The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right street protest movement.[1][2][3][4][5][6] It opposes what it sees as the spread ofIslamism, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in England.[7][8][9][10] The EDL uses street-based marches against what it labels as Muslim extremism.[11][12] It had a couple of offshoot organisations, the Scottish Defence League,[13] and the now defunct[14] Welsh Defence League.[15][16] The EDL was also the subject of a 2010 BBC documentary, Young, British and Angry.[17] The EDL originated from a group known as the "United Peoples of Luton", which itself was formed in response to a March 2009 protest against Royal Anglian Regiment troops returning from the Afghan War[18] organised by the Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun and including members of the group Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah.[19] The EDL evolved from the football casualsubculture and is loosely organised around figures in hooligan firms. One of the organization's principal strategists is Alan Lake, who has also advised the far-right political party, theSweden Democrats, on tactics.[20] When the Luton counter-demonstration led to arrests, local football supporters, using social networking websites, collaborated with other football casual groups, including those associated with hooliganism. A major turning point was a June 2009 demonstration in Birmingham by Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah that featured an 11 year old white English boy from Birmingham converting to Islam. [8][21][22] EDL membership figures are not clear. In October 2009, the EDL claimed to have "thousands" of members in scores of branches,[20] and the organisation's spokesman Trevor Kelway explained that about 300 active supporters attended demonstrations with strong support from Cardiff, Swansea, Luton and Portsmouth.[11] At the time "an analyst" believed the group to have 300 to 500 active supporters that it could mobilise at any given time.[7][11] Police estimated 1,500 to 2,000 EDL demonstrators marched in Newcastle upon Tyne in May 2010.[23]. The EDL also incorporates a Jewish and a gay division.[24] Researchers have suggested that the EDL is unique among far-right groups, because it seeks to attract non-white support, but its discourse is seen as "one that reflects that of the BNP and others albeit tailored to be more inclusive and by consequence, more relevant to contemporary Britain’s inherent diversity"[2] The Scottish Defence League is an offshoot organisation formed to hold demonstrations in Glasgow,[13] while the now defunct[14] Welsh Defence League was formed to demonstrate inCardiff, Newport and Swansea.[15][16] The English Defence League is a proscribed organisation for members of the British National Party.[25] The leader Stephen Yaxley Lennon has previously issued an anti Nazi statement[26] and taken part in the burning of a Nazi flag in a warehouse in Luton.[27] He has however been identified as a former BNP member and many supporters of the BNP are involved in the organisation[28]. The group states that its aim is to demonstrate peacefully in English towns and cities,[20] but conflicts with Unite Against Fascism (UAF), local opposition and other opponents have led to street violence, anti-social behaviour and arrests. A proposed march in Luton in September 2009 was banned by the police, citing a threat to public safety.[71] There is normally heavy policing of these demonstrations, due to the likelihood of violence. The cost of policing these demonstrations has ranged from £300,000[46] to £1 million.[41] Journalists that have covered EDL marches have received death threats,[72] for instance journalist Jason N. Parkinson from The Guardian wrote about receiving a death threat by email from someone he described as an EDL organiser, as well as death threats sent to Marc Vallée, a fellow journalist.[73] The National Union of Journalists also released a statement about journalists who had been intimidated after covering EDL demonstrations.[72] A number of English Defence League members are known to have been convicted of football hooliganism offences.[74] Four specialist national police units involved in policing hooliganism, extreme violence, and terrorism are investigating the EDL.[21] After their second demonstration in Birmingham Assistant Chief Constable Sharon Rowe of West Midlands Police: "Really, there was no intent to protest. I think they knew that the community was very much against them coming to the city, which...potentially would generate violence".[35] Before their Manchester demonstration of October 2009, the EDL held a press conference, during which they burned a Nazi flag and asserted that "There is no militant undertone. We will peacefully protest but we will not be scared into silence".[75] During the Manchester city centre demonstration Mat Trewern, from BBC Radio Manchester reported that "At one point, earlier on, when it became extremely tense, members of the UAF tried to break the police line between the two groups” Greater Manchester Police confirmed a man, believed to be heading to the protest, had earlier been arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of distributing racially aggravated material.[76] One week later, at a Welsh Defence League demonstration, supporters burnt an anti-Nazi flag and made Nazi salutes.[77] On January 2010 in Stoke-on-Trent, there was trouble as EDL members broke through police lines, four police officers were injured and police vehicles were damaged. The BBC's Matt Cooke said there had been few problems with the Unite Against Fascism demonstration.[43] In March 2010 in Bolton, 74 people were arrested in the demonstrations; at least 55 of the arrested were from the UAF and nine from the EDL.[47][48][49][78] Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism was arrested and charged with conspiracy to organise violent disorder,[79] Martin Smith, of Love Music Hate Racism and Dr Moran, joint secretary of Greater Manchester UAF were among those arrested on conspiracy charges.[80] Police said that UAF protesters were responsible for most of the trouble and that they had turned up intending to cause trouble saying "It is clear to me that a large number have attended with the sole intention of committing disorder and their actions have been wholly unacceptable."[81] At their second Dudley protest, on 17 July 2010, there was widespread damage to local property, the local council estimated the bill to be over £500,000.[55] On 11 September 2010, police in Oldham received an advance call from the EDL. Around mid-day approximately 120 supporters had descended on the town. A separate mob of around 50 members attacked a police car with bottles. There were 8 arrests for public order offences.[61][62] On 9 October 2010, a police officer and several civilians were injured during protests by the English Defence League and Unite Against Fascism in Leicester. A Sky News van was attacked by members of the English Defence League[82] who had earlier thrown fireworks, smokebombs and bricks at police[83] and smashed windows of the city's International Arts Centre.[84] There were also clashes between EDL supporters and local black and asian youths as a group broke out of the EDL protest site at Humberstone Gate East and engaged with the locals. Riot police fought to maintain control over the sporadic fighting that ensued.[85] Thirteen people were arrested, one on suspicion of assaulting a police officer;[86] only one of these people was from the city of Leicester.[63] The British press describes the EDL as far-right.[87][88][89][90][91] Nick Lowles, the editor of anti-racist magazine Searchlight says the EDL poses two risks. One is the formation of a street army prepared to travel around the country to fight and provide organisational support. The other is the group's tactics of carrying placards and chanting in places that are potential flashpoints. Searchlight added that not every leader of the EDL is afascist or hardcore racist.[21] Meanwhile, on the BBC's sunday morning Andrew Marr show on December 13, 2010, Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti described the EDL as "modern day blackshirts".[92] The creation of an EDL "Jewish division" in June 2010 was condemned by various different Jewish Groups.[93][94][95] Trevor Kelway, a spokesman for the EDL, has denied that the group is racist. He said he had taken over as spokesman because the previous spokesman was Islamophobic. "We would march alongside Muslims and Jews who are against militant Islam," he said. "There were none on Saturday and an all-white group doesn't look good. But they can join the EDL as long as they accept an English way of life. It is the people who threaten with bombs and violence and threaten and bomb our troops – they don't belong here."[11][96] British Prime Minister David Cameron stated in the 2010 election campaign, "The EDL are terrible people, we would always keep these groups under review and if we needed to ban them, we would ban them or any groups which incite hatred."[97] Former Home Office secretary Phil Woolas stated of the organisation's tactics "This is a deliberate attempt by the EDL at division and provocation, to try and push young Muslims into the hands of extremists, in order to perpetuate the divide. It is dangerous."[98] John Denham, the then UK Communities Secretary, has condemned the EDL, saying its tactics are similar to those of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s, although he stressed that they did not present anything like the same "potency, organisation or threat". He was commenting after clashes between different groups at a new London mosque, during a demo by the group Stop the Islamification of Europe. He singled out the EDL in particular: "If you look at the types of demonstrations they have organised, the language used and the targets chosen, it looks pretty clear that it's a tactic designed to provoke, to get a response and create violence".[99][100] The leader of Dudley council, Anne Milward, stated after the second EDL demonstration in her city: "We are extremely saddened that Dudley has again been targeted by the English Defence League. Yet again this group of outside extremists have shown they are incapable of demonstrating peacefully and have brought public disorder and violence to our town."[53] Matthew Goodwin an academic who specialises in the study of far-right extremism has argued that the press are more sympathetic to the Islamophobia of the EDL than they were to the anti-Semitism of the National Front in the 1970s: The reason why the EDL's adoption of Islamophobia is particularly significant is that unlike the 1970s, when the National Front was embracing antisemitism, there are now sections of the media and the British establishment that are relatively sympathetic towards Islamophobia. It is not difficult to look through the media and find quite hostile views towards Islam and Muslims. That is fundamentally different to the 1970s, when very few newspapers or politicians were endorsing the NF's antisemitic message.[101] American radio host, Michael Savage, became the first popular media figure to publicly announce support for the EDL, when, following the Poppy Burning protest by Muslims Against Crusades in November 2010, he stated, "How does England take the Islamofascists spitting on their war dead, without letting the English Defence League wade into them with pipes and beer bottles, I'll never understand".[102] The EDL is reported to be developing links with anti-islamic elements within the Tea Party movement in the US through Pamela Geller, who is associated with the Ground Zero Mosquecontroversy.[103] In October, 2010, Rabbi Nachum Shifren traveled to England to speak at a rally. In his speech, he called Muslims "dogs" and told the EDL that "History will be recorded that on this day, read by our children for eternity, one group lit the spark to liberate us from the oppressors of our two governments and the leftist, fifth column, quisling press, and that it was the EDL which started the liberation of England from evil."[104] Jewish Defense League has held a demonstration in support of the EDL, [105] the JDL saying that the two groups alliance will “take a stand against the forces of political Islam”. The Canadian Jewish congress has opposed the alliance.[106]English Defence League
English Defence League 
Protester and a police officer at an EDL march inNewcastle, 29 May 2010.Formation 27 June 2009 Type Anti-Islamism, Far-right Key people Stephen Yaxley-Lennon aka "Tommy Robinson", Alan Lake Website EnglishDefenceLeague.org English Defence League
Protester and a police officer at an EDL march inNewcastle, 29 May 2010.Formation 27 June 2009 Type Anti-Islamism, Far-right Key people Stephen Yaxley-Lennon aka "Tommy Robinson", Alan Lake Website EnglishDefenceLeague.org Contents
[hide]Formation
Membership and support
Protests
Date Location Attendance Arrests at event (includes non-EDL) Description of event 8 August 2009 Birmingham Unknown 35[29][30] Counter protest by, and clashes with, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) supporters.[29][30] 5 September 2009 Birmingham Unknown 90[31][32][33] Clashes with socialist protestors,[34] West Midlands police state the EDL "...had no intent to protest".[35] 45 arrested were from the EDL a similar number were arrested belonged to groups opposing them.[36] 13 September 2009 London Unknown Zero Counter demonstration to pro-Palestinian rally. Chants of "We hate Muslims" and "Muslim Bombers off our streets".[37] 10 October 2009 Manchester 700[38] 48[38] Counter-protest by 1,400 UAF supporters.[38] Riot police on hand to separate sides.[38] Policing cost was estimated at £200,000.[2] 31 October 2009 Leeds 900[39][40] 9[39][40] Counter-protested by 1,500 UAF. Leeds council and West Yorkshire Police thanked the public and participants "for their patience and consideration".[39][40] The policing costs were estimated at a total of £300,000. [3] The protest was controversial as a tree which had been erected in City Square with the intention to decorate it as a Christmas tree at a later date had to be taken down to accommodate the protest. 5 December 2009 Nottingham 500[41] 11[42] Demonstration following Mercian Regiment homecoming parade, clashes with Asian students and UAF. Policing cost estimated at £1 million.[41] 23 January 2010 Stoke-on-Trent 1,500[43] 17[43] EDL break through police lines, injure police officers and damage police vehicles.[43] All arrests were "linked" to the EDL demonstration.[44] The policing cost came to £196,631. [4] Approximately 300 supporters of Unite Against Fascism held a counter demonstration.[5] 5 March 2010 London 300 [6] 50 [7] Rally in support of Geert Wilders' visit to the House of Lords. 100 UAF counter-demonstrators. 50 arrests, mostly counter-protesters.[45] . 20 March 2010 Bolton 2,000[46] 74[46] Counter-protested by 1,500 UAF. 1,300 police dispatched at a cost of £300,000.[46] 55 arrested from UAF and around 9 from EDL.[47][48][49] 3 April 2010 Dudley 2,000[50] 12 [8] Several EDL supporters knocked down fencing and escaped the police cordon.[50] The policing cost came to around £400,000 and the cost to the council was £150,000. [9] [10] There were 1500 UAF counter-demonstrators.[11] 1 May 2010 Aylesbury 800 12[51] Protest against militant Islam. Eight of the arrests were on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon.[51] The policing cost was estimated at £300,000. [12] About 75 UAF counter-demonstrators gathered in the town, but later left.[13] 29 May 2010 Newcastle 1,500-2,000[52] Zero[52] UAF hold counter demonstration of around 1,000. No arrests at either demonstration despite minor scuffles.[52] 17 July 2010 Dudley 500[53] 21[54] Away from the main demonstration a Hindu Temple was attacked along with shops, restaurants, cars and homes. The cost of the demonstration came to £400,000 in policing and £150,000 to the local council.[54][55] The UAF claimed an attendance of 350.[14] 28 August 2010 Bradford 300[56]–700[57] 13[58] 1,300 police officers were involved in policing the protest.[59] Various missiles were thrown by EDL supporters during the protest.[56][57] The cost of the demonstration came to £600,000 in policing, £100,000 for concrete reinforcing for the fencing around the demonstration area and an estimated cost of £100,000 to local businesses.[15] Chants of 'We love the floods', in reference to the floods in Pakistan were heard from EDL supporters.[60] Approximately 300 UAF supporters attended the counter-demonstration.[16] 11 September 2010 Oldham 120[61] 8 [61][62] EDL converged on Oldham around mid-day after telephoning police in advance at 8.45am,[62] a group of around 50 supporters attacked a police car with bottles and laid a wreath at the war memorial.[61][62] 9 October 2010 Leicester 1000[63] 13[63] After the Home secretary accepted Leicester City Council's application for a ban on all marches in the city on this date[64] the EDL held a static demonstration numbering 1,000,[63] whilst Unite Against Fascism (UAF) staged a counter-protest numbering 700.[63]One police officer was taken to hospital with a leg injury and two protesters were treated by paramedics for minor injuries.[65] 25 October 2010 London Unknown 0 The EDL held a protest opposing "Islamification" of the United Kingdom and showing support for Israel outside the Israeli embassy. It was attended by Rabbi Nachum Shifren.[66] 27 November 2010 Preston 1000+ 14 There was a counter demonstration attended by 150 supporters of UAF.[67] 27 November 2010 Nuneaton 500 [68] There was a counter demonstration by 150 local anti-fascists. Both sides threw missiles and fire works at each other.[69] 11 December 2010 Peterborough 500[70] 11[70] The protest was policed by roughly 1000 officers from 18 forces. A counter-protest by the Peterborough Trades Union Council took place in another location in the city and was attended by approximately 80 people. Police kept the two protests apart.[70] Association with violence and anti-social behaviour
Views and reactions
Government
Academic analysis
International activities and support
See also
Saturday, 5 February 2011
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