Manchester’s Far-Right: A Criminal Cabal Cloaked in Patriotism
Behind the Flags and Slogans: How Britain's Far-Right Rallies Are Fueled by Holocaust Deniers, Criminal Networks, and Colonial Nostalgia
While around 600 far-right marchers assembled in Manchester today, organizers and speakers included known convicted offenders—individuals whose public personas as “patriots” mask long criminal histories and deliberate misinformation campaigns.
Front and center was Paul Golding, leader of Britain First, sentenced in March 2018 to 18 weeks in prison for religiously aggravated harassment directed at Muslim individuals during a rape trial in Canterbury. Golding had previously received an eight-week sentence in 2016 for violating a court order banning him from entering a mosque (Source BBC). His deputy at the time, Jayda Fransen, received 36 weeks for three counts of similar offences, repeatedly engaging in hate speech—shouting at a Muslim mother in front of her children and distributing Islamophobic leaflets (Searchlight Magazine, The Telegraph).
These convictions were not anomalies. They reflect an organized pattern of targeting marginalized communities with violent, demeaning rhetoric.
Beyond Britain First, fringe figures with far graver records also surfaced. Jack Renshaw, a former spokesperson for National Action (a proscribed neo-Nazi group), is now serving a life sentence for plotting to kill an MP and for child sexual offences involving minors under 15 (The Guardian, Independent, ITV News). Joshua Bonehill‑Paine, known as an online troll, was convicted of inciting racial hatred, harassment, burglary, and assault; he received multiple prison terms for antisemitic slurs and hoaxes targeting Jewish communities.
Evidence from reports analyzed by researchers and watchdogs such as Hope Not Hate confirms that others linked to the rally include individuals with prior convictions for violent disorder, GBH, sexual assault, and extremist plotting ([turn0search20] ), and speakers tied to extremist forums like the London Forum—where Holocaust deniers and banned barristers speak publicly .
What unites these figures is not belief in democratic dialogue, but a weaponization of nationalism to justify violence and gain visibility. The rally’s messages—anti-immigration slogans and xenophobic chants—are deeply ironic coming from men who themselves have broken the laws they claim to uphold.
What They Don’t Talk About: War and Violence from State Powers
These same speakers champion “British sovereignty” and claim Britain’s “original inhabitants” deserve space—yet they remain silent about state-financed violence abroad. While refugees and activists comment on Britain funding wars in Ukraine and arming Israeli forces prosecuting a genocide in Gaza, these figures choose ignorance or complicity. They never speak of state violence or forced displacement abroad—only domestic scapegoating.
They push a narrative of reclaiming an imagined purity, yet they represent the destruction of hundreds of nations. Their leaders met in buffoonish rallies behind megaphones, not trenches, and they've embraced political violence abroad. Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon), an influential far-right actor reinstated online in 2023, faced convictions ranging from assault to contempt of court multiple times—yet continues to influence hate campaigns globally ([turn0news12]). These men position themselves against foreign violence while echoing its logic: that supremacy justifies terror.
A Historical Legacy of Destruction
This is not new. Britain's far-right movements—from imperial boosters to modern fascists—carry a lineage of destructive politics. Ideologues like Tony Lecomber, former BNP member, served prison time for nail-bomb attempts in the 1980s and plotting violence against left-wing targets. History shows that their so-called love for Britain is often nostalgia for colonial domination that ruined countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East—places far more brutalized than today’s refugee camps.
Their call to return Britain to its “original people” erases centuries of colonial plunder, spanning India, Kenya, Palestine, Ireland, and beyond. They prophesize the restoration of identity, while venerating leaders who endorsed ethnic cleansing abroad. Their agenda is reactionary, historically illiterate, and built on violence.
Why This Matters
Allowing criminal extremists to rally unopposed is not just a failure of public order—it is a moral abdication. These men use the law as shields while undermining its legitimacy. They defame migrant communities while co-opting free speech protections to justify hate. They claim patriotism but target communities with lies and bigotry.
Global conflicts—from Gaza to Ukraine—are inseparable from the narratives they promote: purified nation, scapegoated other, state violence unseen, private hatred amplified. Watching them mobilize in Manchester should alarm more than the noise—they reflect a growing ecosystem where criminal records grant credibility, and hate speech becomes public entertainment.
Sources and Evidence:
Convictions of Golding and Fransen for religiously aggravated harassment, jail terms of 18 and 36 weeks respectively, and repeated hate campaigns (BBC ,BBC [The Guardian).
Jack Renshaw: life sentence for terrorism plot and child sexual offences (sky news).
Joshua Bonehill-Paine: multiple convictions for racial hatred, harassment, assault, and burglary (alchetron).
Tony Lecomber: imprisoned for nail bombs and extremist violence in the 1980s/1990s (the guardian).
Participation in extremist forums featuring Holocaust deniers, barred barristers, and racist ideologues (independent).
Wider radicalizing role of Tommy Robinson and online far-right networks (theguardian).
Conclusion
This was not a protest—it was a festival of criminal hate, dressed up as patriotism. The same men who promise purity and protection are those with records of violence, sex crimes, and terror plots. Their silence on global wars—while preaching about immigration—reveals their hypocrisy.
We must not treat them as fringe. They are part of a growing transnational ideology that distorts history, weaponizes fear, and frames violence as defense. And until society calls out the criminal roots and propaganda of this movement, it will grow in the shadows and hurt in the streets.
Met you yesterday and took a pic of your page. Great article, very informative. Thank you. We will look out for you from now on. We can't believe happening in the West Bank right now.