart, and using the photo of a little girl who was killed in March this year, when the family specifically asked Britain First to stop using her photo” was one response. “Britain First. A bunch of knuckle dragging, racist twunts” was another. And there was more.

“How sick and depraved must you be to have a banner of a girl murdered by someone who was clearly mentally ill to promote your unpleasant, parasitical us vs them racist view of the world?? Britain First are vermin … Britain first be like: white lives matter! Until that white life is Eastern European and then it’s: Get them Out! Like fucking hell if you’re going to be so blatantly and illogically racist you might as well be consistent”.

Sooz Kempner recalled BF’s less than perfect courage: “Britain First are so strong and tough that they blocked me on Facebook because I kept correcting the spelling of Muslim on their page”. Chris Hague added “Fascist group Britain First are exploiting the murder of a little girl by a mentally ill woman to push their racist agenda just because the woman was Albanian. It's honestly so sick and morally bankrupt yet I'm not even shocked. Fascists have no boundaries or morals”. But there was one problem everyone had forgotten.

BF have in the recent past been warned about using an image of the Crown on their publicity materials, something the banner they displayed yesterday perpetuated. In 2014, the Guardian reported that “The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that all images of the royal crown must be removed from the group's websites. But the body has no power to rule on the group's use of the symbol elsewhere”.

You'll have to speak up, I'm a bit Mutt and Jeff

Also, “The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for authorising use of official royal symbols, said it had written a letter to the far-right party asking it to remove all images of the crown from its website, marketing materials, stationery and stock ‘with immediate effect’”. Führer Golding “dismissed the ASA as a ‘toothless quango with no power which no one takes any notice of’ [and] said the group would continue to use its logo, including the crown”.

But the Cabinet Office is a different proposition, representing as it does the authority of the Crown. Britain First is still using that image, so not only did its supporters break lockdown rules when seen holding their banner, that banner broke the law.

Maybe someone should complain to the Police. Nothing quite like seeing the Fash squeal.

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