British government points the finger at the English Defence League
Clashes broke out on Saturday, August 3 in several cities in the United Kingdom. British authorities are pointing the finger at a nationalist organization: the English Defense League. It was founded in 2009 by Tommy Robinson, a former member of the British National Party, a fascist group that admires the Third Reich. The forty-year-old initially recruited among supporters of the Luton football club, his hometown, before expanding his network and finding followers internationally. According to the British press, the group was notably an inspiration for the Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in 2011.
Having been sentenced to prison several times for violence against the police, fraud and hooliganism, Tommy Robinson ended up leaving the group in 2013, citing fears about the ” Dangers of far-right extremism “. Very present on social networks, the English Defence League is taking action to denounce ” the Islamization of the country “, or more broadly, immigration and multiculturalism. If, over the years, the movement’s audience has crumbled, the Islamist attacks have allowed it to mobilize the troops again and attract new members.
On Tuesday, the day after the knife attack that killed three children, 200 to 300 supporters of the English Defence League took part in the clashes, according to the police. Today, the actions of the group are worrying: Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is even calling for its dissolution.