At least five Reform UK councillors have been members of a Facebook group linked to the far-right group involved in the blockades of Dover and Portsmouth by masked men, according to anti-fascist campaigners. Nigel Farage’s party has been wrestling with internal divisions over its position on the Patriot Platform group, whose activities have been condemned by Farage and across the political spectrum. Five councillors – two from Solihull, two from Gateshead and one from Kent – were members of the Northeast Patriots Facebook group.
Two have left after they were approached by the Guardian, while a fifth also said he was no longer a member. The group’s front page invites those visiting to “join the movement” at the website address for Patriot Platform, the vigilante group set up by Daniel Thomas, a long-term associate of the far-right activist known as Tommy Robinson. There is unease among some Reform members and councillors about Farage’s condemnation of Patriot Platform’s activities.
The Northeast Patriots group was set up by the Tyneside Reform activist Mark Thorn, whose Facebook page describes him as “Reform UK Representative/Campaigner Gateshead Central & Whickham Constituency”. The anti-fascism group Hope Not Hate identified four councillors who have been members of the closed group. In a welcome message for new members, they were tagged by their handle, which would not be possible if they were not members as it is a closed group.
At least 14 other Reform councillors were invited to join the group. One of those, the Gateshead councillor James Wright, told the Guardian that he no longer followed it. My focus as a councillor is on representing residents and understanding issues that are being discussed locally.” Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, last week met with Thomas in Portsmouth on the day after Patriot Platform activists clashed with police during far-right unrest in Portsmouth.
Yusuf later reflected that Thomas, who is a convicted criminal, made his points “respectfully” and challenged Kemi Badenoch’s condemnation of the group. Gregory Davis, a senior researcher at Hope Not Hate, said: “From initially condemning Patriot Platform’s balaclava gang in Dover, with Farage calling it ‘disgusting’, ‘wrong’ and ‘horrible’, Reform’s messaging on the group has since become somewhat more confusing. Patriot Platform is a far-right vigilante group who has now been involved in several clashes with police, resulting in multiple arrests and more expected to come.”
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