For more than a decade the English Defence League has brought chaos to Britain’s streets.
Founded by Tommy Robinson, the far right group has been a vocal and often violent opposition to what they see as the Islamification of the UK.
Although it has waned in recent years, it continues to bring misery to peaceful communities with its demonstrations, as seen in Southport, London, Hartlepool and Manchester in the past few days.
Britain has suffered nights of violent riots police have attributed to EDL following harmful misinformation about a teenager charged with murder for the Southport tragedy.
Last night saw hooligans setting police cars ablaze, hurling glass bottles and clashing with many shouting anti-migrant rhetoric.
The largest demonstration took place in London at an ‘Enough is Enough’ protest, where 100 thugs were arrested. Rioters took to the streets chanting the name of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson and yelled ‘stop the boats’.
On Tuesday, in stark contrast to a peaceful vigil for victims Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, angry mobs chanting ‘English till I die’ targeted a mosque in Southport, near to where the three little girls were killed.
Riot police held back protesters near a burning vehicle in Southport on Tuesday
Tommy Robinson pictured speaking to demonstrators at Aldgate Station in east London in 2011, when leading the EDL
A demonstrator from the far-right EDL stood in front of police lines during a protest in east London in September 2011
A famous photo of Saffiyah Khan (left) staring down English Defence League protester Ian Crossland during a demonstration in Birmingham in 2017
Police officers contained supporters of far-right activist and former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson in 2018
Around 200 took to the streets on Tuesday. Many are believed to be EDL supporters
Some wore t-shirts calling for EDL founder Tommy Robinson to be Home Secretary and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to be Prime Minister in London on Wednesday
In contrast to the riots on the streets, there was a sense of tranquility at the vigil on Tuesday
A police van was set on fire near a mosque in Southport as riots broke out
Tommy Robinson attended the Armitice Minute’s Silence at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, 2023
The streets of Southport were left devastated by the riots, piled high with rubble and chaos
Founded in 2009 by former British Nationalist Party member and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – the EDL are a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in England.
Robinson has served four prison terms. These were for illegally entering the US with a friend’s passport, for publishing a video of defendants entering court, libelling a 15-year-old refugee and given a stalking protection order for harassing a journalist.
The EDL was formed in response to a clash on 10 March 2009, when a small, extreme Islamic group demonstrated in Luton in a deliberately provocative publicity stunt, disowned by local Islamic communities.
The pseudonym ‘Tommy Robinson’ came from a leader of Luton Town Men in Gear – a football hooligan firm.
Between 2009 and 2015, the EDL held up to fifteen demonstrations a year, attracting crowds of thousands and often clashing with anti-fascist groups such as Unite Against Fascism that view it as a racist organisation.
Employing street demonstrations as its main tactic, the movement swiftly grew in popularity until 2011, but has now seen a resurgence.
In 2013, Robinson left the group – deeming it too extreme. Membership declined sharply following his departure.
As the recent riots in Southport have escalated, he shared videos and posts in support of the violent hooligans. He posted: ‘The country is heading to mass civil unrest. And who can blame them?’
He slammed news reports affiliating the EDL with the riots as ‘fake news’.
The violence appears to be fuelled by widely-shared misinformation online – originating from a Russian-linked website – falsely claiming a 17-year-old who was arrested following the horrific attack was a migrant.
The suspect, who is from the village of Banks, Lancashire, but was born in Cardiff, Wales, was today named as Axel Rudakubana.
Merseyside Police said they believed supporters of the English Defence League (EDL) are behind the appalling riots throughout the country.
Youngsters joined the crowd of locals clearing up Southport’s streets after the riots on Wednesday
Damage to the Southport Islamic Society Mosque after rioters attacked on Wednesday
Southport locals and builders rallied together to rebuild the Mosque wall on Wednesday
Locals have called on rioters to leave their town after Tuesday night’s violence
A protesting thug gets up close and personal with a riot police officer amid London riots
Protesters cheered as they launch bins at riot police vans amid ugly scenes on Tuesday
In London protesters were seen in England football shirts chanting outside Downing Street
A can of Stella was launched at a riot police officer as ugly scenes broke out in Whitehall
Protesters wearing England flags scuffled with police officers as more clashes gripped the UK
Mr Hussein, pictured looking at damage in the mosque in which he and around eight other people were trapped inside, said it had been ‘terrifying’ on Tuesday
In 2017, a photo of a young woman smiling down at the leader of the English Defence League at a rally in Birmingham went viral.
Saffiyah Khan, appearing calm and defiant, stared at EDL leader Ian Crossland during a far-right demonstration as she came to the aid of a woman wearing a headscarf.
She told The Independent at the time: ‘All I saw was an angry man having a bit of a rant.’
On Facebook, the EDL leader said Ms Khan was ‘lucky she had any teeth left’.
Separately, Robinson has currently fled the county after committing ‘flagrant’ contempt of court relating to a libellous film played at a protest in central London , the High Court was told this week.
Hours earlier he had been released on bail from police custody in Kent after being detained on ‘terror charges.’
Robinson was convicted of assault in 2005 and was given a 12 month custodial sentence.
Last year, the EDL were blamed by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for a series of attacks on police officers on Remembrance Day.
He condemned as ‘despicable’ both ‘EDL thugs’ who attacked police officers and pro-Palestinian protesters pictured openly supporting Hamas following a day of chaos in central London.
Nine officers were injured when the ‘vast majority’ of far-right football hooligans pelted officers with bottles, cans and metal fences.
The former PM said the ugly scenes on Armistice Day ‘utterly disrespects’ the spirit of remembrance and said he would meet the Met Commissioner to hold him ‘accountable’ for dealing with the disturbances.
Mr Sunak said in a statement: ‘I condemn the violent, wholly unacceptable scenes we have seen today from the EDL (English Defence League) and associated groups and Hamas sympathisers attending the National March for Palestine. The despicable actions of a minority of people undermine those who have chosen to express their views peacefully.’
He said their actions do ‘not defend the honour of our Armed Forces, but utterly disrespects them’, adding: ‘That is true for EDL thugs attacking police officers and trespassing on the Cenotaph, and it is true for those singing antisemitic chants and brandishing pro-Hamas signs and clothing on today’s protest.’
There were clashes throughout the day after hundreds of far-right thugs gathered in Whitehall to ‘protect the Cenotaph’ on Remembrance Day in 2023
A man holding a stick was pictured among a group of counter-protesters in 2023
Mr Sunak said he would be meeting the Met chief, adding: ‘All criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law.
‘That is what I told the Met Police Commissioner on Wednesday, that is what they are accountable for and that is what I expect.’
In January of this year, four men who took part in an ‘EDL protest’ outside an asylum seeker hotel were found guilty of violent disorder after three police officers were injured and a police van was set on fire.
The convictions came after clashes outside Suites Hotel in Knowsley, Merseyside, on February 10 during a demonstration said to have been organised by the English Defence League.
A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Brian McPadden, 61, Thomas Mills, 47, Paul Lafferty, 42, and Jonjo O’Donoghue, 21, guilty of violent disorder after deliberating for six hours and fifteen minutes.
The four defendants, all from Kirkby apart from O’Donoghue of Liverpool city centre, had admitted being present on the night but denied violent disorder.
A fifth defendant, Daniel Fulham, 39, was found not guilty of violent disorder and of a lesser offence of abusive or threatening behaviour with intent to provoke violence.
One member of the public left the court saying ‘you f***ing bastards’ after the first guilty verdict was returned.
During the trial, the court heard police were made aware on February 9 last year that a protest was expected to take place outside the hotel which was providing temporary accommodation for asylum seekers.
Fireworks were hurled and the van set alight at Knowsley near The Suites Hotel in 2023
Paul Lafferty, 42, left, and Jonjo O’Donoghue, 21, outside Liverpool Crown Court where they were today found guilty of violent disorder after last February’s clashes outside a hotel
Thomas Mills, 47, seen outside Liverpool Crown Court, was also convicted of violent disorder over the demonstration outside Suites Hotel in Knowsley which was housing asylum seekers
There was ‘ill feeling’ in the local area after a video was shared on social media appearing to show an asylum seeker from the hotel asking a 15-year-old girl for her phone number and a kiss, the court heard.
The jury was told social media posts were made about the planned demonstration and leaflets were delivered.
On the Friday evening, members of a right-wing group and a left-wing group gathered outside the hotel on the outskirts of Kirkby.
Detective Constable David Williams told the court that at about 7pm a large group of people arrived at the scene on foot, adding: ‘At that time it seemed that tensions changed somewhat.’
Footage showed crowds chanting ‘get them out’ and throwing fireworks at a cordon of police officers, as a police van burned.
Rocks and paving slabs were also thrown, with one police officer needing hospital treatment and another two suffering less serious injuries.
Police imposed a daytime curfew to protect asylum seekers at the hotel in the week following last February’s clashes.
Mills could be seen in footage standing on top of the van before it was set alight and holding a banner which said: ‘Let’s shout, get them out.’
Prosecutor Martyn Walsh earlier told the trial how the Matrix van was ‘set on fire’ and ‘burnt out’ after police equipment including riot shields, helmets and metal bars was taken from inside. Damage was calculated as being worth £83,686.
The EDL’s dramatic and violence resurgence has escalated following the Southport tragedy on Monday.
Some were seen lighting red flares as they chanted down Whitehall on Wednesday
Protesters hold a Union Jack banner which says: ‘Enough is enough. Stop the boats.’ They were also wearing t-shirts with the faces of the three girls who died in Southport
Firefighters try and put out a blaze which completely destroyed a police vehicle in the riots
A furious protester lifts up the mask of a riot policeman’s helmet in London yesterday
Far-right yobs travelled from across the UK to the seaside town in Merseyside to wreak havoc, with rioters attacking a mosque and destroying locals’ front garden walls to use bricks as missiles.
Residents were trapped in their homes as thugs ran riot, with one shopkeeper saying he lost £10,000 of stock when rioters looted his shop and nearly burned it down.
Hooligans also threw bins and bollards at officers and set fire to police vehicles and wheelie bins during the lawless rampage.
Footage showed a line of riot police attempting in vain to push the rioters back down the street.
Four people were arrested after 53 officers were injured during the riot that hundreds of people travelled to participate in.
Angry politicians blamed ‘lies and propaganda’ on social media for igniting the chaos, while heartbroken Southport families accused hoodlums of showing ‘no respect to a town that is grieving’.
Disturbingly, residents’ footage showed a boy was throwing a missile at police and then being given a congratulatory hug by a man who may have been his father.
The Malakar family live on Sussex Road where the rioting was going on. The parents were originally immigrants from India and their three children were born in the UK.
But they feared their ethnicity would make them a target and locked their doors, turned their lights out and hid inside.
University student Raj Malakar, 19, told the Mail: ‘It was crazy to witness everything. I don’t see any justifiable point at what they were doing. It was heinous.’
Footage shows thugs smashing their front garden wall and using the bricks as ammunition.
A few doors down the road Denise Mace, 51, and her chef husband Graham, 52, watched from inside also fearing for their safety and worrying their car parked outside would be smashed up.
As the police were forced back they quietly pleaded with officers to hold their ground as they filmed from an upstairs window.
Pensioner May Small, 71, and husband David, 73, watched on helplessly as they yobs broke a neighbour’s wall, took bricks from their wall and attacked police.
Protesters were seen wearing t-shirts with the faces of the three Southport victims on, despite families of the victims calling for the violence to stop
Violence erupted on the streets of the capital yesterday in the riots
She said she was alerted by a commotion and then saw the rioters just ‘piling in.’
‘It was frightening. They were throwing bottles, taking down walls and throwing bricks. I was stood outside watching and then backed away into my doorway. They even came down the path looking for missiles and I told them to clear off.’
She said she has lived in the street for ‘many years’ and there has never been trouble before.’
The pensioner added defiantly: ‘I would like to kick their arse, but you can’t can you?’
Iqbal Ahmed, 32, was trapped inside Southport Islamic Society Mosque for five and a half hours as hundreds of rioters pelted police with bricks, concrete and fireworks outside.
The yobs also torched a police van and set alight a clothes bin outside the mosque.
As well as dodging broken glass, he said rioters were making sinister phone calls to the mosque on withheld numbers throughout the night threatening to kill them and their families.
His Volkswagen car, parked outside the mosque, also had its windscreen shattered by a hooded rioter.
But heartwarming scenes the following morning saw the community come together to help clear up and repair that which had been damaged.
Sir Keir Starmer promised the angry mob would face ‘the full force of the law’ following the ugly clashes.
As the town reels from the shock of the past few days, national conversations are being had over whether ‘various groups’ should be banned, including the English Defence League.
Yesterday, Angela Rayner suggested ministers will consider whether the English Defence League should be banned following riots on the streets of Southport.
The deputy PM said the government ‘will look at various different groups’ amid widespread condemnation of violence that broke out after the horrific knife attack on children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: ‘We do not comment on whether a specific organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.’ Sources insisted no commitment had been made to take any action.
