By The Guardian (World News) | Created at 2024-10-25 05:10:15 | Updated at 2024-10-25 07:24:43
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A group that emerged out of a faction of the Conservative party has become a forum for Britain’s splintered far right.
A private conference hosted earlier this month by the Traditional Britain Group (TBG) was attended by figures from the Homeland party, an extreme nationalist group, as well as rivals from other groups such as Patriotic Alternative.
Speakers at the conference, held behind closed doors in a luxury London hotel, included Gerold Otten, a member of Germany’s Bundestag for the rising Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, and Lynda Rose, an Anglican priest and the CEO of a Christian pressure group working with senior conservative figures in the Church of England.
Another keynote speaker was David Clews, a former Tory councillor who runs a conspiracy theory website, which was a prolific spreader of misinformation against the backdrop of this summer’s riots.
The TBG, which was founded by a former officer of the Monday Club after the Conservative party severed links with the group, gained prominence after the then Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg addressed its annual dinner. He then “dissociated” himself from it and later described his attendance as a “mistake”.
Among those attending the TBG’s annual conference on Saturday at St Ermin’s hotel in Westminster, which is owned by the Marriott Group, were at least three activists from the Homeland party, which is regarded as one of the most dangerous groups on the British far right.
They included Kenny Smith, a former BNP activist who was previously admonished after pleading guilty to firearms charges, and Anthony Burrows, a parish councillor who lost a shotgun licence and had three shotguns seized by police because of concerns over his far-right links.
Rose, the CEO of the socially conservative Voice for Justice UK Christian campaign group, told the Guardian she was not, and is not, aware of any links of delegates to the conference with far-right or extremist groups.
She said: “I have no knowledge of the affiliations of members within the Traditional Britain group.” She said she had attended to inform delegates of the work of the Commission of Inquiry into Discrimination Against Christians (CIDAC).
CIDAC was commissioned by Voice for Justice UK last year and its patrons include the retired British army officer Maj Gen Tim Cross, the Anglican priest and Oxford university professor Nigel Biggar and members of the Church of England’s synod.
The presence of the Homeland party activist and a range of other far-right activists from known groups was identified by Red Flare, a group of anti-fascist researchers who said TBG events were networking opportunities for the British and European far right.
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A spokesperson for Red Flare said: “The fascist Homeland party is one of the most dangerous groups on the British far right. These events attract leading figures from Britain’s fractured far right, drawn to the tawdry veneer of respectability gained from attending gatherings in a £2,000-a-night hotel.”
The TBG was described by its spokesperson as “a traditional real Tory group of 23 years standing”. He added: “We still live in a free society. All are welcome at our events provided they behave themselves. Attendees from a wide spectrum come to hear the addresses by our invited speakers. What they do in their spare time does not concern us.”
Otten, a retired German air force colonel who is on the German parliament’s defence committee, said he had spoken to the conference about restoring Germany’s defence capabilities and other issues including the war in Ukraine. He did not regret attending, contested the use of the term “far right”, and described the AfD as a “national conservative” party.
A spokesperson for the Marriott Group said: “Marriott is a hospitality company that provides public accommodations and function space. Acceptance of business does not indicate support or endorsement of any group or individual.”
The Homeland party said: “Our identity is not based on skin colour but on being part of distinct ethnic groups with their own cultures, religions, histories and communities.”
