STATE OF A HOPE not hate special report into extremism in Britain and Europe today hopenothate.org.uk 2018 HATE FaR RIGHT TERRORISM ON THE RISE HOPE not hate challenges organised hate and intolerance within our society. We mobilise communities by providing a BECOME A positive alternative to the politics of hate. For as little as £5 a month you can play your part in ensuring that we continue our work to FRIEND OF bring communities together in the face of hate. 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Last name Your bank details Bank name Address Address Postcode Email Postcode Telephone Account no HOPE not hate will not pass on your details to any third party HOPE not hate will occasionally contact you about our campaigns and Sort code supporter information. If you do NOT wish to receive any information please tick the box. Please return to: HOPE not hate, PO Box 1084 Wembley HA9 1HT Signature Date Pay HOPE not hate (account no: 21603184, sort code 23-05-80, Metro Bank) Alternatively you can become a friend of HOPE not hate by enclosing a cheque (minimum £60 per annum), made payable to HOPE not hate. PLEASE RETURN TO: HOPE not hate, PO Box 1084 Wembley HA9 1HT. STATE OF HATE 2018 SUBSCRIBE TO Executive Summary HOPE NOT HEADLINES n Britain is facing a changing and growing far right threat HATE AT n Far right terrorism and violent extremism is on the rise, a trend that is likely to continue HOPENOTHATE. n Organisationally, the British far right is crumbling. Membership and active support for far right groups is at its lowest for twenty-five years n Online far right hate, on the other hand, is growing. Three of the five far right ORG.UK activists with the biggest online reach in the world are British n There is a new and younger generation of young far right activists emerging who are very tech savvy, look normal and do not have the traditional nazi baggage that has hampered the British far right in the past FAR RIGHT TERRORISM n Far right terrorism and violent extremism is on the rise, a trend that is likely to continue n 28 far-right sympathisers were arrested and/or convicted of terrorist offences or violent offences during 2017 n Despite being banned in December 2016, National Action has continued to operate in secret, whilst three front groups were set up during 2017 to continue the group’s work n Pro-Ukrainian extremists are actively recruiting for the nazi Azov Battalion in the UK An anti-fascist and n A third of referrals to Channel, one of the Government’s counter-extremism anti-racist publication operations, are now suspected far right extremists and this figure is expected to rise when new data is released this summer. January-February 2018 Issue no. 35 ORGANISATIONALLY n The British National Party, Britain First and the English Defence League are ISSN 2049-7806 mere shadows of their former selves n Convictions have hit the more militant groups like the North West Infidels very hard Editor n The more hardline extremists are now gravitating to the National Front but NICK LOWLES this, too, is torn with splits and personal feuds [email protected] n There is a new and younger generation of young far right activists emerging, European Editor in groups like Generation Identity, who are very tech savvy, look normal and GRAEME ATKINSON are not weighed down with the nazi baggage that has hampered the British right-wing extremism in the past. These groups could strengthen in 2018 n UKIP is politically finished, ripped apart by internal splits and lacking purpose since the EU referendum. The potential for a nationalist populist party, however, is still considerable, with HOPE not hate polling indicating that 14% of Britons think Nigel Farage is the political leader who best represents their views HOPE not hate is a bi-monthly publication providing information ONLINE HATE on hate groups and community n Online far right hate is growing. Three of the five far right activists with the initiatives to combat them. largest online reach in the world are British, all with over a million followers on social media © HOPE not hate 2018 n There is a growing number of British vloggers who are increasingly important Write to us at: in the international Alternative Right scene HOPE not hate n There was a spike in online support for anti-Muslim activists following the PO Box 1084 2017 terrorist attacks Wembley HA9 1HT n The authorities are failing to appreciate or deal with this growing far right online threat and anti-Muslim hatred in general t: 020 7952 1181 e: [email protected] STATE OF THE NATION www.hopenothate.org.uk n Britain is an increasingly polarised society with growing numbers of people (39%) having open and tolerant views to immigration and multiculturalism Join the conversation but a quarter of society bitterly opposed. n Anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia are replacing immigration as the main 262,985 likes drivers of support for the far right facebook.com/hope.n.hate n The 2017 terrorist attacks have greatly increased suspicion towards Muslims 67,209 followers in Britain with 52% of people saying that Islam poses a threat to the West. twitter.com/hopenothate January-February 2018 // HOPE NOT HATE PAGE 4 // CONTENTS Contents OVERVIEW INVESTIGATIONS 6 The State of Hate 20 Recruiting for 9 The State of the Nation the Ukraine 19 Map of demonstrations By Matthew Collins 22 Terrorist leads anti-terror group By Nick Lowles and Matthew Collins 25 Changing names Alex Davies continues to run a banned organisation ESSAYS 10 A Post Organisational 54 Poles in the UK Far Right? By Matthew Collins By Joe Mulhall and Nick Lowles 12 Online hate: The year in 84 Public enemy numbers No1: Anti-Soros By Patrik smears have moved Hermansson into the political mainstream By David Lawrence 15 Exploiting deadly terror attacks to spread GROUP REVIEWS hate By Patrik 24-29 Nazi/Fascist groups Hermansson 30-33 Radical right-wing political parties 34-35 Street-based groups 36-37 Counter-Jihad 16 Radical Right 38-39 Identitarians Populism in the UK 40-41 Alt-Right By David Lawrence 42-45 Alt-light 46-47 Holocaust Deniers 48-49 Discussion Groups 50-51 Conspiracy Theorists 52-53 Magazines/Publishers HOPE NOT HATE // January-February 2018 STATE OF HATE 2018 EUROPEAN ESSAYS 56 The European Far Right in 2017 ... stop, start By Cas Mudde 60 Crossing Borders in 2017. The Transatlantic far right By Joe Mulhall 62 Europe’s Young Right: Generation Identity By Simon Murdoch 66 The nativist- authoritarian axis: Europe’s rancid underbelly By Bernard Rorke COUNTRY REVIEWS 70 Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland 72 Portugal, Spain, France, Italy 74 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland 76 Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia 78 Germany, Austria, Czechia, Switzerland 80 Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Irish Republic 82 Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, Cyprus January-February 2018 // HOPE NOT HATE PAGE 6 // FAR RIGHT OVERVIEW Right-wing terror threat as high as ever By Nick Lowles and Matthew Collins “THE RIGHT-WING threat was not The threat is evolving. As traditional AN EVOLVING THREAT previously organised,” declared Mark British far right groups collapse, far The growing threat of far right terrorism, Rowley, outgoing assistant commissioner right-inspired terrorism is on the plus an evolving and increasingly at the Metropolitan Police and head of rise. Replacing old-fashioned racial sophisticated online far right presence counter-terror policing in the UK, at the nationalism is anti-Muslim hatred. online, is helping to drive anti-Muslim end of February. Today’s key activists tend to be younger, propaganda and conspiracy theories “Every now and then there’s been an operate online and have little of worldwide. individual motivated by that rhetoric the obvious “nazi” baggage of their In the past year, 22 people have been who has committed a terrorist act but predecessors. arrested for alleged membership of the we’ve not had an organised right-wing Our report offers the most outlawed-for-terrorism nazi National threat like we do now.” comprehensive and accurate Action. Fifteen of these individuals Rowley revealed that four extreme assessment of the state of Britain’s far now await trial with two being charged rightwing-inspired plots were foiled last right that publicly exists. We profile with a plot to kill a Labour MP and a year, emphasising that the far right terror every far right organisation currently policewoman. threat was “significant and concerning” active in the UK, highlighting those that The far right’s online threat was and that the public should be “gravely are on the rise and those in decline. brought into stark relief in the days concerned” by the existence of National We measure the growing threat of immediately after the Westminster Action, the white supremacist, nazi online hate and identify the figures to terrorist attack in March 2017.