Category Archives: Far right

Neo-nazi Thomas Sewell will continue to commit violent offences that could lead to death, police tell court

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Sewell, who has been charged over alleged attack on Indigenous protest site, described in court as having ‘at his disposal a large group of followers’

Neo-nazi Thomas Sewell – who allegedly led an attack on a First Nations encampment in Melbourne over the weekend – will continue to commit violent offences that could lead to death, a court heard.

Sewell, 32, applied to be freed on bail on Wednesday after being charged over an alleged attack on Melbourne’s Camp Sovereignty on Sunday.

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Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell arrested outside Melbourne court over alleged attack on Indigenous protest site

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Victoria police confirm arrest hours after the neo-Nazi confronted Victorian premier Jacinta Allan at a press conference

Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell has been arrested outside a Melbourne court over an alleged attack on Camp Sovereignty, a sacred Aboriginal burial ground in Kings Domain and longstanding protest site on Sunday.

Victoria police have confirmed detectives from the Melbourne crime investigation unit arrested Sewell, 32, and two associates – a 23-year-old man from Mooroolbark and a 20-year-old man from Ardeer – outside Melbourne’s magistrates court about 3.20pm on Tuesday.

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Bob Katter distances himself from neo-Nazi group associated with megaphone at anti-immigration protest

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Separately, Greens call on Queensland MP to ‘apologise or resign’ for verbal altercation with Channel Nine reporter last week

The federal MP Bob Katter has distanced himself from a neo-Nazi group that claimed ownership of a megaphone he used at a Townsville rally against mass immigration, with the veteran politician claiming he has been the victim of “bullying” in the media.

The Greens have separately called on Katter, the member for Kennedy, to “apologise or resign” over his verbal altercation with a Channel Nine reporter last week, asking the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission to investigate his conduct.

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‘Most of this is symbolic’: the new wave of anti-migrant vigilantes in Europe

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‘Citizen patrols’ and self-styled protective forces are fuelling social fears and the far right, say experts

Sporting black shirts emblazoned with an iron cross, a dozen or so men marched through the centre of Reykjavík, courting attention on a buzzy Friday night. In Poland and the Netherlands, vigilantes thronged along the German border, ready to turn back any asylum seekers they came across. In Belfast, they roamed after sunset, demanding to see the identity documents of migrants and people of colour.

Each of the groups, who are part of a renewed wave of anti-migrant vigilantes that have sprung up in recent months across Europe, have sought to cast themselves as a sort of protective force. But those who have studied vigilantes warn that their actions often exacerbate security concerns, sow fear and fuel the far right.

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Tommy Robinson will not be charged over alleged St Pancras assault, police say

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British Transport Police say alleged victim ‘did not wish to provide a statement to the investigation’

The far-right activist Tommy Robinson will not face charges over allegations he punched a man to the ground at a London train station, police and prosecutors have announced.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm after the incident on 28 July at St Pancras train station.

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Reform councillor works on asylum claims for Home Office, investigation reveals

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Paul Bean may have breached civil service impartiality rules over alleged social media posts

Campaigners have complained to the Home Office after it was revealed a councillor for Reform UK also works for the government department processing asylum and immigration claims.

Paul Bean, who serves as a councillor for Crook ward at Durham county council, declared his day job as a civil servant at the Home Office in his register of interests.

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Anti-racism and anti-immigration protesters in Falkirk face off outside asylum hotel

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Counter-demonstration offers welcome to refugees as anti-migrant protesters gather outside Cladhan hotel

Anti-racism campaigners held a counter-demonstration against people protesting against “uncontrolled illegal immigration” outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Scotland.

Stand Up to Racism Scotland, Falkirk Trades Union Council and local people said they organised the gathering in Falkirk on Saturday to show that refugees are welcome in the town.

Organisers described it as a “safely stewarded community event with music, speeches from the local community, the trade union movement, local campaigns, faith groups and others”.

Demonstrators held placards with messages such as “stop the far right”, “refugees welcome” and “migrants make our NHS”.

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Suspended Labour councillor found not guilty of encouraging violent disorder

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Ricky Jones was filmed speaking at anti-racism rally after last summer’s far-right riots that followed Southport murders

A suspended Labour councillor who called at an anti-racism rally for far-right activists’ throats to be cut has been found not guilty of encouraging violent disorder.

Ricky Jones, 58, used the phrase “disgusting Nazi fascists” in a speech about last summer’s far-right protests after the Southport murders, his trial at Snaresbrook crown court heard.

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‘Why is this happening?’: violent attacks terrify Ireland’s immigrant community

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Spate of physical incidents includes attack on a six-year-old girl at a County Waterford housing estate

In the west Dublin suburb of Tallaght, a group of teenagers accosted, beat and partially stripped an Indian man, who was then filmed staggering and bleeding. Days later a gang attacked another Indian man in the nearby suburb of Clondalkin, hitting him in the face, chest, back and legs, leaving him with a fracture, gashes and multiple bruises.

Days later again, two male passengers turned on an Indian taxi driver in the north Dublin suburb of Ballymun, striking him across the face with a bottle and shouting: “Go back to your country.”

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Police in England brace for disorder as far right promote anti-migrant protests

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Restrictions in place on Friday in areas including Norwich and officers will monitor at least 12 other towns and cities

Police are braced for potential disorder in towns across England this weekend amid the far right’s promotion of a range of protests against asylum seekers, with anti-racism activists planning counter-protests.

Restrictions will be in place on Friday at locations including Norwich while officers will police at least 12 other towns and cities that evening.

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‘Disrespectful’ booing of welcome to country at Melbourne Anzac Day dawn service condemned

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Small group booed and yelled at Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown’s welcome and Victorian governor’s acknowledgement of country

A man is expected to be charged for offensive behaviour after a group including an alleged neo-Nazi booed and heckled a welcome to country at Melbourne’s main Anzac Day dawn ceremony.

A small group of people booed and yelled throughout the welcome delivered by Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown at the 5:30am service at the city’s Shrine of Remembrance.

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Berlin reports rise in attacks on refugees amid surge in far-right crime

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Call for greater protection for asylum seekers and policies targeting rightwing violence as report sounds ‘alarm bell’

Berlin has reported a marked increase in attacks on asylum seekers and refugee shelters, amid a sharp rise in far-right crime and a hardening of German migration policy.

Official figures provided at the request of two local Green party lawmakers showed there were 77 assaults on asylum seekers and refugees in 2024 and eight instances of deliberate damage to residences housing them.

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‘Lifer’ in HMP Woodhill planned to kill Tommy Robinson, high court told

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Two other prisoners also plotted to attack far-right activist, who is challenging his segregation at jail

A “lifer” in the prison holding Tommy Robinson planned to kill the far-right activist while two other prisoners plotted to attack him to gain “kudos and notoriety”, the high court has been told.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is seeking to bring a legal challenge against his segregation from other prisoners, which he claims is having an impact on his mental health.

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MI5 officers lamented lack of guidance in child terrorism cases, emails reveal

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Officer who investigated Rhianan Rudd, who killed herself, tells inquest ‘wider conversation’ needed on such cases

MI5 officers investigating a schoolgirl who went on to kill herself after being charged with far-right terror offences had complained of a lack of guidance on handling the growing number of such cases, according to internal emails heard at an inquest.

A special evidence session in London heard that intelligence agents working on the case of Rhianan Rudd, who died at the age of 16, lamented the lack of national strategy in dealing with a proliferation of vulnerable young people holding violent far-right views.

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‘Vicious cycle’: how far-right parties across Europe are cannibalising the centre right

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Hardline agendas, especially on immigration, are copied by mainstream conservatives in vain effort to win back votes - but it’s not working

Far-right parties could become the largest force on the right in Europe within a decade, experts have said, as mainstream conservative parties look to copy their hardline agendas, especially on immigration, in a vain effort to win back votes.

Germany’s conservatives last week sparked fury when their leader, Friedrich Merz, the country’s likely next chancellor, broke a longstanding pledge by relying on far-right votes to adopt a non-binding motion urging a drastic immigration crackdown. The leader of Alternative für Deutschland, Alice Weidel, hailed “a historic day for Germany” as the Bundestag, for the first time in its history, passed a vote with the backing of her party, which is second in the polls weeks before this month’s elections.

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‘Disrupt or be disrupted’, mainstream parties warned as voters turn to populists

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Research shows voters losing faith in traditional centre-left and centre-right to deliver meaningful change

Voters in western democracies are turning away from mainstream political parties and towards populists because they are losing faith in their ability to implement meaningful change, a major report based on surveys of 12,000 voters has found.

The popularity of traditional centre-left and centre-right parties across major democratic countries has plummeted from 73% in 2000 to 51% today, according to research by the Tony Blair Institute.

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Trump v Bannon, Musk v Farage: who hates who in Magaland

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The feuds and rivalries within the US president-elect’s Maga ecosystem – including some British sympathisers

The task of deconstructing the internal manoeuvrings of the leadership of the Soviet Union was once regarded as little short of a science such was the paucity of information. Today, the court of Donald Trump is perhaps no less enigmatic – but for quite different reasons. Trumpologists trying to keep up with the machinations of the Make America Great Again (Maga) movement and its sympathisers in Britain are faced with a torrent of information via social media posts and podcast rants. Sworn enemies today can easily be the closest of conspirators tomorrow. Steve Bannon has let it be known that he intends to bring down fellow Trump acolyte Elon Musk in time for inauguration day (with days to go). It is no easy task to make sense of it all but here is what we know of the current feuds and rivalries in the Maga ecosystem:

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Elon Musk’s attempts to sway German and UK politics thought ‘unacceptable’ – poll

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Exclusive: Majority polled by YouGov viewed billionaire negatively – except among Reform UK and AfD voters

Most people in the UK and Germany consider Elon Musk’s efforts to influence their national politics unacceptable and believe the US tech magnate does not know much about either country or the issues they face, a poll has shown.

The survey, by YouGov, follows a spate of hostile statements by the billionaire owner of Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X attacking the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and their respective governments.

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Fears for UK boomer radicalisation on Facebook after Meta drops factcheckers

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For middle-aged users, it will be ‘even harder to discern the truth’ among extremist content, expert says

Experts fear the decision by Meta to drop professional factcheckers from Facebook will exacerbate so-called boomer radicalisation in the UK.

Even before what Keir Starmer described as “far-right riots” in England last summer, alarm bells were ringing amid fears older people were even more susceptible to misinformation and radicalisation than younger “digital natives”.

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Neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant freed on bail as he appeals against one-month jail sentence for Hitler salute in Melbourne

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Twenty-five-year-old the first Victorian convicted of intentionally performing the gesture in public

An Australian far-right extremist has walked out of a Melbourne court on bail after being sentenced to one month in jail for performing an illegal Nazi salute.

Last month Jacob Hersant, 25, became the first Victorian convicted of intentionally performing the salute in public.

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