Launch of inspirational Anti-Fascist book

Last night saw the launch of ,Liverpool historian, Frank McDonough's new biography of Sophie Scholl at the city's Hope Street hotel.

At an emotional event to mark Sophie's, execution by the Nazi regime, invitees first heard German historian and anti-fascist Jacob Knab introduce the book and the cause of anti-nazism. He then went on to urge Frank to write a full history of the White Rose movement with the words
"Today it is my only wish and desire: Dear Dr McDonough, why dont you write a complete and comprehensive story of the White Rose? People here in Great Britain ought to know about Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, Christoph Probst, WIlli Graf, Alexander Schomorell and about Professor Kurt Huber."

One of Frank's level 2 history students then read a selection of Sophie's letters and leaflets, before Frank gave a speach in which he spoke of fighting fascism and defending freedom. Frank paid tribute to dr Knab who led a campaign in Germany to have army barracks which were named after prominant third reich members renamed. Jacob Knab wrote over 4000 letters in his campaign and often recieved abuse from neo-nazis as he tried to ensure that the nazi hagiography was destroyed.

Guests were then entertained by "Paul" and "John" of the Backbeat Beatles who performed an emotional rendition of Yesterday and Hey Jude.

Fascists show their faces in Liverpool

The fascist BNP today continued their campaign of intimidation and racism on the streets of Liverpool. At around 2pm Andrew Tierney, again claiming to be a freelance journalist, set up his camera tripod directly in front of the Socialist Workers Party stall. This was a clear attempt to unsettle and intimidate people as they engaged in legitimate political activism. Tierney also filmed a local former Big Issue seller who now works advertising for local companies. This man, who has no association with the SWP, was going about his job and became frightened when the camera was put about a foot from his face.

After the police intervened the BNP made it clear that they were not going to disappear and the four or five of them began to attempt to distribute their leaflets to a less than susceptible public. Anti-Fascists soon rallied around and began to arrive at the street in numbers shouting “Nazi Scum, Off out Streets” and “Sing it loud, Sing it clear, BNP not welcome here.” The timely arrival of some Hope not Hate leaflets meant that the anti-fascists had some literature which they could give out to the public revealing the fascist and violent nature of the BNP. These leaflets were quickly snapped up by passers by and left the fascists looking dejected as they stooped to pick their own leaflets off the floor before people realised the reaction they were receiving. One confused lady, who thought we were the BNP, refused to accept a leaflet off me because she wasn’t a racist. If people refuse my literature because they hate the BNP it is fine with as me the message is already out there.

The growing group of anti-fascists soon began to get even louder in their shouts and the BNP group made their way up Bold street. A few of their supporters, mainly young skin head males, joined them and began to shout back at the group with phrases like “BNP all the Way” and “White Supremacy”. Seeing that they were by now outnumbered and were not getting their message across the BNP, who had filmed anti-fascists throughout the two hour standoff, made their way up Bold Street and home. Not the kind of thing we want to have to do the weekend before Christmas but wherever the Nazis show their faces we will oppose them, even at short notice.

Fascist Failure on Merseyside/ BNP Terrorist

Results from Halewood South.

Carl Robert Cross Conservative 32
Allan Harvey Labour 607
Eric Arthur McIntosh TUSP 52
Tommy Morretta Liberal Democrat 486
Andy Thompson Independent 30
Tony Ward British National Party 113

Turnout: 23.06%

Despite a very poor turnout, the BNP have managed to secure only around 8% of the vote in Halewood South yesterday and were not even in with a chance of winning the seat. Labour won the seat after the previous Lib Dem vote collapsed as voters stayed away in their droves. The BNP had plowed countless resources into the contest, distributing their "Voice of Freedom" propaganda sheet for free to most of the houses and driving around in the local lie lorry emblazzened with BNP insignia. Their effort was in vain however as Labour and the Liberal Democrats dwarfed the party in this area, which, following June's revelation that it has the lowest turnout in the country, appears to having a major crisis of political representation.

Thanks to all those who gave out leaflets which showed the BNP up for the fascists they are.

BNP Terrorist

All those who campaign against the BNP will be shocked to discover that a paid up member of the BNP yesterday admitted stockpiling explosives and guns to commit acts of terrorism. This once again reminds us that the BNP have not changed and remain covertly committed to violence, applying the veneer of democracy when it suits their ends. Terrence Gavin is not a solitary individual within the BNP and there are many previous cases of the BNP resorting to terrorism to achieve their unappealing objectives. Anti-fascists should redouble their efforts in light of this event and ensure the we Stop the BNP.

More intimidation tactics by Peter Tierney and Merseyside BNP « Liverpool Antifascists

 

See the report below from local group Liverpool Anti-fascists.  It gives an insight into the desperate intimidation  tactics the BNP, especially on Merseyside, employ as a first resort in the face of organised opposition.

Today, activists from Liverpool Antifascists delivered leaflets in Halewood. The event was an overall success, but once again Merseyside BNP revealed that they rely more on intimidation tactics than on politics to get their point across.

As we set off from the Summerfield on Hillfoot Avenue, there was a brief encounter with a BNP supporter. Mistaking the antifascists for the BNP, he had joined us and asked whether Peter Tierney would be turning up soon. One activist explained to him that he was in the wrong group, whilst grabbing the opportunity to offer him a leaflet and explain why the BNP were not the party for anybody genuinely concerned with the plight of the working class. Events later in the day suggested that an antifascist making a similar mistake would have gotten more than a leaflet.

Despite the gloomy weather, there was a good turnout of activists, who managed to cover a significant area and deliver 500 leaflets in the surrounding working class estates. The event was extremely succesful and, as with a leafleting session around the shops the previous week, the response from the public was an overwhelmingly positive one.

Peter Tierney, owner of the Quiggins AttiQue in Aigburth and "super activist" for the BNP

On the way back to the original meeting point, however, we encountered Peter and Andrew Tierney. The brothers, along with an unidentified third fascist, had been delivering leaflets of their own and were just about to leave in Peter’s Land Rover. When they recognised several of the antifascists, however, they were quick to grab their cameras and start taking pictures.

Within moments, they were circling around the tired group of leafleters, taking photos as close as they could and chasing around those who tried to turn their face away. Their clear aim was to intimidate and provoke a small group of passers-by (at this point, they had distributed all their material and had nothing on them to identify their allegiances) which included two women, one of them elderly. At one point Peter, still awaiting trial for assaulting an antifascist back in April, referred to one man as a “shithouse” for not rising to the provocation. His brother Andrew, whose photographs and videos have emerged on Redwatch and various other neo-Nazi hate sites, suggested instigating a third-party assault. “Let’s get some local lads in, nothing to do with us, of course,” were his exact words, after feigning gangster-status by declaring that the leafleters should leave because “this is our territory.”

However, Liverpool Antifascists held our ground. If we had left, we risked being followed, which left individuals particularly vulnerable once they had to part ways. And if we had arisen to the provocation, it looked as though more BNP supporters would have emerged from the nearby pub to support the Tierney brothers. Instead, we stayed where we were until the two thugs got bored, seeing they weren’t getting a rise, and scuttled off.

To those familiar with the BNP, or indeed the Tierneys, this incident will come as no surprise. It also serves as a timely reminder that the party remain, despite their propaganda line, violent goons willing to threaten and intimidate anybody who dares oppose their fascist politics.

We must make sure, no matter what, that these thugs are not allowed to gain ground in Liverpool, Knowsley, or elsewhere.

¡No Pasarán!

 

More intimidation tactics by Peter Tierney and Merseyside BNP « Liverpool Antifascists

MCARF leafletting in By-election Ward

A group of around eight made our way to Halewood South, where the BNP are standing in a Knowsley council by-election later this month. Having divided the streets amongst ourselves we bumped into the labour party team who had been canvassing the area. They told us that the BNP had been out in the morning and were pretending to be UKIP candidates, presumably so that they the public did not turn on them. This tactic might have worked if UKIP were actually standing a candidate. The leafleting itself went well and we quickly covered a large part of the ward with Hope not Hate's 'Never Forget' Leaflet for Remembrance Sunday. A number of the houses had just had the BNP’s ‘Voice of Freedom’ newspaper pushed through their letter box. It would appear that the party are either extremely desperate to achieve some kind of foothold or that they simply can’t give their material away.

Two hours later, as the rain which had threatened all day began to fall; a man came out shouting after us. Seeing his shaven head we thought it was a BNP supporter ready to shout some abuse, he was followed by another shaven headed man. It turns out they were members of the former Dockers’ party, The United Socialist Party, and offered us a much needed cup of tea and a biscuit. It just goes to show that you can’t judge people by their appearances. Anyway we have now passed the leafleting baton to them and they will be completing the ward in plenty of time for the election.

BNP propagandists upset after their lies are shown up.

If you repeat the same lie enough times it becomes the truth. That was Dr Goebbels mantra as he set about his deceitful stewardship of German media in the 1930s. It seems that despite repeating a number of lies the BNP just can’t make those falsehoods stick.

In the same week that a British Jury throws out Nick Griffins latest lie, news reaches us that than a slightly older lie, which the BNP have used for propaganda purposes has also been shown to be false (Thanks BNP Merseyside blog, you make our job so much easier) . Back in March various news sources reported that a “veteran BNP activist” (lifelong racist) Tony Ward was attacked by a gang of hammer wielding thugs. The news sources including the Sun, BBC and Sky simply repeated the BNP version of events unquestioningly. The British Nazi Party made much of the case, focussing on two claims that the perpetrator was a member of UAF and also that he was black. Nick Griffin even used the case as propaganda referring to the alleged crime in his first speech in the European Parliament,where he called UAF state sponsored thugs.



The BNP faithful were quick to seize on the incident and entered various internet forums claiming they were the victims of violence and seeking to condemn all who oppose them as potential hammer attackers.

At the incident in March one man was arrested and charged for causing actual bodily harm. It appears, however, that there is not enough evidence to take this case to court and all charges have been rejected. Never ones to accept defeat, the broken records at the BNP have used the occasion to claim that there is a conspiracy against them and that the culprit is third world immigrant bent on destroying Britain. As usual the website has pumped out its propaganda claiming that there is a Liberal conspiracy against the BNP and that white people are not treated fairly in court. Merseyside British Nutters Party are currently using the removal of charges to label all who work at the Crown Prosecution Service as scum.

Isn’t it strange that they weren’t claiming that the legal system was prejudiced last week when they reported the case of a white anti-fascist, who had been convicted of a minor public order offence, when he tried to stop the fascists from using their intimidation tactics against anti-fascism? As ever the only double standards appear to be coming from the BNP. I wonder how Tony will received when he tries to woo the electorate of Halewood South. Voters love a handsome candidate.

Merseyside BNP's lies exposed

This is a re-post from the Truth, Reason, Liberty Blog

On April 23rd, Peter Tierney and Steve Greenhalgh of the Merseyside BNP were among the thugs who attacked antifascist leafleters in Liverpool City Centre. Despite their claims of self-defence, assault charges against their chosen anti-fascist fall guy were dropped months ago as utterly untenable. Today, at the antifascist's trial, even the flimst criminal damage charges would not stick.

At the Dale Street Magistrates Court, Steve Greenhalgh and a couple of other fascists were already on site waiting for Peter Tierney when antifascists arrived. Tierney today faced a committal hearing so that his case can go to a jury trial at the Crown Court. More news on that will follow when it is available.

In the meantime, antifascists were not there for Tierney and his ramshackle crew. We were there to show solidarity with one of our own, originally falsely accused by Tierney of assaulting him back in April. According to the lie that appeared on the BNP mailing list in July;

"On St George's Day, Peter was distributing leaflets in Liverpool with an elderly crowd of BNP activists. As they were leaving, a hate-filled mob of Communist UAF thugs turned up and physically attacked Peter and his fellow activists. The police then arrested Peter - for defending himself! Other BNP activists in the group that day were also attacked, including an 80-year-old pensioner."

However, since then the assault charges disappeared, with only a criminal damage charge - against a camera which continued to film after the alleged incident took place - in its stead. Greenhalgh was apparently not aware of this, "taunting" our comrade by saying (in reference to his wearing a suit)
"you didn't look that respectable when you were assaulting someone."

As the antifascist himself pointed out, however,

"last time I saw him, he was trying to attack me with an upturned stall table."

The roadshow of calamity that is organised fascism on Merseyside continued with the appearence of Tierney's brother Andrew, who immediately began taking pictures of those assembled. Of course, with the BNP's new "respectable" image this will have nothing to do with intimidation tactics, one can only wonder why Andrew might need lots of pictures of men.

When one of the crowd objected to having his picture taken and shoved the camera down Andrew, who almost looks like a bruiser, showed his true colours by whining that he had been "touched," "insulted," and "assaulted" by the antifascist in question. The police are, perhaps, lucky that they no longer need to employ fascists as strikebreakers anymore if that's what they're made of.

In court, the criminal damage charge against the accused antifascist was dropped, making all BNP claims to self-defence meaningless. A public order charge was upheld, the crime there being to say "get that fucking camera out of my face" and to cover the lens. In recognition that this was a response to fascist intimidation tactics, the charge of breaching public order under duress came with a small fine and no conditions.

We now await Merseyside BNP's claims of a police conspiracy when a jury trial convicts Peter Tierney of assault. Few beyond the ranks of fascists, I imagine, would see smashing someone's head in with a camera tripod as a justifiable "self-defence" against having your camera lens covered up because you were only filming people as an intimidation tactic.