London Forum (far-right group)
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The London Forum is a loose organisation of
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
individuals based in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
but with regional headquarters across the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Emerging in 2011 out of a split within the British far-right, meetings were regularly held by the organisation. These ​have been met with significant protests by
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
activists and have been infiltrated by journalists, most notably a 2015 investigation of the group by '' The Mail on Sunday'' with the help of ''
Searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...
'', an anti-fascist magazine that focuses on the British far-right. The group has brought together neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers, anti-Semites, former British National Party and National Front activists and the founder of a proscribed terrorist organisation, National Action. Anti-fascist groups such as Hope not Hate have included the group in their research on British far-right politics. The group was described as
white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
by
Jonathan Arkush Jonathan Harry Samuel Arkush (born June 1954) is a British barrister and Jewish community leader. Arkush served as the 47th President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews from 17 May 2015 to 13 May 2018. Board of Deputies Arkush was elect ...
, the vice-president of the
Board of Deputies of British Jews The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after only the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established ...
, in 2015. The London group has not met regularly since 2017, but regional branches of the organisation were still meeting as of 2018.


History and ideology

The London Forum emerged in 2011 as a split from the New Right (UK), a series of far-right meetings in London that took place in the first decade of the 2000s. It describes itself as "the home of the UK
alt-right The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...
". ''Searchlight'', a magazine that focuses on the British far-right, says the group bridges "the fascist and
Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
right". In 2015, the vice-president of the
Board of Deputies of British Jews The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after only the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established ...
, Jonathan Arkush, described the group as
white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
. Stead Steadman – described as the organiser of the London Forum by Hope not Hate – told ''The Independent'' that while the group is not "credally defined", it opposes "globalism, cultural and non-cultural Marxism" and supports "white ethnicity and its civilisation, liberty of expression, and religious tradition". The group has told
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
: "The London Forum comprises a range of people who care about their country and its demographic future and who wish to register their disagreement with the nigh ubiquitous enforced agenda of multiracialism and multiculturalism that threatens to destroy our identity irreversibly." Hope not Hate says the group's "ideological fluidity" allows the hosting of "speakers from across the British and international far-right. Because of this, it has links to almost every active far-right organisation in the UK, as well as many across Europe and North America". The group's events have brought together neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers, alt-right students, anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists and former British National Party activists. The group says "Zionism, the role of Israel in international affairs and the influence of the Jewish Diaspora upon culture and politics" are "legitimate subjects for discussion". '' Vice UK'' has described the group as "one of the organising hubs" for the far-right in Britain today. Jeremy Bedford Turner (a self-described
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
also known by the nickname Jez) is described by Hope not Hate as one of its leading figureheads. He is also a member of the
Friends of Oswald Mosley The Friends of Oswald Mosley (FOM) is the last vestige of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) and its successors, the Union Movement and the Action Party. History The Friends of Oswald Mosley was formed in 1982. It represents the last ...
group. Regarding the organisation, he said that the far-right "aimed for the soccer hooligans, for elements who weren't really into intellectual thinking. I realised this was a mistake ... There was a definite need for a leadership cadre, for a new
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
, for a new
mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...
". In July 2015, Turner made an anti-Semitic speech featuring
blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...
accusations against Jews. This was reported to the police by the
Community Security Trust The Community Security Trust (CST) is a British charity whose purpose is to provide safety, security, and advice to the Jewish community in the UK. It provides advice, training, representation and research. Founding and mission The Community Sec ...
(CST) advocacy group. Following a
judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...
brought to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from the
Campaign Against Antisemitism Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) is a British non-governmental organisation established in August 2014 by members of the Anglo-Jewish community. It publishes research, organises rallies and petitions, and conducts litigation. History CAA was ...
, Turner was arrested in May 2018 for incitement to racial hatred. In February 2017, Hope not Hate said in a report that the London Forum was expanding rapidly and helping the alt-right to become globalised. However, following a year-long exposé on the far-right by researcher Patrik Hermansson and legal difficulties faced by the group later that year, the London branch did not hold events since May 2017, although regional branches have continued.


Prominent speakers and events


Speakers

Prominent speakers at the group's meetings have included Holocaust deniers
Pedro Varela Geiss Pedro Varela Geiss (born 9 October 1957) is a Spanish writer, librarian and Holocaust denier. He was the owner of a Neo-Nazi bookstore in Barcelona that is now closed, and he describes himself as a “National Socialist” inspired by Adolf Hitl ...
, Mark Weber and David Irving; National Front activist
Richard Edmonds Richard Charles Edmonds (10 March 1943 – 23 December 2020) was an English politician. He was the deputy chairman and national organiser of the British National Party (BNP) and also prominent in the National Front (NF) during two spells of m ...
; founder of proscribed terrorist organisation National Action, Alex Davies and Jason Reza-Jorjani from Arktos Media and Ian Millard, a barrister who was barred from practising after expressing his admiration for
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
. Former parliamentary candidate for the
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...
(UKIP), Jack Sen, spoke at the London Forum in 2015. He was previously suspended from UKIP after sending an anti-Semitic tweet to Liverpool Wavertree Labour candidate
Luciana Berger Luciana Clare Berger (; born 13 May 1981) is a British former Member of Parliament who was MP for Liverpool Wavertree from 2010 to 2019. Initially a member of Labour Co-op, in 2019 she left and co-founded The Independent Group, later Change UK ...
and describes himself as a
National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
, according to '' The Mirror''. American segregationist
Matthew Heimbach Matthew Warren Heimbach (born April 8, 1991) is an American white supremacist who advocated a neo-Nazi ideology. Heimbach now identifies as a National Bolshevik. Instead of supporting racist policies, Heimbach now claims that he advocates "prol ...
addressed the organisation via video link in 2018 as he had been previously denied entry to the UK by then-
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
after making what ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described as "neo-Nazi and antisemitic remarks". YouTube personality Colin Robertson (Millennial Woes) gave a film talk on '' Withnail and I'' at a group meeting, arguing that the film is a politically incorrect statement against modern cultural degeneracy. His analysis was described by James Poulter in ''Vice UK'' as a far-right analogue to the
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
and Hegelian film analyses of Slovenian philosopher
Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New Y ...
. At a meeting of the group, Finnish nationalist Kai Murros called for a violent fascist revolution that would involve brigades of masked
blackshirt The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...
s "storming universities and dragging academics out into the streets", according to ''Vice UK''. American white nationalist Greg Johnson called the London Forum "the most important organisation in the British nationalist scene after the collapse of the British National Party and the subsequent wave of party fatigue".


2015 meeting

With the help of ''Searchlight'', the 2015 meeting by the group at the Grosvenor Hotel, Victoria was infiltrated by '' The Mail on Sunday'' reporters. ''Searchlight'' editor and publisher
Gerry Gable Gerry Gable (born 27 January 1937) is a British political activist. He was a long-serving editor of the anti-fascist ''Searchlight'' magazine. Background The son of a Jewish woman and an Anglican father, Gable grew up in post-war east London ide ...
said the event was "the biggest and most significant meeting of Holocaust deniers that Britain has ever seen". According to the newspaper's report, participants in the gathering were not told its exact location; they met at the nearby railway station and were escorted individually and in pairs to the hotel by former private school art teacher Michael Woodbridge, who was carrying a book by the former leader of the
British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, fo ...
,
Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...
, and wore a lapel pin with the BUF logo. ''The Mail on Sunday'' described members as laughing at the mention of "ashes rising from the death camps' crematoria"; applauding a speaker who talked of destroying "Jewish-Zionist domination"; and mocking the
Charlie Hebdo massacre On 7 January 2015, at about 11:30 a.m. CET local time, two French Muslim terrorists and brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, forced their way into the offices of the French List of satirical magazines, satirical weekly newspaper ''Charlie H ...
, describing an African leader at a ceremony to commemorate the event as "some Negro" and cheering at the mention of a brigade of Spanish Nazi-aligned fascists. According to the same report, the headline speaker at the event was Spanish neo-Nazi
Pedro Varela Pedro José Varela Olivera (22 February 1837, Florida, Uruguay – 1906, Montevideo, Uruguay) was a politician and member of the Colorado Party (Uruguay), Uruguayan Colorado Party. He was president of Uruguay from February to March 1868 and fro ...
, who reportedly referred to children of mixed-race parentage as "blackos" and described same-sex parents as "making a monster family".


See also

* Conservative Monday Club *
Eldon League The Eldon League was a British right-wing reactionary organisation, which aimed to promote feudalism and monarchism. It was set up by Grand Imperial Prior Neil Hamilton (politician), Neil Hamilton, then an undergraduate at Cambridge University, as ...
*
Western Goals Institute Western Goals Institute (WGI) was a Far-right politics, far-right pressure group and think-tank in Britain, formed in 1989 from Western Goals UK, which was founded in 1985 as an offshoot of the U.S. Western Goals Foundation.''Labour Research'', N ...
* Traditional Britain Group * Keep Talking (group)


References

{{reflist, 30em 2011 establishments in the United Kingdom Alt-right organizations Anti-immigration politics in the United Kingdom Antisemitism in the United Kingdom Criticism of multiculturalism Holocaust denial in the United Kingdom Neo-Nazi organisations in the United Kingdom