The Football Lads Alliance (FLA) are to march in Birmingham, next month. However, all is not going as well as they would wish, as founder, John Meighan admits, below.
It has come as a surprise to the FLA committee that the city’s council is wary about the FLA. Meighan, as SUTR revealed recently, talks about ‘shutting the city’ down. Quite how those who live in Birmingham feel about this remains to be seen. There is set to be another, similar event on the same day, by the ‘democratic FLA’. These are people, several of whom were founders, along with Meighan, of the FLA, last year. They include (ex) hooligans from various London clubs, but especially at Spurs, Meighan’s own team.
The so called Democratic FLA, will march with the Justice for 21 campaign (concerning victims of the 1970s Birmingham pub bombings). who have previously aligned themselves with Meighan. This split from the FLA, reflects the fractures that have happened since the merchandise for the FLA became an issue, see below, from those who split from the FLA.
As SUTR has shown previously, ex FLA key players accuse Meighan of the most appalling charges; “making money as a result of children killed by terrorists”. These are people who have worked with Meighan. Little wonder that some now question their allegiance to the FLA.
The veracity of these claims, coming from the sources they do has clearly done some damage to the FLA. Two rival groups claiming the same name would damage any organisation. A body, composed of ex and current hooligans, at odds with each other and making such accusations, could result in serious problems. It is alleged by ex FLA members that the HMRC asked to view FLA accounts.
Meighan’s critics acknowledge that anti racists have been ‘gifted’ valuable grounds for questioning the FLA’s whole raison d’etre.
Moreover, a cursory glance at FLA social media, again reinforces the view that FLA members increasingly resemble the English Defence League, in their vile Islamophobia.
The open racism directed at Muslims is a major shift away from the ‘anti extremism’ the FLA claim to stand for. As SUTR members witnessed in Newcastle, recently, several FLA members were racially abusive and confrontational towards anti racists opposing their joint march with the ‘Veterans Against Terrorism (VAT)’. Many in the FLA were of course, active previously, with the EDL, eg Bill Weir, who ‘appreciated’ Alan Spence, ex BNP/EDL thug’s support for the North East march.
The DFLA held a demonstration against London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, last week. This is the second mobilisation by the far right in recent weeks against the Mayor, see here:
Meighan (and VAT leader, Inman) has thrown his lot in with UKIP the openly islamophobic rump, who are currently led by Gerald Batten.
That Meighan supports Batten again nails the FLA myth that they are ‘neither left or right’. The courting of UKIP by the FLA fits into the pattern of street groups similar to the FLA, flowing into political representation. The EDL tried this with the British Freedom Party, which never got off the ground.
However, in Germany, the islamophobes of PEGIDA have seen many supporters join the ranks of the far right, AFD, which now has 93 MPs, despite the formal ban on PEGIDA members being in the AfD.
Associates of UKIP MEP, Bill Etheridge, and the FLA, who recently held a demo outside a Dudley MPs office, the so called Peoples Charter, are holding another rally in London, soon. (Etheridge has said “some parts ” of Enoch Powell’s notorious, Rivers of Blood’ speech, have come true and he is standing to become UKIP leader).
This again is targeting the BBC, over its supposed left wing bias. Etheridge who was on the Dudley rally with the tiny, far right group the White Pendragons, who targeted Sadiq Kahn, last month, is due to speak for at the BBC gathering.
Meanwhile, John Meighan’s ‘respect’ for Tommy Robinson mirrors itself in his repeating some of Robinson’s impetuous behaviour, arrogance and claims of financial impropriety.
Most FLA supporters will for now, stand by Meighan. His record of organising two well attended marches, is enough. Though the DFLA have a small following in some football firms, the FLA have not substantially lost out.
There is also a development which seeks to cement some far right unity through the ‘UK Freedom Marches’ (UKFM). This has brought together a ragbag of familiar faces of those on the far right. Movers behind this include Bil Weir (again, featured recently on here, for his EDL links) Toni Bugle, and some linked to fascists in the Chelsea Headhunters, firm.
That Tommy Robinson and Meighan are also in the Facebook group is an indication that key elements in the street end of the far right wish to see a cohesion in the likes of the FLA. KFM have called a march around various themes, eg ‘No To Sharia’, which are far right memes (see below).
Attempts at unity by the far right have been stopped by anti fascists. This development is not being done on an openly fascist basis but that the far right, led by people like Weir and Inman are behind this, says much.
Birmingham Stand Up To Racism has called a demonstration on 24th March, for the day of the FLA march. TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady, Ged Grebby of Show Racism the Red Card and several trade union general Secretaries, have backed the local mobilisation. Details are here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/330512080781002/permalink/
They are calling on all of good will to stand together in Birmingham against all forms of racism and Islamophobia. Birmingham has a good tradition of opposing racists, and will do so again.