Jim Dowson
Jim Dowson is the co-founder of the far-right anti-Muslim Britain First party and group, and former member of the British National Party. He is reported to have joined an anti-migrant Bulgarian armed militia named Knights Templar International.
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Background with the British National Party
A Scottish Calvinist minister, Dowson has been described as an evangelical Protestant known for being both active and vociferous in campaigning against abortion, primarily with the UK Life League. He joined the British National Party (BNP) in 2007 and allegedly impressed the BNP’s hierarchy due to his close relationship with loyalist paramilitaries from Northern Ireland. In 2009 BNP leader Nick Griffin gave Dowson - who was then promoted to chief fundraiser - the task of overseeing the move of the BNP’s entire operation to Belfast, which was a success.
When the party performed badly in the 2010 local and general elections, Dowson started a campaign that openly attacked Griffin. [1]
He split from the BNP in October 2010 following allegations that he had sexually assaulted a female colleague, Shelley Rose, who had once stood as an electoral candidate in Bedfordshire. [2]
Creation of Britain First
He created Britain First with Paul Golding, a former BNP councillor, launching it in May 2011 via the far-right website British Resistance. [3] Other former members of the BNP joined them, including Andy McBride, the regional organiser for the South East, and the Welsh based former councillor Kevin Edwards. [4]
Dowson quits Britain First
In July 2014, Dowson quit the group after it released a series of videos showing leader Paul Golding and others entering mosques and intimidating imams. Dowson said 'racists and extremists' had'overrun' the group by and said of Golding:
- I think he is fooling himself and lots of people that Britain First is a Christian group. Sadly, it has just become a violent front for people abusing the Bible.[5]
Joining Knights Templar International
In October 2016, Dowson reportedly joined a Bulgarian armed militia called the Knights Templar International who hunt and attack refugees crossing into Europe. According to the Express newspaper, he had also spearheaded efforts to connect the group with major right-wing donors in Europe, America and Asia. In a youtube video standing in a forest in front of armed men wearing balaclavas, Dowson said the Bulgarian border was a frontline in the battle against refugee 'invaders' who he claimed 'want to take over the world'. [6]
Social media
References
- ↑ Chris Allen, “Britain First: The ‘Frontline Resistance’ to the Islamification of Britain.” The Political Quarterly 85, no. 3 (July 1, 2014): 354–61.
- ↑ S. Stewart, ‘- BNP money man quits after model accuses him of groping her in hotel room’, Daily Record, 31 October 2010. Accessed September 13 2016.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Chris Allen, “Britain First: The ‘Frontline Resistance’ to the Islamification of Britain.” The Political Quarterly 85, no. 3 (July 1, 2014): 354–61.
- ↑ Nick Sommerlad, Britain First founder quits over mosque invasions which attract racists and extremists', The Mirror, 27 July 2014
- ↑ Oli Smith, Britain First founder joins Bulgarian militia to hunt down and attack Muslim refugees, Express, 31 October 2016. Accessed 07 November 2016.
