Patriotic Alternative Explained

Patriotic Alternative
Colorcode:
  1. FE0000
Leader:Mark Collett[1]
Ideology:British fascism[2]
Neo-Nazism[3]
White nationalism[4]
Country:the United Kingdom
Abbreviation:PA
Leader1 Title:Deputy leader
Leader1 Name:Laura Melia[5]
Position:Far-right
Colours: Red Blue
Flag:Flag of Patriotic Alternative.svg

Patriotic Alternative (PA) is a British far-right, fascist, neo-Nazi and white nationalist hate group which states that it has active branches nationwide.[2] The Times described it in 2023 as "Britain's largest far-right white supremacist movement".[6] Its stance has been variously described as Islamophobic, fascist and racist.[7] [2]

History

Patriotic Alternative was founded in July 2019 by the British neo-Nazi[8] and antisemitic conspiracy theorist[9] [10] Mark Collett, the former director of publicity of the British National Party. In September 2019, PA held its first conference, with Edward Dutton and Colin Robertson giving speeches, among others.[9]

In October 2020, counterterrorism experts reported that extremist far-right groups including Patriotic Alternative were using YouTube to try to recruit people, including children "as young as 12".[11] Later that month, Patriotic Alternative members delivered leaflets to over 1,000 homes in Hull, England, claiming that white British people will be a minority in Britain by the 2060s and that the COVID-19 lockdown was an attempt to "take away our freedom".[12]

In December 2020, it was reported that Patriotic Alternative's London regional organiser was Nicholas Hill, a 50-year-old former Liberal Democrat councillor from Catford in South London, known by the online pseudonym "Cornelius".[13] That month, during an appearance by the Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on LBC, a caller referring to herself as "Gemma from Cambridge" put forward the white supremacist Great Replacement conspiracy theory. Starmer was criticised by some for his perceived failure to challenge the caller, who was revealed by investigative group Red Flare to be Jody Swingler, a yoga teacher and Patriotic Alternative activist.[14]

A group called the Antifascist Research Collective infiltrated Patriotic Alternative Scotland's private Telegram group. Working with The Ferret, the Telegram group of around 60 people was found to include individuals who have been members of, or expressed support for, the Scottish Defence League, the neo-Nazi group Blood and Honour, the British National Party, the New British Union, the British Union of Fascists and the Scottish Nationalist Society.[15]

In February 2021, it was reported that Patriotic Alternative was looking to recruit teenagers through gaming tournaments.[4]

Tabatha Stirling of Stirling Publishing[16] wrote a series of articles for Patriotic Alternative as "Miss Britannia" describing her son's school as "a hellhole for sensible, secure White boys" and claimed "there is one member of staff who is openly gay, and I mean RuPaul extra gay".[17] On 14 March 2021, author Julie Burchill announced that, with Stirling, "I've found someone who's JUST LIKE ME", who were now publishing her book after the Little, Brown Book Group had dropped Burchill. This came after Burchill had made defamatory statements about the Muslim journalist Ash Sarkar.[17] However, Burchill parted with Stirling Publishing when she found out that Stirling was associated with Patriotic Alternative.[17]

Patriotic Alternative's social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were suspended in February 2021, but some of its regional pages remain.

In October 2021, Tim Wills, a councillor in Worthing, was suspended from the Conservative Party over allegations of secret support for Patriotic Alternative, after Hope not Hate published results of an investigation into him.[18] Wills resigned from the council on 15 October.[19] The same month, in a district of Borehamwood, the Hertfordshire Constabulary increased patrols after leaflets calling for the banning of kosher and halal food were posted in the letterboxes of several Jewish homes. While it was not considered a hate crime, it was considered a hate incident, and was condemned by local representatives of all three major political parties.[20]

On 9 August 2022, Patriotic Alternative held its annual White Lives Matter activism day, coinciding with the United Nations designated International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.[21]

A joint investigation by The Times and the anti-fascist investigative group Red Flare in September 2022 revealed the identity of a Patriotic Alternative supporter and "Britain's most racist YouTuber", known as "The Ayatollah", as James Owens, a 37-year-old journalism graduate from Hixon, a village in Staffordshire.[22]

Patriotic Alternative helped the British Democratic Party during the 2023 local elections.[23]

In February 2023, Patriotic Alternative supporters showed up at riots at hotels in Liverpool and Glasgow.[24]

In March 2023, Patriotic Alternative delivered leaflets to homes in the Welsh town of Llantwit Major, warning about the possibility of migrants moving there, as part of its response to local plans to build a site for asylum seekers. The leaflets used the term "white genocide".[25]

In June 2023, a Patriotic Alternative member, Kristofer Thomas Kearner, who had already pleaded guilty to charges of disseminating terrorist publications on a Telegram account, including the manifestos of Brenton Tarrant and Anders Behring Breivik, was imprisoned for four years and eight months.[26]

According to Searchlight magazine, in 2023 Alek Yerbury left Patriotic Alternative and formed a new militant group named the National Support Detachment.[27] Within a month, PA national administration officer Kenny Smith had also left and formed a new organisation called Homeland, attracting many members of Patriotic Alternative to join. The organisation's inaugural meeting was held on Adolf Hitler's birthday.[28] [29]

On 14 March 2024, Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, speaking in Parliament, named the organisation as one of several regarded as "a cause for concern" under a newly introduced official UK government definition of extremism.[30]

For the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Patriotic Alternative supported candidates from the English Democrats in Dover and Deal, Leigh and Atherton, Newark, Bolton West and Makerfield.

A prominent member of the group was reported to have taken part in the 2024 Southport riot, while another member helped to promote the event.[31] [32]

Links to National Action

The Times reported in October 2021 that Mark Collett had attended combat training with former members of the now-proscribed neo-Nazi organisation National Action.[33] The investigation also revealed that Kris Kearns, who leads Patriotic Alternative's "Fitness Club" initiative, was active in National Action before the group was banned.[34] In August 2022, it was reported that Kearns faces extradition from Spain to the UK, and up to 15 years in prison on terrorism charges relating to the sharing of far-right terrorist manifestos on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.[35] Sam Melia, a regional organiser for PA, has previously been affiliated with National Action.[36] Alex Davies, the jailed co-founder of National Action, had been active within Patriotic Alternative for more than two years.[37]

Political views

Patriotic Alternative promotes a white nationalist ideology and aims to combat the "replacement and displacement" of white British people by migrants who "have no right to these lands". They support the deportation of people of "migrant descent" and would offer financially incentivised repatriation for "those of immigrant descent who have obtained British passports". Patriotic Alternative opposes all immigration unless immigrants have a shared cultural and ethnic background or can prove British ancestry.[9]

According to Hope not Hate, members of Patriotic Alternative have supported political violence, the white genocide conspiracy theory, and Holocaust denial.[9] [38] They have targeted the LGBT community as being a danger to young children.[9] Patriotic Alternative opposes Black Lives Matter and has displayed White Lives Matter banners around the UK, including on the top of Mam Tor, a hill in Derbyshire.[39] Hope not Hate say that group generally admires Vladimir Putin's Russia for its "illiberalism, anti-Westernism and authoritarianism".[40] The group also includes a "cohort of anti-vaxxers".[2]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Allchorn . William . 22 February 2021 . Turning Back to Biologised Racism: A Content Analysis of Patriotic Alternative UK's Online Discourse . Global Network on Extremism & Technology . 14 April 2021 . 14 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210414211733/https://gnet-research.org/2021/02/22/turning-back-to-biologised-racism-a-content-analysis-of-patriotic-alternative-uks-online-discourse/ . live .
  2. News: McGivern . Mark . 10 October 2022 . Far-right hate group Patriotic Alternative host event at Scots hotel leaving guests disgusted . Daily Record . 26 March 2023 . 26 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230326003410/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/patriotic-alternative-scotland-hate-group-28194365 . live .
  3. News: Townsend . Mark . 3 July 2022 . Royal Navy promoted sailor despite joining neo-Nazi group . The Guardian . 1 April 2023 . 1 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230401080027/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/03/royal-navy-promoted-sailor-despite-joining-neo-nazi-group . live .
  4. Townsend, Mark (2021). "How far right uses video games and tech to lure and radicalise teenage recruits" . The Guardian. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  5. Web site: PATRIOTIC ALTERNATIVE LTD Company number 12759841. Companies House. 8 January 2021. 11 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220411192152/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12759841/officers. live.
  6. Web site: Mitib . Ali . Ledwith . Mario . Parker . Charlie . What are the Pro-Palestinian protests about and who is organising them? . The Times & The Sunday Times . 10 November 2023 . https://archive.today/20231110122648/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/pro-palestine-protest-london-met-police-b8gxnh7k0 . 10 November 2023. 5 December 2023.
  7. News: 17 August 2020 . Anti-fascists warn of new antisemitic group with neo-Nazi adherents . . live . 11 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200823090839/https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/patriotic-alternative-hnh-report/ . 23 August 2020 .
    - Web site: Tsagkroni, Vasiliki. The British Far Right Has a New Voice of Unity. Fair Observer. 20 January 2021. 18 March 2021. 19 March 2021. https://archive.today/20210319231942/https://www.fairobserver.com/region/europe/vasiliki-tsagkroni-patriotic-alternative-uk-far-right-politics-news-16281/. live.
    - News: Suter . Ruth . Man reported for 'hate crime' as far right hate group Patriotic Alternative protest outside Scots 'asylum seeker hotel' . 13 February 2023 . The Daily Record . 5 February 2023 . 13 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230213192747/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/patriotic-alternative-protest-hate-crime-29137962 . live .
    - News: Hayward . Will . Far right recruiting propaganda is being posted into Cardiff homes . 13 February 2023 . Wales Online . 27 April 2022 . 13 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230213192754/https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/far-right-recruiting-propaganda-being-23797340 . live .
    - News: Moore . Sam . Right Said Fred statement says duo 'got it wrong' with neo-Nazi livestream . 13 February 2023 . The Independent . 17 January 2022 . 13 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230213193101/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/right-said-fred-nazi-livestream-b1994465.html . live .
  8. News: YouTube cashes in on neo-Nazi's hate videos . 12 November 2019 . The Sunday Times . 11 August 2019 . subscription . 22 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211222213850/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/youtube-cashes-in-on-neo-nazis-hate-videos-9gg0nbvd6 . live .
  9. Web site: Murdoch, Simon. PATRIOTIC ALTERNATIVE – UNITING THE FASCIST RIGHT?. HOPE not hate. August 2020. 18 March 2021. 2 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210302202743/https://www.hopenothate.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/HnH_Patriotic-Alternative-report_2020-08-v3.pdf. live.
  10. News: Cohen . Nick . How the BNP's far-right journey ends up on primetime TV . 3 August 2018 . The Observer . 18 October 2009 . Earlier this month, Radio 1's Newsbeat cutely allowed "Mark and Joey, two young guys who are members of the BNP", to imply that Chelsea and England footballer Ashley Cole was not really British. It did not reveal that "Mark" was Mark Collett, the BNP's press officer and an admirer of Nazism, and "Joey" was Joey Smith, who runs the BNP's record label. . 4 August 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180804013959/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/oct/18/nick-griffin-question-time-bbc . live .
    - Laura Spitalniak, "Rep. Steve King compares backlash over white supremacy comments to Jesus' suffering", ABC News, 24 April 2019, "retweeting Mark Collett, a neo-Nazi..."
  11. News: Far right recruiting children on YouTube. The Times. 6 October 2020. 1 December 2020. subscription. 1 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201201063632/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/far-right-recruiting-children-on-youtube-0xknjffws. live.
  12. News: Mutch . Michael . 'Utterly insane' far right group bombards Hull homes with leaflets . 21 December 2020 . Hull Live . 27 October 2020 . 2 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210102181507/https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/far-right-group-homes-leaflets-4642181 . live .
  13. News: He Stood for Election for a Mainstream Political Party. Now He's a Far-Right Organiser.. Vice. Simon Childs. 16 December 2020. 27 August 2021. 20 March 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230320111923/https://www.vice.com/en/article/4adn9p/he-stood-for-election-for-a-mainstream-political-party-now-hes-a-far-right-organiser. live.
    - News: Ex-Lib Dem candidate now far-right organiser living in 'whites-only' Catford base. News Shopper. Euan O'Byrne Mulligan. 22 January 2021. 27 August 2021. 27 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827170346/https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/19031454.former-lib-dem-candidate-now-far-right-racist-organiser/. live.
  14. Web site: Red Flare. Twitter. 14 December 2020. 27 August 2021. 27 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827170344/https://twitter.com/redflareinfo/status/1338453892661714945. live.
    - News: Keir Starmer under fire for failing to challenge radio caller's racism. The Guardian. Damien Gayle. 14 December 2020. 28 August 2021. 28 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210828104349/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/14/keir-starmer-under-fire-failing-challenge-radio-caller-racism. live.
    - Web site: Keir Starmer Fails To Challenge Far-Right Conspiracies On LBC Radio. YouTube. 27 August 2021. 27 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827170344/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4sY6kKcxxc. live.
    - News: 22 January 2021. Radio Shock. Private Eye. 1539.
    - News: Sharpe. Amy. 11 April 2021. Extremist yoga: Guru who soothed TV Amanda spouts race bile in web rants. The Sunday Mirror. Free Library. 28 August 2021. 28 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210828094104/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Extremist+yoga;+Guru+who+soothed+TV+Amanda+spouts+race+bile+in+web...-a0658049764. live.
  15. News: 28 February 2021. Exposed: Inside far right group Patriotic Alternative. 12 March 2021. The Ferret. Billy Briggs. Jamie Mann. 3 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210303083044/https://theferret.scot/exposed-inside-far-right-patriotic-alternative/. live.
  16. Cain, Sian. (2021). "Julie Burchill fires new publisher identified as a white nationalist" . The Guardian. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  17. News: 16 March 2021. Far-Right link of Julie Burchill's new publisher. 16 March 2021. Evening Standard. Robbie Smith. 17 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210317101454/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/farright-link-of-julie-burchill-s-new-publisher-imelda-may-camping-paris-arrest-b924377.html?amp. live.
  18. Web site: Ben Quinn . Tory councillor in Worthing suspended over alleged support of far right . . 10 October 2021 . 7 October 2021 . 9 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211009024208/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/oct/07/tory-councillor-in-worthing-suspended-over-alleged-support-of-far-right . live .
  19. News: Fuller . Christian . Conservative councillor resigns amid investigation into far-right links . 2 December 2021 . The Argus . 19 October 2021 . 1 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211201085415/https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19657128.worthing-councillor-tim-wills-resigns-amid-investigation-far-right-links/ . live .
  20. News: Salisbury. Josh. Police step up Borehamwood patrols after 'far-right group leaflets Jewish homes'. 28 October 2021. Jewish News. 30 October 2021. 30 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211030155940/https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/police-step-up-borehamwood-patrols-after-far-right-group-leaflets-jewish-homes/. live.
  21. Web site: Far-Right Hijacks Global Indigenous Peoples Day With Racist Stunts . 9 August 2022 . . 9 August 2022 . 9 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220809190115/https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7bzqz/far-right-indigenous-peoples-day . live .
  22. News: 31 August 2022 . Neo-Nazi uses codewords to spread hate on YouTube . . Dominic Kennedy . 1 September 2022 . subscription . 31 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220831230611/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/neo-nazi-uses-codewords-to-spread-hate-on-youtube-kqqs6lrkf . live .
    - Web site: 1 September 2022 . 'Britain's most racist YouTuber' has channel terminated . 1 September 2022 . The Guardian . Dan Milmo . 1 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220901171037/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/01/britains-most-racist-youtuber-has-channel-terminated . live.
  23. Web site: Fascist and far right candidates in local elections . Searchlight . 28 April 2023 . 22 May 2023 . 22 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230522040025/https://www.searchlightmagazine.com/2023/04/searchlight-analysis-fascist-and-far-right-candidates-in-local-elections-may-2023/ . live.
  24. News: Taylor . Diane . 11 February 2023 . Far-right protesters clash with police at Merseyside hotel housing asylum seekers . The Guardian . 12 November 2023.
    - News: Gilmour . Lauren . Duffy . Amy Duffy. 20 February 2023 . Protestors clash at Renfrew hotel for third week over asylum seeker accommodation plans . Glasgow Live . 12 November 2023.
  25. News: Nagesh . Ashitha . 25 March 2023 . Patriotic Alternative: The town fighting the far-right with Welsh cakes . BBC News . 3 November 2023.
  26. News: Elliards . Xander . 23 June 2023 . Patriotic Alternative member jailed for sharing terrorist manifestos . The National . 12 November 2023.
  27. Web site: 2023-04-20 . Breaking news – Patriotic Alternative split . 2023-06-14 . Searchlight . en-GB.
  28. Web site: Mackay . Neil . Neil Mackay . 7 May 2023 . How UK far right extremists have been shattered by a Scottish-led rebellion . 27 May 2023 . The Herald . 27 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230527040715/https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/23505742.uk-far-right-extremists-shattered-scottish-rebellion/ . live .
  29. Web site: Briggs . Billy . 2023-04-25 . New far right group formed after Patriotic Alternative splits . 2023-06-14 . The Ferret .
  30. News: Gove names groups as he outlines new extremism definition in Commons . 14 March 2024 . BBC News . 14 March 2024 .
  31. Web site: Kennedy . Dominic . 2 August 2024 . Who are the far-right groups organising the Southport stabbing protests? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240802230621/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/who-are-the-far-right-groups-organising-the-southport-stabbing-protests-q22f07q5q . 2 August 2024 . 2 August 2024 . The Times . en.
  32. Web site: Wallis . William . Stacey . Stephanie . 2 August 2024 . Who is behind the UK's far-right riots? . 2 August 2024 . Financial Times.
  33. News: Kennedy. Dominic. 9 October 2021. At the gym, in the hills, the far-right fight clubs where men train to make Britain white. The Times. 13 October 2021. 9 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211009142817/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/at-the-gym-in-the-hills-the-far-right-fight-clubs-where-men-train-to-make-britain-white-7kq6pp2sk. live.
  34. Web site: 13 October 2021. Telegram. Patriotic Alternative Official. 13 October 2021. Archive Today. https://archive.today/20211013132742/https://t.me/PatrioticAlternativeOfficial/1738. live.
  35. News: Kennedy . Dominic . Far-right activist Kris Kearns faces extradition to Britain on terror charges . 2022-08-27 . The Times . 27 August 2022 . 0140-0460 . subscription . 27 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220827111619/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kris-kearns-far-right-activist-faces-extradition-britain-terror-charges-6l566l9x6 . live .
  36. News: Judah. Jacob. 11 August 2020. British fascist behind secretive far-right propaganda network unmasked. The Jewish Chronicle. 23 May 2021. 10 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210510005408/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/british-fascist-behind-secretive-far-right-propaganda-network-unmasked-1.505645. live.
  37. News: 8 October 2022. Revealed: How Patriotic Alternative recruited the founder of a banned terror group. Hope not Hate. 8 October 2022. 8 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221008145007/https://hopenothate.org.uk/2022/07/11/revealed-how-patriotic-alternative-recruited-the-founder-of-a-banned-terror-group/. live.
  38. https://gnet-research.org/2021/02/22/turning-back-to-biologised-racism-a-content-analysis-of-patriotic-alternative-uks-online-discourse/ "Turning Back to Biologised Racism: A Content Analysis of Patriotic Alternative UK's Online Discourse"
  39. https://www.hopenothate.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/state-of-hate-2021-final-2.pdf "State of Hate 2021"
  40. Web site: Patriotic Alternative: Putin’s Fascist Sympathisers . . 25 March 2022.

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