Scottish Defence League

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<youtube size="medium" align="right" caption="Press Tv Report from the SDL Demonstration in Glasgow">7xS9TtzRkSk</Youtube> The Scottish Defence League (SDL) is an offshoot of the English Defence League and was created in late 2009. The Times describe the group as a "far right organisation affiliated to the English Defence League (EDL)"[1]. The SDL themselves claim on their Facebook page that 'WE ARE NOT RASCISTS !!!!!'. They go on to write that they were created:

In solidarity with the English and Welsh Defence League to oppose the threat to our country by Islamic Extremists
This is a very real and happening threat to our whole country, we need to unite against the extremists. We are not racists or the B.N.P. This is a peaceful non violent group.
Forget football differences this is far more important.[2]

Although the SDL claim not to be affiliated with the BNP, John Wilkinson the administrator of their facebook group is a BNP member and campaigner[3]. The group carried out a demonstration in Glasgow on the 14-November-2008[4] and attempted a further protest in Edinburgh on 20 February 2010.

The image used for the main page of the SDL Facebook group circa December 2009

Demonstrations

Glasgow demonstration

The SDL held their first demonstration in Glasgow on 14-November-2009. The group claimed they were protesting against the "Islamification" of Scotland[5]. According to a report in the Scotland on Sunday:

80 people briefly unfurled banners calling for the banning of the burqa, sang Rule Britannia and shouted "SDL" to shouts of "scum" and boos from shoppers[6].

The BBC reported:

Police said about 80 SDL protesters gathered in Cambridge Street, north of the city centre, and there were clashes. The SDL protesters, some with their faces partly covered with scarves, sang songs and chanted "SDL" as they held their demonstration[7].

The Sunday Mail described how:

The drunken mob left the Cambridge bar on Cambridge Street and moved to the city centre at noon where they were confronted by around 30 anti-fascist protesters shouting, "Nazi scum off our streets"[8].

There were five arrests connected to the demonstration, four for alleged breach of the peace and a fifth for racially motivated breach of the peace. Assistant chief constable Fiona Taylor said the demonstration involving about 70 people against immigration and Islamic fundamentalism had passed off "without any major incident"[9].

A counter demonstration staged by Scotland United took place on the same day, police estimated that 1,500 people attended the anti-fascism demonstrations with organisers putting the figure at 3,500[10][11]. The Scotland United demonstration was described in The Sunday Times:

Meanwhile, members of Scotland United gathered at Glasgow Green and marched to George Square, where they held a counter-demonstration backed by trade unions, politicians and faith groups.

The demonstration included speeches by Nicola Sturgeon, Osama Saeed, Mohammed Sarwar, Aamer Anwar, Annabel Goldie, and Tommy Sheridan[12].

Edinburgh Demo Invite[13]

Edinburgh Demonstration

Three days after the SDL's Glasgow demonstration plans were announced by the SDL to have a further gathering in Edinburgh[14]. Details were published on the groups Facebook page in early December giving the date of the 20-February-2010 for the protest.

The Scottish Defence League protest in Edinburgh was scheduled to take place on the 20th February. Only 40 protesters attended the SDL protest with a counter demonstration attracting around 2,000 people[15]. According to a report in The Scotsman:

The group unfurled banners with slogans such as "Say no to fundamentalist Muslims" and sporadically raised chants, including "We want our country back" and "Muslim bombers off our streets". Despite attempts to break through the police cordon, they were contained in the pub, until two double-decker buses took them out of the city centre at about 4pm. At the formal Scotland United rally, which included a march from Princes Street Gardens to the Meadows, speakers said the SDL had failed to gain support, but warned against complacency. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "Today is about making a stand against those who would seek to divide and saying to them that their views are not welcome." [16].

Three SDL protesters were arrested at the demonstration, 23-Year old Scott Buchan, from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, pled guilty to breach of the peace. Graeme Stevenson, 21 from Largs and David Parslow, 52 from Edinburgh both appeared in court the Monday after the demonstration, Stevenson was charged with "acting in a manner likely to incite violence and public disorder", and David Parslow admitted a breach of the peace charge for shouting and swearing outside the Edinburgh Central Mosque[17].

Lockerbie Demonstration

After failing to attract significant numbers in Edinburgh, the SDL made an announcement that their next demonstration would be a "vigil" in Lockerbie, the announcement read:

After the fiasco of the police abusing their powers and arresting and or/turning back innocent people trying to attend the Edinburgh demo, the Scottish Defence League will be holding a respectful vigil at Lockerbie on March 27th 2010. Details of coaches/transport from your regional organisers or via the Inner Circle. This is also a protest against the Traitor Kenny MacAskill who deny the SDL free speech and defended the release of the vermin responsible for the Lockerbie outrage. Kenny MacAskill told an emergency session of the Scottish parliament that it had been his “own decision” to free Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, adding that he stood by “the laws and values of Scotland”[18].
The BNP's Adam Lloyd is an SDL member[19]
John Wilkinson Leafleting for the BNP[20]

On the 10th March 2010 the SDL announced on their Webs.com site that the Lockerbie Vigil had already taken place. Their announce ment read as follows:

The SDL brought its Lockerbie vigil forward and yesterday a large amount of its members attended a moving vigil in memory of all those who perished in flight bombing. The reason the SDL changed the date was simple, we had not interest in bringing disorder and the red fascist circus to this lovely Scottish town. We wanted to remember those who were murdered with dignity and without left wing fascists charging around the town looking for confrontation. We did not want the likes if Mr McAskill the man who released one of the mass murderers responsible for the Lockerbie bombing, the publicity seeking Aemer Anwar or the rest oxygen thieves who have used other SDL events to try and grab some limelight for themselves and their lies decending on Lockerbie along with their state funded UAF thugs and the rest of the left wing fascist thugs bringing disorder to Lockerbie. We did not take SDL banners of flags, we stood in silence and respect, and a floral tribute was left as a mark of our great sorrow for those murdered in Lockerbie. The SDL have done nothing wrong, we were denied our basic human rights but the police in Edinburgh and the police admitted it was the Scottish government who pressured them to act in such a way. So whilst we have the sham of the SNP and other politicians claiming to stand against the SDL calling us fascists, we hope some day soon people will see them for what they are and everyone will be given the freedom they deserve in this country. Till then the SDL will not be silended and we will continue to try and have "peaceful" events. Just like yesterday in Lockerbie[21].

BNP/Military Connections

BNP Connections

One of the administrators of the SDL Facebook group is John Wilkinson who lists his political views on the site as BNP. Wilkinson can be seen on the site leafleting for the BNP in the 2009 European Elections. Wilkinson also appears on the leaked BNP members list which was posted on wikileaks[22].

Members of the SDL Facebook group include Adam Lloyd (Pictured Left) who is the BNP organiser for Bridgend in Wales[23].

The BNP have publicly denied any connection with the English Defence League and issued a press release distancing themselves from the EDL and the "confrontations they seek"[24].

Another member of the group Iain Brooks from Glasgow is also listed on the leaked BNP members list which appeared on Wikileaks[25].

John Wilkinson in Military Uniform[26]
Photograph from the SDL Facebook Homepage[27]
Iain Brooks Serving in the Navy (Far Left)[28]
SDL Member Iain Brooks[29]

Military Connections

According to the Guardian the English Defence League was started by Tommy Robinson (a pseudonym), after a Muslim protest at the homecoming of the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment in Luton in March 2009:

Only a handful of Muslim protesters disrupted the Anglians' homecoming parade, and they were drawn from an small extremist group that had already been ostracised by the mainstream Muslim community. However, it was enough for Robinson and others to set up a group called United People of Luton, and look across the country for support.[30]



The Luton group linked up with Birmingham-based British Citizens Against Muslim Extremists to form the English Defence League[31]


The SDL facebook group has a military photograph with the caption "Tartan Army on Tour", presumably taken in Afghanistan. One of the groups administrators John Wilkinson a BNP member and activist also appears on his facebook page in military gear and appears to be serving abroad in another photograph.


Another SDL member Iain Brooks from Glasgow who appears on the Wikileaks leaked BNP members list from Glasgow appears on Facebook serving in the Royal Navy. Brooks is listed on his Facebook home page as serving on HMS Lancaster between 1999-2003.

Web Presence

SDL Administrators[32]
SDL Administrators March 2010

[33]

SDL on Facebook

The SDL has a group on Facebook used to recruit new members and organise demonstrations. Administrators for the group are Chris Anderson, Karen Chesser from Aberdeen and John Wilkinson from Dumfries. Chris Anderson made the Facebook group private on the 30-November-2009 after repeated attempts to sabotage the previously open group page.

On the SDL Facebook group in December 2009 197 of the 644 members had their location displayed. Of these 197 members less than half were based in Scotland:[34]

Location Number of Members
Scotland 83
England 79
USA 10
Wales 9
Australia 5
Canada 2
Israel 1
Northern Ireland 1
Spain 1
Serbia 1
China 1

SDL Facebook Closure

Following the Scottish Defence League protest in Edinburgh, organiser Bobby Millar announced:

“Whilst in Edinburgh yesterday [21-February-2010] the lads from the SDL got chatting about this site (SDL Facebook group). Most of us all agreed that we close this site down and stick to the main SDL site the other thing I would like to suggest is that when someone new wants to join they have to be known by at least two members whom at least have attended demos this is not any disrespect to the people who have joined and like what we are doing but to them we must say its not fingers on the keyboards we need but feet on the streets”[35].

Millar, who was running the Facebook group, also denounced another of the group's administrators, saying, “It has also come to our attention that Karen Chesser is a fake we would advise you all to delete her from your friends and also pass the word round cheers”. Millar went on to say that “we even put her on as a group administrator for the females so she could chat about female views on [the] site”.

Karen Chesser, 40, from Aberdeen, had been an administrator on the site and was furious at being denounced as a “fake”. Chesser responded to the allegations by insisting she was a genuine SDL member and published her mobile phone number on her profile, insisting people call her so that she could prove her innocence. This prompted Millar to circulate her number to the other SDL group members[36]. Chesser responded by saying, “When u get accused of something it’s nice to get chance to defend yourself. Hung jury, no say, no defence, you people are pathetic”. Referring to the calls the SDL made to her mobile phone, Chesser added, “Withheld calls of abuse very very mature” [37]. The next day the SDL climbed down and allowed Chesser back in the group. Miller announced, “I would personally like to welcome Karen Chesser back to the group, also like to apologise for causing her any grief”[38]

Webs.com Site

The Scottish Defence League have opened two websites. The first site describes itself as "the official site of the Scottish Defence league" and can be found at http://scottishdefenceleague.webs.com/ , this site is promoted by Scott Clinton, it has a fundraising Paypal account attached inviting visitors to "donate to the s.d.l for banners etc"[39]. The contact e-mail address for the site is Scottishdefence@live.co.uk, this address links to the Facebook account of "Jock Casual" who is one of the administrators on the Scottish Defence League Facebook page. The site has only managed to attract 25 members since it was created and rules were introduced allowing only members who had been to demonstrations to join[40][41]. On the videos section of the site Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech has been uploaded by Scott Clinton[42].

SDL Webs.jpgSDL Webs.com members.jpg

Moonfruit Site

The Second website is at: http://www.scottishdefenceleague.moonfruit.com/# the only contact details on this site belong to Bobby Millar, who is the contact for Cenral Scotland under the e-mail address blueeyedboy43@hotmail.co.uk, this e-mail address links to Millar's Facebook account. Millar is also an administrator of the Facebook group.

UK Casuals United website

The SDL also have a web presence on the UK Casuals United website. The "UK Casuals United" website hosts pages on the other "Defence Leagues" which are the English Defence League, Welsh Defence League and the Ulster Defence League[43]. The groups website is registered in the U.S. at webs.com[44]. The group describe themselves as:

an alliance of British Football Casuals of various different colours/races who have come together in order to create a massive, but peaceful protest group to force our Government to get their act in gear[45].

The tagline on the groups website reads, "Uniting the UK's football infidels", and they make claims to be opposing Islamic Extremism and stopping Muslims who "wish to impose Sharia law upon us by stealth"[46].

The writing style used on the website is often incoherent, for example this passage comes from the section explaining who the group are:

We will exercise our right to peaceful protest however we see fit, and are growing all the time. Soon we will be big enough to influence our MP's and they will be unable to ignore us. We will support the English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish Defence Leagues, as well as March for England, with marches/demos but are A TOTALLY SEPERATE GROUP[47].

This incoherent style is repeated in an announcement about the groups Glasgow demonstration of the 14-November-2009, the group announced:

Large groups of SDL were detained at both Perth, Dundee AND Edinburg were detained and prevented from travelling to Glasgow, and main English lads were visisted by Strathclyde police and warned off from travelling to Scotland. In a free country our grandfathers fought off the Germans to defend[48].

See also

People

Chris Anderson | Karen Chesser | John Wilkinson | Martin McIntyre | Scott Clinton | Bobby Millar | Jeff Marsh

Contact

  • Casuals United E-Mail: casualsunitedhq@hotmail.com
  • Regional Contact for Central Scotland: blueeyedboy43@hotmail.co.uk
  • Contact Address on Webs.com Website: Scottishdefence@live.co.uk

Notes

  1. ↑ The Times, Testing time for police as anti-Muslim protest sparks counter-demonstration, The Times, 14-November-2009, Accessed via Nexis UK 18-November-2009
  2. ↑ Facebook, Scottish Defence League, accessed 8 December 2009
  3. ↑ John Wilkinson (Dumfries), BNP Membership List, Wikileaks.org, Accessed 07-December-2009
  4. ↑ David Leask, Far-right extremists contained amid anti-war marches, Scotland on Sunday, 15-November-2009, Accessed via Nexis UK 18-November-2009
  5. ↑ David Leask, Far-right extremists contained amid anti-war marches, Scotland on Sunday, 15-November-2009, Accessed via Nexis UK 18-November-2009
  6. ↑ David Leask, Far-right extremists contained amid anti-war marches, Scotland on Sunday, 15-November-2009, Accessed via Nexis UK 18-November-2009
  7. ↑ BBC News, Clashes after rival city marches, BBC News, 14-November-2009, Accessed 18-November-2009
  8. ↑ Stephen Stewart, NAZI THUGS BOOTED OUT; POLICE HEM IN ENGLISH RIGHT-WING RABBLE, The Sunday Mail, 15-November-2009, Accessed via Nexis UK 18-November-2009
  9. ↑ Helen McArdle, Five arrested at SDL's city demo, The Herald, 16-November-2009, Accessed via LexisNexis 18-November-2009
  10. ↑ Hilary Duncanson, SKIRMISHES BREAK OUT BETWEEN RIVAL PROTESTERS, Press Association, 14-November-2009, Accessed 18-November-2009
  11. ↑ BBC News, Clashes after rival city marches, BBC News, 14-November-2009, Accessed 18-November-2009
  12. ↑ Gareth Rose, Five arrested in Glasgow as protests clash, The Sunday Times, 15-November-2009, Accessed 18-November-2009
  13. ↑ SDL Edinburgh Demo Invite, Facebook, 07-December-2009, Screen Capture: 07-December-2009
  14. ↑ Edinburgh Evening News, Scottish Defence League plan Edinburgh protest, Edinburgh Evening News, 17-November-2009, Accessed 07-December-2009
  15. ↑ Martin McLaughlin, SDL rally threat fizzles out, The Scotsman, 21-February-2010
  16. ↑ Martin McLaughlin, SDL rally threat fizzles out, The Scotsman, 21-February-2010
  17. ↑ STV, Three in court following Edinburgh SDL demo, STV.com, 23-February-2010, Accessed 05-March-2010
  18. ↑ Next SDL Activity, Lockerbie Vigil, Scottish Defence League, Accessed 05-March-2010
  19. ↑ SDL Members (Adam Lloyd), Facebook, 07-December-2009, Screen Capture: 07-December-2009
  20. ↑ John Wilkinson Image, Facebook, Accessed 07-December-2009
  21. ↑ Lockerbie, Lockerbie Announcement, SDL Website, Accessed 10-March-2010
  22. ↑ John Wilkinson (Dumfries), BNP Membership List, Wikileaks.org, Accessed 07-December-2009
  23. ↑ Andrew Harrison, Borough BNP members get published on the net, Wales Online, 20-November-2008, Accessed 07-December-2009
  24. ↑ bnp.co.uk, English Defence League "Honey Trap" Proscribed by BNP, Press Release, BNP Website, Undated, Accessed 07-December-2009
  25. ↑ Iain Brooks (Glasgow), BNP Membership List, Wikileaks.org, Accessed 07-December-2009
  26. ↑ John Wilkinson Image, John Wilkinson Facebook Profile, Facebook, Accessed 07-December-2009
  27. ↑ Tartan Army on Tour Image, SDL Images, Facebook, Accessed 07-December-2009
  28. ↑ Iain Brooks Image, Iain Brooks Facebook, Facebook, Accessed 07-December-2009
  29. ↑ Iain Brooks, Facebook Profile, Facebook, Accessed 07-December-2009
  30. ↑ Robert Booth, Matthew Taylor and Paul Lewis, English Defence League: chaotic alliance stirs up trouble on streets, The Guardian, 12 September 2009.
  31. ↑ Robert Booth, Matthew Taylor and Paul Lewis, English Defence League: chaotic alliance stirs up trouble on streets, The Guardian, 12 September 2009.
  32. ↑ SDL Administrators December 2009, SDL Homepage, Facebook, Captured 07-December-2009
  33. ↑ SDL Administrators December 2009, SDL Homepage, Facebook, Captured 07-December-2009
  34. ↑ SDL Facebook Group, Count of members locations, Facebook, Carried Out 07-December-2009
  35. ↑ Message on Facebook to Scottish Defence League Group Members, Bobby Millar Announces the closure of the Facebook Group, 21-February-2010, Accessed 23-February-2010
  36. ↑ Message on Facebook to Scottish Defence League Group members, Bobby Millar Message circulating Karen Chessers Mobile Phone Number, 21-February-2010, Accessed 23-February-2010
  37. ↑ Karen Chesser Facebook Page, Response to being branded a Fake, Facebook, Accessed 23-February-2010
  38. ↑ Karen Chesser Welcomed Back to Group, Bobby Millar allows Karen Chesser back into the SDL group, Facebook, Accessed 23-February-2010
  39. ↑ Paypal Account for Berkshire_Bear@hotmail.com, SDL Donations Page, Paypal, Accessed 05-March-2010
  40. ↑ SDL Website, Members Section, SDL Website, Accessed 10-March-2009
  41. ↑ Message on Facebook to Scottish Defence League Group Members, Bobby Millar Announces the closure of the Facebook Group, 21-February-2010, Accessed 23-February-2010
  42. ↑ SDL Website, Videos, SDL Website, Accessed 10-March-2010
  43. ↑ Home Page, Casuals United, Casuals United, Accessed 18-November-2009
  44. ↑ Webs.com, Domain Registration, Register.com, Accessed 18-November-2009
  45. ↑ Who are we?,UK Casuals United, Casuals United, Accessed 18-November-2009
  46. ↑ Who are we?,UK Casuals United, Casuals United, Accessed 18-November-2009
  47. ↑ Who are we?,UK Casuals United, Casuals United, Accessed 18-November-2009
  48. ↑ Home, Glasgow a big Success, Casuals United, Accessed 18-November-2009
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