British Movement
Encyclopedia
The British Movement later called the British National Socialist Movement (BNSM), is a British
neo-Nazi
organisation founded by Colin Jordan
in 1968. It grew out of the National Socialist Movement (NSM), which was founded in 1962. Frequently on the margins of even the British far-right the BM nonetheless has had a long and chequered history and became well known for its association with violence and extremism. It initially organised as a political party but subsequently abandoned this strategy and has even had spells out of existence.
in Denis Pirie
's house about the possibility of joining the National Front. These talks came to nothing however and with the Race Relations Act 1968
passed the notion of openly parading Nazi credentials in a party name had to be abandoned, leading to Jordan forming a new group to known as the British Movement. Whilst the new party intended to continue the old group's role of being Nazi apologists and endorsing rabid anti-Semitism
it aimed to do so within the restrictions brought in by the newly enacted law.
, where a growing Midlands branch was being organised by Ray Hill
, when local members attacked students who were supporting an Anti-Apartheid Movement protest against a South Africa
n trade delegation visiting the city. Direct action activities such as this, which usually ended in violence, became the stock in trade of the BM during its early days. An underground cell, the National Socialist Group, was also established in Blackheath
by David Courtney and this undertook paramilitary training exercises in Scotland
whilst also seeking to build links between the BM and like-minded groups in Europe
. The group vanished suddenly in 1969 when Special Branch
began to investigate them, with Courtney in particular dropping out of the far-right scene for some time afterwards.
Despite this setback violence remained on the agenda as the party maintained a Leader Guard of violent members whom it encouraged to join the Territorial Army, as well as a Women's Division and a National Youth Movement. Members of the BM also took part in paramilitary training exercises in Germany
. Convictions were not uncommon, as was the case in January 1981 when three members, Rod Roberts, Harvey Stock and Robert Giles, were arrested for possession of illegal weapons and attempted arson with Roberts imprisoned for seven years as a result. However, despite its reputation for violence, the BM came badly unstuck on at least two occasions: at Crass
's infamous Conway Hall gig in 1979 and in Oxford in 1981, after attempting to march in the city.
. The campaign made no attempts to hide the party's support for Nazism
and violence became the hallmark, not least on the election night itself when scuffles at the count were televised nationally. The 3.5% vote share that the BM secured was treated as a success by activists who felt that it proved that even with a Nazi message nearly 300 people were still prepared to vote for an anti-immigration candidate. Indeed the BM members had openly worn the German Nazi
Swastika
symbol, and party literature featured pictures of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler
.
The BM contested the UK general elections in 1970
and in February 1974
. The party failed to attract much support in those elections due to its openness about its support for Nazism, and because most of the far right
vote went to the National Front
(NF). The group's highest result was the 2.5% share which Jordan captured in Birmingham Aston
in 1970. Nonetheless contect between the BM and NF was not infrequent and in early 1972 John Tyndall
had met with Jordan and discussed the possibility that the BM might form the basis of a new NF group in the Midlands, an area of BM strength and NF weakness. The proposal was soon dropped however and was largely made only because Tyndall was seeking to build a power-base in his attempts to replace John O'Brien
as NF chairman. For his part Jordan had a long-held ambition to unite the divided far-right and he personally oversaw the production of a BM leaflet, Nationalist Solidarity in '70, in which he called for personal disagreements to be set aside in favour of presenting a united front.
Jordan's run as leader came to an end in 1975 when he was arrested in the Coventry
branch of Tesco
on a charge of shoplifting. Jordan declared that the event, as well as reports that the item he had stolen were a pair of women's knickers, was a frame-up but soon after he resigned as leader of the BM to take on an advisory role.
, a former milkman from Liverpool
, became the leader. McLaughlin, who was seen as a talneted organiser but weak leader, was largely believed to have been chosen as little more than a "front" leader who could be controlled by Jordan from behind the scenes. McLaughlin quickly rejected this notion and made it clear that Jordan's time was over, resulting in the former leader retiring to Yorkshire
from where he still published his own journal Gothic Ripples from time to time, the pages of which were regularly filled with criticism of McLaughlin.
McLaughlin, in contrast to Jordan, was under no delusions that the BM might gain a broad following and instead he felt that its best area of possible support was amongst young, working-class males. The BM journals, The Phoenix and British Patriot, thus changed to become much more simplistic and aggressive publications largely shorn of Jordan's pseudoscientific racialism in favour of more basic notions. The BM had also gained some publicity in 1976 when "race martyr" and sometime party activist Robert Relf
went on hunger strike in protest at the Race Relations Bill
but this proved short-lived as Tyndall quickly signed Relf up to the NF. Relf hado gained national attention after he advertised his house as being "For Sale - to a white family only". Meanwhile McLaughlin's baser ideas struck a chord with the growing White power skinhead movement and large numbers of these youths, many of whom were involved in regular acts of violence against non-Whites, flocked to the BM.Indeed by 1980 it claimed to have 4000 members and 25 branches. The notion of recruiting violent youths to form a street army appealed to Martin Webster
who attempted to coax members away from the BM to the NF but the BM only lost a handful of members in this manner before NF leader John Tyndall
, mindful of the desire to present a respectable NF image, called a halt to the scheme. A key strategy for gaining publicity and members was by encouraging violence at football
matches and concerts. Nicky Crane
, one of the leading figures of the neo-Nazi skinhead movement, joined the BM and became an organiser in Kent
. By this time the BM had effectively given up mainstream politics in favour of provocative marches and violence, changes that appealed to the younger element who were disillusioned with the disintegrating NF.
, rejoined the group and soon became one of its leading figures, a decision prompted by the anti-fascist
magazine Searchlight
, for whom Hill had become a mole. Hill was appointed Area Leader in the East Midlands
where he was given responsibility for enticing disaffected NF members to join the BM. Before long Hill had added about thirty members in Leicester and had also built a close working relationship with the British Democratic Party
in the city. Hill also managed to ensure publicity for the BM from the Leicester Mercury
after a riot in the city, a fact that won him the admiration of McLaughlin.
Following an incident at a Birmingham
hotel in which NF supporters had entered a room booked by the BM and daubed the walls with graffiti Hill suggested to McLaughlin that the breach in security had been the fault of Steve Brady, a leading figure in the League of St. George and the only non-BM member invited to the event. McLaughlin appointed Hill to head up an "anti-subversion unit" as a result, although a lack of funding ensured that the unit never actually convened. Nonetheless Hill continued to criticise Brady to McLaughlin and before long Hill had been promoted to the head of the entire Midlands region following the retirement of Birmingham chief Peter Marriner.
Under Searchlight direction Hill sought to take charge of the BM and he launched his campaign at a demonstration in Welling
in October 1980 organised by Crane. Attending in McLaughlin's stead after the BM leader had asked him to Hill made frequent references to other organisers present about allegations that McLaughlin was letting them do the work whilst he stayed behind at BM headquarters in Lampeter
collection membership fees. A speech criticising the police at a BM rally in Paddington
helped to cement Hill's popularity amongst the rank and file membership, most of whom held police in contempt.
After he opened contact with Jordan Hill was expelled from the BM by McLaughlin in 1981. Hill was backed by his Leicester branch, London organiser Tony Malski and Robert Relf and his lieutenant Mike Cole, all of whom backed Hill to replace McLaughlin as leader. Hill released a statement to BM members rejecting the expulsion and threatening a court injunction to overturn the expulsion. With legal advice provided by British Democratic Party leader Anthony Reed Herbert
, Hill soon issued the writ against McLaughlin, who attempted to get around the problems by renaming the BM the British Nationalist and Socialist Movement and claiming that the BM in fact no longer existed.
in 1982, a huge blow to McLaughlin's group. The party failed to contest the 1983 general election
, although a single candidate had attempted to stand in Peterborough
as a Labour Party
candidate; he was barred by the returning officer
after several signatures on the nominating papers were found to be invalid. McLaughlin finally announced the closure of the BM in September 1983 and in the statement blamed the court case brought by Ray Hill which had severely depleted BM funds.
member of the original BM. At its 1985 yearly meeting the BM established a new group to be known as the British National Socialist Movement (BNSM). Whilst the BM continued to exist alongside the BNSM the latter would give more freedom to activists by operating as a cell-based structure within the BM. The new group attempted to act as a rallying-point for white power skinheads, although this role was later filled more successfully by Blood and Honour
. It also continued to have involvement in football hooliganism
and BM members were amongst the rioters responsible for the Heysel Stadium disaster
at the 1985 European Cup final
.
The BNSM was soon attempting to re-activate the old BM membership and followed the old template of encouraging members to undergo military training through the TA or other means. However the group's fascination with guns proved problematic, particularly in the aftermath of the 1987 Hungerford massacre
and three members, Jeff Carson, David Philips and John Carson, were arrested for possession of illegal shotguns after police received an anonymous tip-off. The BNSM also built up links with the Ulster Defence Association
and Ulster Volunteer Force and BNSM members also served with the English companies of these Ulster loyalist paramilitaries. The group, which had about 300 members by 1990, also sought links with European groups and was close to Dutch
former SS man Et Wolsink who was variously connected to Dutch Peoples-Union
and the Dutch sections of the Wiking-Jugend
and the Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists
. Links were also built with the white power music scene of Blood and Honour
and in particular Ian Stuart Donaldson
who, despite his previous membership of the NF, was close Cat Mee, a BM orgnaiser in Derbyshire
. Donaldson's attempts to leave the skinhead scene and scale back his involvement in music soured the relationship however and in 1990 links were severed after a group of activists turned up at Donaldson's local pub and told him to play for them or face assault.
The progress of the BNSM was halted in the early 1990s by the emergence of Combat 18
with much of the membership switching allegiance to this new group. The new BM re-emerged during the mid 1990s by becoming heavily involved in the distribution of white power music. By this time Micky Lane had taken over as leader of the group, a position that meant his name appear on an alleged Combat 18 hitlist due to the rivalries between the groups. Although a British Movement still exists, it has a tiny, largely inactive, membership. It does however maintain a presence on the internet.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
organisation founded by Colin Jordan
Colin Jordan
John Colin Campbell Jordan was a leading figure in postwar Neo-Nazism in Britain. In the far-right nationalist circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly 'Nazi' inclination in his open use of the styles and symbols of the Third Reich.Through organisations such as the National...
in 1968. It grew out of the National Socialist Movement (NSM), which was founded in 1962. Frequently on the margins of even the British far-right the BM nonetheless has had a long and chequered history and became well known for its association with violence and extremism. It initially organised as a political party but subsequently abandoned this strategy and has even had spells out of existence.
Formation
The NSM had come to an end sometime after Colin Jordan was imprisoned in early 1967 for distributing a racist leaflet The Coloured Invasion and following his release Jordan had met John TyndallJohn Tyndall (politician)
John Hutchyns Tyndall was a British politician who was prominently associated with several fascist/neo-Nazi sects. However, he is best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and founding the contemporary British National Party in 1982.The most prominent figure in British nationalism...
in Denis Pirie
Denis Pirie
Denis Pirie is a veteran of the British far right scene who took a leading role in a number of movements.He began his career as a member of the 1960s British National Party and was appointed a member of the party's national council not long after its foundation...
's house about the possibility of joining the National Front. These talks came to nothing however and with the Race Relations Act 1968
Race Relations Act 1968
The Race Relations Act 1968 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom making it illegal to refuse housing, employment, or public services to a person on the grounds of colour, race, ethnic or national origins. It also created the Community Relations Commission to promote 'harmonious...
passed the notion of openly parading Nazi credentials in a party name had to be abandoned, leading to Jordan forming a new group to known as the British Movement. Whilst the new party intended to continue the old group's role of being Nazi apologists and endorsing rabid anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
it aimed to do so within the restrictions brought in by the newly enacted law.
Violence
Not long after its formation the BM gained coverage in LeicesterLeicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, where a growing Midlands branch was being organised by Ray Hill
Ray Hill
Ray Hill was a leading figure in the British far right who went on to become a well-known informant.Born in Lancashire, he spent three years in the army before making his first steps in the far right with the Racial Preservation Society in Leicester in the late 1960s...
, when local members attacked students who were supporting an Anti-Apartheid Movement protest against a South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n trade delegation visiting the city. Direct action activities such as this, which usually ended in violence, became the stock in trade of the BM during its early days. An underground cell, the National Socialist Group, was also established in Blackheath
Blackheath
Blackheath is the name of a number of places:*Blackheath, London, England**Blackheath, Kent *Blackheath, Surrey, England**Blackheath, Surrey *Blackheath, West Midlands, England*Blackheath, New South Wales, Australia...
by David Courtney and this undertook paramilitary training exercises in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
whilst also seeking to build links between the BM and like-minded groups in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The group vanished suddenly in 1969 when Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
began to investigate them, with Courtney in particular dropping out of the far-right scene for some time afterwards.
Despite this setback violence remained on the agenda as the party maintained a Leader Guard of violent members whom it encouraged to join the Territorial Army, as well as a Women's Division and a National Youth Movement. Members of the BM also took part in paramilitary training exercises in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Convictions were not uncommon, as was the case in January 1981 when three members, Rod Roberts, Harvey Stock and Robert Giles, were arrested for possession of illegal weapons and attempted arson with Roberts imprisoned for seven years as a result. However, despite its reputation for violence, the BM came badly unstuck on at least two occasions: at Crass
Crass
Crass are an English punk rock band that was formed in 1977, which promoted anarchism as a political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement. Crass popularised the seminal anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, and advocated direct action, animal rights, and environmentalism...
's infamous Conway Hall gig in 1979 and in Oxford in 1981, after attempting to march in the city.
Political activity
The BM entered electoral politics in 1969 when Jordan put himself forward as a candidate for the Birmingham Ladywood by-electionBirmingham Ladywood by-election, 1969
The Birmingham Ladywood by-election, in Birmingham, on 26 June 1969 was held after Labour Member of Parliament Victor Yates died on 19 January the same year. Although the seat had been Labour-held since 1945 it was captured by the Liberals in a defeat for Harold Wilson's government.-Campaign:In...
. The campaign made no attempts to hide the party's support for Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and violence became the hallmark, not least on the election night itself when scuffles at the count were televised nationally. The 3.5% vote share that the BM secured was treated as a success by activists who felt that it proved that even with a Nazi message nearly 300 people were still prepared to vote for an anti-immigration candidate. Indeed the BM members had openly worn the German Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
symbol, and party literature featured pictures of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
The BM contested the UK general elections in 1970
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
and in February 1974
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
. The party failed to attract much support in those elections due to its openness about its support for Nazism, and because most of the far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
vote went to the National Front
British National Front
The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
(NF). The group's highest result was the 2.5% share which Jordan captured in Birmingham Aston
Birmingham Aston (UK Parliament constituency)
Birmingham Aston was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1885 until 1918 the constituency was known as Aston Manor, before becoming a Birmingham division from 1918 to 1974...
in 1970. Nonetheless contect between the BM and NF was not infrequent and in early 1972 John Tyndall
John Tyndall (politician)
John Hutchyns Tyndall was a British politician who was prominently associated with several fascist/neo-Nazi sects. However, he is best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and founding the contemporary British National Party in 1982.The most prominent figure in British nationalism...
had met with Jordan and discussed the possibility that the BM might form the basis of a new NF group in the Midlands, an area of BM strength and NF weakness. The proposal was soon dropped however and was largely made only because Tyndall was seeking to build a power-base in his attempts to replace John O'Brien
John O'Brien (UK politician)
John O'Brien was a leading figure on the far right of British politics during the early 1970s.A fruit farmer by trade, O'Brien had initially been a member of the Conservative Party in Shrewsbury. A supporter of Enoch Powell, he attempted to organise a 'Powell for Premier' movement following the...
as NF chairman. For his part Jordan had a long-held ambition to unite the divided far-right and he personally oversaw the production of a BM leaflet, Nationalist Solidarity in '70, in which he called for personal disagreements to be set aside in favour of presenting a united front.
Jordan's run as leader came to an end in 1975 when he was arrested in the Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
branch of Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
on a charge of shoplifting. Jordan declared that the event, as well as reports that the item he had stolen were a pair of women's knickers, was a frame-up but soon after he resigned as leader of the BM to take on an advisory role.
Post-Jordan
After Jordan stood down as leader of the BM Michael McLaughlinMichael McLaughlin
Michael McLaughlin was, for a time, a leading figure on the British far right.Born in Liverpool, he was the son of an Irish republican and socialist who was a veteran of the International Brigades....
, a former milkman from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, became the leader. McLaughlin, who was seen as a talneted organiser but weak leader, was largely believed to have been chosen as little more than a "front" leader who could be controlled by Jordan from behind the scenes. McLaughlin quickly rejected this notion and made it clear that Jordan's time was over, resulting in the former leader retiring to Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
from where he still published his own journal Gothic Ripples from time to time, the pages of which were regularly filled with criticism of McLaughlin.
McLaughlin, in contrast to Jordan, was under no delusions that the BM might gain a broad following and instead he felt that its best area of possible support was amongst young, working-class males. The BM journals, The Phoenix and British Patriot, thus changed to become much more simplistic and aggressive publications largely shorn of Jordan's pseudoscientific racialism in favour of more basic notions. The BM had also gained some publicity in 1976 when "race martyr" and sometime party activist Robert Relf
Robert Relf
Robert Relf is a far right British 'race martyr' who briefly became a cause célèbre for the tabloid press in the 1970s.Relf first came to national attention in 1976 when he advertised his house in Leamington Spa as being 'For Sale - to an English family only'...
went on hunger strike in protest at the Race Relations Bill
Race Relations Act 1976
The Race Relations Act 1976 was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race.Items that are covered include discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin in the fields of employment, the provision of...
but this proved short-lived as Tyndall quickly signed Relf up to the NF. Relf hado gained national attention after he advertised his house as being "For Sale - to a white family only". Meanwhile McLaughlin's baser ideas struck a chord with the growing White power skinhead movement and large numbers of these youths, many of whom were involved in regular acts of violence against non-Whites, flocked to the BM.Indeed by 1980 it claimed to have 4000 members and 25 branches. The notion of recruiting violent youths to form a street army appealed to Martin Webster
Martin Webster
Martin Guy Alan Webster is a former leading figure on the far-right in British politics.-Early political activism:An early member of the Young Conservatives, from which he claimed to have been expelled, Webster was associated loosely with the League of Empire Loyalists until he joined the National...
who attempted to coax members away from the BM to the NF but the BM only lost a handful of members in this manner before NF leader John Tyndall
John Tyndall (politician)
John Hutchyns Tyndall was a British politician who was prominently associated with several fascist/neo-Nazi sects. However, he is best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and founding the contemporary British National Party in 1982.The most prominent figure in British nationalism...
, mindful of the desire to present a respectable NF image, called a halt to the scheme. A key strategy for gaining publicity and members was by encouraging violence at football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
matches and concerts. Nicky Crane
Nicky Crane
Nicola Vincenzio "Nicky" Crane was a British neo-Nazi skinhead activist. He came out as gay before dying from an AIDS-related illness in 1993....
, one of the leading figures of the neo-Nazi skinhead movement, joined the BM and became an organiser in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. By this time the BM had effectively given up mainstream politics in favour of provocative marches and violence, changes that appealed to the younger element who were disillusioned with the disintegrating NF.
Ray Hill's return
In 1980, Ray Hill, who had been a leading member of the BM under Jordan before emigrating to South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, rejoined the group and soon became one of its leading figures, a decision prompted by the anti-fascist
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
magazine Searchlight
Searchlight (magazine)
Searchlight is a British anti-fascist magazine, founded in 1975 by Gerry Gable, which publishes exposés about racism, antisemitism, and fascism in the UK....
, for whom Hill had become a mole. Hill was appointed Area Leader in the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
where he was given responsibility for enticing disaffected NF members to join the BM. Before long Hill had added about thirty members in Leicester and had also built a close working relationship with the British Democratic Party
British Democratic Party
The British Democratic Party was a short-lived far-right political party in the United Kingdom. A breakaway group from the National Front the BDP was severely damaged after it became involved in a gun-running sting and was absorbed by the British National Party.-Formation and naming...
in the city. Hill also managed to ensure publicity for the BM from the Leicester Mercury
Leicester Mercury
The Leicester Mercury is a British regional newspaper, owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust, for the city of Leicester and the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland...
after a riot in the city, a fact that won him the admiration of McLaughlin.
Following an incident at a Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
hotel in which NF supporters had entered a room booked by the BM and daubed the walls with graffiti Hill suggested to McLaughlin that the breach in security had been the fault of Steve Brady, a leading figure in the League of St. George and the only non-BM member invited to the event. McLaughlin appointed Hill to head up an "anti-subversion unit" as a result, although a lack of funding ensured that the unit never actually convened. Nonetheless Hill continued to criticise Brady to McLaughlin and before long Hill had been promoted to the head of the entire Midlands region following the retirement of Birmingham chief Peter Marriner.
Under Searchlight direction Hill sought to take charge of the BM and he launched his campaign at a demonstration in Welling
Welling
Welling is a district in the London Borough of Bexley, South East London. It is a suburban development situated between Shooter's Hill and Bexleyheath north of the A2 road and 10.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross.-History:...
in October 1980 organised by Crane. Attending in McLaughlin's stead after the BM leader had asked him to Hill made frequent references to other organisers present about allegations that McLaughlin was letting them do the work whilst he stayed behind at BM headquarters in Lampeter
Lampeter
Lampeter is a town in Ceredigion, South West Wales, lying at the confluence of the River Teifi and the Afon Dulas.-Demographics:At the 2001 National Census, the population was 2894. Lampeter is therefore the smallest university town in both Wales and the United Kingdom...
collection membership fees. A speech criticising the police at a BM rally in Paddington
Paddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
helped to cement Hill's popularity amongst the rank and file membership, most of whom held police in contempt.
After he opened contact with Jordan Hill was expelled from the BM by McLaughlin in 1981. Hill was backed by his Leicester branch, London organiser Tony Malski and Robert Relf and his lieutenant Mike Cole, all of whom backed Hill to replace McLaughlin as leader. Hill released a statement to BM members rejecting the expulsion and threatening a court injunction to overturn the expulsion. With legal advice provided by British Democratic Party leader Anthony Reed Herbert
Anthony Reed Herbert
Anthony Reed-Herbert was a leading member of the British National Front during the 1970s, organising the party in Leicester and serving as its chief legal adviser ....
, Hill soon issued the writ against McLaughlin, who attempted to get around the problems by renaming the BM the British Nationalist and Socialist Movement and claiming that the BM in fact no longer existed.
Collapse
About half of the members of the BM went with Hill out and joined the newly launched British National PartyBritish National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
in 1982, a huge blow to McLaughlin's group. The party failed to contest the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
, although a single candidate had attempted to stand in Peterborough
Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formally styled The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past...
as a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate; he was barred by the returning officer
Returning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
after several signatures on the nominating papers were found to be invalid. McLaughlin finally announced the closure of the BM in September 1983 and in the statement blamed the court case brought by Ray Hill which had severely depleted BM funds.
New group
A group calling itself the British Movement continued to operate after September 1983 under the leadership of Stephen Frost, a YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
member of the original BM. At its 1985 yearly meeting the BM established a new group to be known as the British National Socialist Movement (BNSM). Whilst the BM continued to exist alongside the BNSM the latter would give more freedom to activists by operating as a cell-based structure within the BM. The new group attempted to act as a rallying-point for white power skinheads, although this role was later filled more successfully by Blood and Honour
Blood and Honour
Blood & Honour is a neo-Nazi music promotion network and political group founded in 1987 with links to Combat 18 and composed of white power skinheads and other white nationalists....
. It also continued to have involvement in football hooliganism
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
and BM members were amongst the rioters responsible for the Heysel Stadium disaster
Heysel Stadium disaster
The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred on 29 May 1985 when escaping fans were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, as a result of rioting before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy...
at the 1985 European Cup final
1985 European Cup Final
The 1985 European Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool of England and Juventus of Italy at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium on 29 May 1985....
.
The BNSM was soon attempting to re-activate the old BM membership and followed the old template of encouraging members to undergo military training through the TA or other means. However the group's fascination with guns proved problematic, particularly in the aftermath of the 1987 Hungerford massacre
Hungerford massacre
The Hungerford massacre occurred in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on 19 August 1987. The gunman, 27-year-old Michael Robert Ryan, armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, shot and killed sixteen people including his mother, and wounded fifteen others, then fatally shot himself...
and three members, Jeff Carson, David Philips and John Carson, were arrested for possession of illegal shotguns after police received an anonymous tip-off. The BNSM also built up links with the Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association is the largest although not the deadliest loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles"...
and Ulster Volunteer Force and BNSM members also served with the English companies of these Ulster loyalist paramilitaries. The group, which had about 300 members by 1990, also sought links with European groups and was close to Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
former SS man Et Wolsink who was variously connected to Dutch Peoples-Union
Dutch Peoples-Union
The Dutch Peoples-Union is a Dutch political party. Because of its many calls for the rehabilitation of convicted World War II war criminals and SS costumes worn at demonstrations, it is counted among the most extreme right of Dutch politics...
and the Dutch sections of the Wiking-Jugend
Wiking-Jugend
The "Wiking-Jugend" was a German Neo-Nazi organization modelled after the Hitlerjugend.The Sozialistische Reichspartei was outlawed in 1952, together with its youth organization "Reichsjugend"...
and the Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists
Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists
The Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists was a German neo-Nazi organization....
. Links were also built with the white power music scene of Blood and Honour
Blood and Honour
Blood & Honour is a neo-Nazi music promotion network and political group founded in 1987 with links to Combat 18 and composed of white power skinheads and other white nationalists....
and in particular Ian Stuart Donaldson
Ian Stuart Donaldson
Ian Stuart Donaldson was a British Neo-Nazi singer, musician and songwriter, most known as the frontman of Skrewdriver, a British punk rock band that later became a white power rock band...
who, despite his previous membership of the NF, was close Cat Mee, a BM orgnaiser in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. Donaldson's attempts to leave the skinhead scene and scale back his involvement in music soured the relationship however and in 1990 links were severed after a group of activists turned up at Donaldson's local pub and told him to play for them or face assault.
The progress of the BNSM was halted in the early 1990s by the emergence of Combat 18
Combat 18
Combat 18 is a violent neo-Nazi organisation associated with Blood and Honour. It originated in the United Kingdom, but has since spread to other countries. Members of Combat 18 have been suspected in numerous deaths of immigrants, non-whites, and other C18 members...
with much of the membership switching allegiance to this new group. The new BM re-emerged during the mid 1990s by becoming heavily involved in the distribution of white power music. By this time Micky Lane had taken over as leader of the group, a position that meant his name appear on an alleged Combat 18 hitlist due to the rivalries between the groups. Although a British Movement still exists, it has a tiny, largely inactive, membership. It does however maintain a presence on the internet.
