The Cornish National Liberation Army (CNLA) was a short-lived Cornish nationalist paramilitary organisation that threatened to perform acts of vandalism and arson against commercial targets that it considered to be

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. The organisation has been described by the Cornish political party

Mebyon Kernow Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall (, MK; Cornish language, Cornish for ''Sons of Cornwall'') is a Cornish nationalism, Cornish nationalist, Left-wing politics, centre-left political party in Cornwall, in southwestern Britain. It currentl ...

as a 'pseudo-terrorist group'.

History

The CNLA claimed to have been formed through the merge of An Gof and the Cornish Liberation Army. In 2007, an email claiming to be from the Cornish National Liberation Army threatened the restaurants of celebrity chefs

Jamie Oliver Jamie Trevor Oliver Order of the Star of Italy, OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and o ...

and

Rick Stein Christopher Richard Stein, (born 4 January 1947) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Along with business partner (and first wife) Jill Stein, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. T ...

in Cornwall, claiming they were hurting local people through driving up living costs. The following month a 36-year-old man was arrested for making the threats. The group also opposed the flying of the

English flag The flag of England is the national flag of England, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is derived from Saint George's Cross (heraldic blazon: ''Argent, a cross gules''). The association of the red cross as an emblem of Englan ...

in Cornwall, and has threatened to destroy all English flags in the region. It claimed to have been involved in arson attacks on English people's holiday homes in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. There is little evidence as to the size of the CNLA other than an August 2007 interview in Cornish World Magazine in which Stuart Ramsay claimed they had thirty members, with a similar number being reported in 2017."CNLA: the writing on the wall" in ''Cornish World Magazine'', Issue 53 (August/September 2007) pp.50–53.

Cornish Republican Army

In 2017, the group announced a name change to the Cornish Republican Army (CRA), as the previous name had been used by other groups. The CRA claimed responsibility for a firebomb attack on Rick Stein's restaurant in

Porthleven Porthleven (; ) is a town, civil parish and fishing port in Cornwall, England. The most southerly port in Great Britain, it was a harbour of refuge when this part of the Cornish coastline was infamous for wrecks in the days of sail. The South W ...

, along with other fire incidents in

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

and Penryn. They also claimed to have a

suicide bomber A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

ready to undergo an attack. However, the

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service covering Cornwall, England. , the service employs over 400 retained firefighters, 203 full-time firefighters, plus 170 support and administrative staff. Created under t ...

confirmed the restaurant fire was "probably an electrical issue and not one of deliberate ignition".

In popular culture

Comparisons to a fictional group in the 2015 film ''

The Bad Education Movie ''The Bad Education Movie'' is a 2015 British comedy film directed by Elliot Hegarty and written by Freddy Syborn and Jack Whitehall. The film is based on Whitehall's sitcom of the same name, and follows a similar plot-line, with young teach ...

'' have been made, in which Alfie Wickers and class K go to Cornwall but accidentally get involved with the Cornish Liberation Army, a terrorist organisation fighting for Cornish independence.

References

External links

Fighting them on the beaches
''Guardian'', 15 June 2007 {{Cornish self-government movement 2006 establishments in the United Kingdom Republicanism in England Separatism in the United Kingdom Anti-English sentiment in Europe Cornish militarism