Dear Home Secretary
I
am writing following reports on 18 September 2009 of the activities of the
group 'Blood & Honour'.
The
reports suggest that Blood & Honour is currently distributing material,
including music CDs, which encourage and glorify hatred and acts of terror
against ethnic minorities. The reports also quote the group's
"Field Manual" as stating that those who carry out actions in the name of
neo-Nazism 'must be respected rather than condemned' and that 'Die-hard 'Nazis'
not comfortable in any watered-down, democratic outfit, still have an option
through leaderless resistance and direct action. [...] These lone white wolves
must be respected and left alone to stalk the worst enemies of our race. They
expect no support and assistance but they deserve acknowledgement and
understanding'.
Given
these circumstances, I would like to know what your assessment is of the
group's activities and what action can be taken in response to them under
relevant sections of the Public Order Act 1986 and the Terrorism Act 2000 and
Terrorism Act 2006. For example, you will be aware that under Section 21
of the Public Order Act 1986 a person who 'distributes, or shows, or plays, a
recording of visual images or sounds which are threatening, abusive or
insulting is guilty of an offence if he intends thereby to stir up racial
hatred, or having regard to all the circumstances racial hatred is likely to be
stirred up thereby'. You will also be aware that Sections 1 and 2 of the
Terrorism Act 2006 (respectively) specify that the encouragement of terrorism
and the dissemination of terrorist publications are offences. On the fact
of it, there appears to be a very strong case for the proscription of Blood
& Honour.
There
is a further and related issue, which is that much of the group's material is
reported to be hosted and distributed from a website on an American server
(although sale and distribution does occur in the UK). I would therefore
like to know what scope there is to prosecute individuals involved and to block
or remove this internet content.
I
am sure you will agree that it is necessary to tackle all forms of extremism,
including right wing extremism. The Secretary of State for Communities
and Local Government, John Denham, announced earlier this year that the
Government's PREVENT Strategy was being updated to reflect this.
In
light of public interest in these matters I am making a copy of this letter
available to the press.
Baroness Neville-Jones
Shadow Security Minister
Neo Nazi Group Glorify Murder of Minorities
Centre for Social Cohesion
Press Briefing 18 September 2009
The Centre for Social Cohesion
(CSC) urges the police to take action against the UK wing of neo-Nazi group Blood
& Honour (B&H). The group is currently distributing music CDs which
encourage hatred and acts of terror against ethnic minorities, contrary to both
the Public Order Act 1986 and the Terrorism Act 2000.
B&H, an international
neo-Nazi organisation, promotes extremist music and live concerts by neo-Nazi
rock bands. B&H openly states its admiration for Hitler and the Third Reich
and its Field Manual claims that 'National Socialism is the ideology of the
national revolutionary movement which Blood & Honour represents'.
Incitement lyrics
B&H's east Scotland wing,
the 'Highlander Division', is currently selling a variety of neo-Nazi music CDs
via its Highlander East Coast (HEC) website. All of the following song lyrics
are taken from albums currently on sale on the Blood & Honour website.
The materials incite hatred and
violence against:
Black and Asian
communities
We'll bomb your cities,
destroy your towns Wipe out the scum, kill all the browns Hang politicians and
waste the police Until I'm feeling better, the murder will not cease!
['Bomb the Cities', from the
Blue Eyed Devils' album Murder Squad]
Non white scum we're gonna
kill you Slit your throat and watch you die Time to crush the brown eyed
subrace Strangle, beat and crucify Total destruction of all non whites Right
now is it time to attack Take your guns, go shoot and kill Cause the jew
government won't send them back
['Vandalize and Victimize',
from the Blue Eyed Devils' album Murder Squad]
Nigger lover! Race traitor!
Walk in shame and hide your face
On your knees, my gun to
your head Worthless scum you know what lies ahead With the pull of the trigger,
now you're dead!
['Hate Filled Mind', from the
Blue Eyed Devils' album Murder Squad]:
Bang, bang - watch 'em die
Watch those niggers drop like flies
['Bang, Bang', from Berserkr
album Crush the Weak]
Jewish communities
Death to the ones from the
underground All I hear is victory's call My nation's honor rising above all
I regret nothing that I've done I've seen so many through the sights of
my gun But to kill for the Reich is my job A soldier in my nation's murder
squad My orders are simple, plain and clear Murder on command and have no fear
In my heart I know what's right To do what I must for my nation's fight
Traitors are hung and others shot dead Kill the jew and cut off his head
Destroy the enemy and his lies Send the filth to an early demise
['Murder Squad' by Blue Eyed
Devils album of the same name]
This is only a small example of
a wide range of material which contains similar language.
Other titles on sale include:
'Fueled by Hate', 'Force Fed Hate', 'Genocidal Hate', 'Spread the Hate',
'Anthems of Hate', 'Operation Racewar', 'Race Riot', 'People Take the Gun',
'Aryan Revolution', 'Jew Boys', 'Don't Buy From Jews', 'Jew Boy '98', 'Killing
Spree' and 'Ovens Again'.
The album cover art includes
images of black men hanging from the gallows in segregation-era America, and
'Crush the Weak' by Berserkr features a photograph of piles of dead Jews.
Glorification of Terrorism
B&H is not, at present, a
proscribed organisation in the UK, as in the past it has stopped just short of
advocating terrorist activities. B&H nonetheless states in its field manual
that those who carry out terrorist actions in the name of neo-Nazism 'must be
respected rather than condemned' and considers those who condemn neo-Nazi
violence to be 'pathetic' and 'cowardly'.
The Terrorism Act 2006 widened
the criteria for proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000 to include the
glorification of terrorism. Accordingly, a group which publishes or
disseminates material glorifying acts or terror is liable for proscription.
B&H speaks approvingly of
'lone wolf' terrorists as follows:
"Die-hard 'Nazis' not
comfortable in any watered-down, democratic outfit, still have an option
through leaderless resistance and direct action. [...] These lone white wolves
must be respected and left alone to stalk the worst enemies of our race. They
expect no support and assistance but they deserve acknowledgement and
understanding."
Inciting Racial Hatred
According to the Public Order
Act 1986, individuals who distribute recordings of visual images or sounds
which are threatening and abusive are guilty if they either intend to or are
likely to stir up racial hatred.
The HEC website is hosted by an
American server in an apparent attempt to circumnavigate the UK's anti-racist
legislation. Although prosecuting individuals for what they post on foreign
servers has long been a difficult task, a precedent was set by the Sheppard
& Whittle case where the Crown Prosecution Service convicted both men for
incitement to racial hatred based on material posted on US registered websites.
While the HEC website is hosted
in the US, the CDs it advertises are sold and distributed within the UK, and
the return address for faulty goods is a mailbox at a storage centre in Dundee.
The individuals who administrate the B&H HEC site are required to comply
with UK legislation regarding the sale and distribution of recorded material.
Edmund Standing, author of
recent CSC report 'The BNP and the Online Fascist Network', who has uncovered
this information, says:
"The activities of Blood
& Honour and the individuals associated with it should be taken very
seriously by the Home Office. The recent rise in arrests and convictions of
white supremacists shows that the materials disseminated by Blood & Honour
are more than just words, and there are people who are willing to act on
them."
"The
dissemination of such materials is a threat to all minority communities in the
UK and should be of concern to Jewish and Muslim communities, with the latter
in particular facing a demonstrable rise in persecution from neo-Nazis and far
right bigots."
