s C l I by Sean Birchall BEATING THE FASCISTS The Untold Story of Anti-fascist Action L The Untold Stoiy of ANTI-MSCIST ACTION by Sean Birchall FREEDOM PRESS LONDON Published by Freedom Press, 2010 Freedom Press 84b Whitechapel High Street London El 7QX '2010 Freedom Press and Sean Birchall ISBN 978-1-904491-12-5 For information on all Freedom Press publications visit our website at www.freedompress.org.uk Design and DTP by Jayne Clementson Printed in Singapore by C S GRAPHICS PTE LTD This is a controversial book. It has to be. It is about controversial issues that still resonate today. Beating the Fascists is an account from one point of view, albeit one at the heart of the struggle. However, thousands of others also took part in that struggle and inevitably some will disagree with the views and conclusions expressed here. We think the historical value of this narrative outweighs the risk of re-opening sectarian differences, but we understand that some people involved may feel that their story has not been told. We hope that this book will encourage other histories, open the debate and ultimately strengthen the fight against fascism. "The fascists, backed up by Loyalist elements, were still rubbing their wounds after an abortive attempt to invade an Irish meeting at Conway Hall two nights before the march. Richard Edmonds of the BNP led the attack, and the attackers included members of the Fields' family from Islington and the mad bomber, Tony Lecomber But despite having nearly 100 'fighting men', they were soundly beaten off." Searchlight magazine, December 1988 "We have to advertise our gigs by word of mouth. If they get to hear about it they want to turn it into a blood bath." Ian Stuart, lead singer of Far Right band Skrewdriver, London Evening Standard's ES magazine, April 7 989 "Remembering the outrageous unlawful violence used by the BNP members to attack an anti-apartheid meeting in Blackburn in March, it is obvious that the party has standards and policies that decent people are happy to condemn. But they prefer their condemnation to be confined within the scope of law and order and the ballot box. And that is what these anti-fascist thugs must learn, or be tarred with the same brush. It is a mad policy that sets out to smash the opposition and ends up being likened to it." Lancashire Evening Telegraph, 1992 .. the total failure of the authorities to take any measure against this group, or others involved in attacks on BNP members during the May election campaign, suggests that state security agencies which are supposed to act in defence of democracy are not doing their jobs very efficiently " BNP leader John Tyndall, Spearhead magazine, July 1994 "I started to become actively involved against the National Front in the middle of 1974... we carried on a campaign 'till the end of the 70s. By then the National Front had splintered and broken off. I suppose the most significant part of that was the actual demonstration in Lewisham where they were literally smashed. They got a terrible pounding, literally a pounding on the streets. Their whole philosophy did seem to be working... it was the philosophy of one Adolf Hitler: controlling and ruling the streets. "The National Front became very aggressive. It started off by the obvious thing, people selling newspapers in the streets. Not only Socialist Workers Party; they attacked people selling the Morning Star. They attacked people selling Militant... and we decided that we'd have to stop it. "We formed a system where people would have a telephone and we used to be waiting and if there was a presence of NF either in Barking, Stratford, Upton Park, East Ham, between ten or twelve of us used to go over there and try to, if you like, remedy the situation. "I'll be perfectly honest with you, I was very surprised when we started coming into physical contact, and I mean physical contact, with these people. I was very, very apprehensive at first. Most of 'em used to look very, very aggressive. Some of 'em used to wear military uniforms which don't mean nothing... none of 'em was ever in the military. To use an East End terminology, they weren't very good on the pavement and we started getting a bit more confident. These people were not supermen, you know what I mean? In our opinion they were putting forward poison. They were putting forward ideas about people's colour. Racist stuff that was poisonous and if people like that are allowed to do as they please, then they become acceptable. "So we've gone then from a situation of complete defence to being in front by having a demonstration that went right through the middle of their heartland and wasn't attacked. We considered that we were in front and it was then that the idea [from the opposition] came across about having a big march by the National Front to counteract that balance. "They were losing their momentum. They were smashed to pieces and unfortunately a lot of people in the Left side of politics thought it was a disposable item. That the issue had gone away. It might have gone away for them in particular but it certainly didn't go away for Asian families in Brick Lane or in Cannon Street Road, or even around here [Bow, East London]. "It's all very well saying that people have got a right to express their own opinions. Altab Ali, a young Asian worker, was coming down the bottom of Brick Lane. He was stabbed to death by two skinheads for no apparent reason. Just because he was Asian, and if you allow those people to sell that sort of muck, that is the end result." Interview with anti-fascist veteran, Micky Fenn, for BBC2 documentary on AFA, May 1992 10 11 CONTENTS In tro d u ctio n ............................................................................................................................... 15 Section l:The Beginnings: 1977 to 1985 1.1 Roots, 1977-1985 ......................................................................................................... 31 1.2 Lew isham , 1977 .............................................................................................................33 1.3 T h e A nti-N azi League m ark 1, 1 9 7 7 -1 9 8 2 ..........................................................35 1.4 T h e M anchester S q u ad ................................................................................................45 1.5 SW P expels ‘squadists’, 1 9 8 1 ....................................................................................55 1.6 Early confrontations: C hapel M arket, 1981 .........................................................71 1.7 Red A ction is fo rm ed ....................................................................................................87 1.8 GLC, Redskins and Harrogate, 1984..................................................................... 93 1.9 Red A ction N ational M eeting, 1985 .....................................................................103 Section 2: AFA’s early years: 1985 to 1989 2.1 AFA launch, July 1985...............................................................................................107 2.2 R em em brance Day, N ovem ber 1985 ....................................................................I l l 2.3 Internal Affairs: Class War suspension, 1 9 8 6 .....................................................113 2.4 Brief encounters: Stockport and Bury St Edmunds....................................... 117 2.5 Remembrance Day, November 1986 ................................................................... 121 2.6 N F m eeting: C harlton, south east L ondon, 1987 ........................................... 125 2.7 Political cleansing in n orth L ondon, 1987..........................................................129 2.8 R ed A ction suspended for racism , N ovem ber 1987 ....................................... 132 2.9 Remembrance Day, Headhunters attack and fallout, 1987-1988 .............137 2.10 M ilitant anti-fascism defined 1 9 8 8 -1 9 8 9 ............................................................141 2.11 T h e battle of C onw ay H all, N ovem ber 1988.....................................................145 12 Beating the Fascists 2.12 T h e hum bling o f Blood & H onour: H yde Park, May 1 9 8 9 ..........................151 2.13 Skrewdriver screwed, 1989.................................................................................... 161 2.14 L ondon AFA re-launch, Septem ber 1989 ......................................................167 2.15 AFA breaks w ith L abour, 1989 ...........................................................................172 2.16 Internal affairs revisited - Searchlight breaks ranks.......................................174 S ectio n 3: 1990 onw ards 3.1 1990, ‘Rights For W hites’ and the B N P come to the f o r e .........................179 3.2 Weaver’s Field, 1 9 9 0 ...............................................................................................183 3.3 T h e Enfield ‘sting’, 1990....................................................................................... 191 3.4 T h e authorities show their hand, 1990 ............................................................195 3.5 T h e battle for Brick Lane, 1 9 9 0 -1 9 9 3 ............................................................. 207 3.6 T u rf w ars..................................................................................................................... 213 3.7 H erts, 1 9 9 1 ................................................................................................................217 3.8 T h e m